ASHLAND, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (4-1) staked its claim at the top of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference standings on Saturday. The Wasps defeated Randolph-Macon College (4-1) by a 17-10 score at Day Field to hand the Yellow Jackets their first loss of the season.
After a scoreless first quarter that featured three interceptions, Emory & Henry went 34 yards in 10 plays to the Randolph-Macon 18 before the drive stalled. Junior placekicker Matt Turchin (Salisbury, N.C.) split the uprights with a 35-yard field goal at the 14:53 mark in the second quarter.
After intercepting the Yellow Jackets inside the E&H five yardline the Wasps put together an 80-yard drive covering 4:17 culminated by a five-yard touchdown pass by sophomore quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) to junior wide receiver DaVon Ross (Glen Wilton, Va.). Turchin's extra point gave Emory & Henry a 10-point lead with 3:43 left to go in the first half.
After the break, Randolph-Macon got on the board with a 31-yard field goal by Josh Storm late in the third quarter after the Yellow Jackets went 45 yards on eight plays covering 3:53.
Emory & Henry answered immediately orchestrating a 10-play 85-yard drive highlighted by three receptions by freshman wide receiver Sam Edmonds (Roanoke, Va.) for a total of 43 yards. Boden hooked-up with sophomore wide receiver Chad Williams (Elkton, Va.) for an 11-yard touchdown pass to make the score 17-3 with
The Yellow Jackets would not go down easily. R-MC quarterback Zac Naccarato put the offense on his shoulders, accounting for 45 of 80 yards on the ensuing drive including an eight-yard rush to close the gap to 17-10.
After forcing an Emory & Henry three-and-out, Randolph-Macon put together a 14-play 68-yard drive and looked to be going in for the score. E&H junior linebacker Ross Ellis (Abingdon, Va.) picked off Naccarato's pass at the four-yard line with nine seconds remaining in the game. The Wasps were able to kneel on the ball and come away with the victory.
Randolph-Macon led Emory & Henry in first downs (22-18), rushing yardage (174-26) total offense (397-294) and time of possession (33:44-26:16), but the Wasps took advantage of four interceptions, scoring 10 points off turnovers and sealing the victory with under 10 seconds to play.
Boden finished the day 33-for-42 passing with 268 yards and two touchdowns and added 22 yards on the ground. He found junior wideout Preston Jennings (Banner Elk, N.C.) 11 times for 50 yards while junior running back Adam Pugh (Norwalk, Ohio) caught five balls for 66 yards including a 35-yard long. Williams had five receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown while Ross had two catches for 12 yards and a score.
Naccarato was 18-for-26 passing for 223 yards but threw four interceptions in the loss. Thaddeus Scruggs rushed for 98 yards on 26 carries while Drake Sanders had 55 yards on 10 attempts. Vance Hendren led the Yellow Jackets' corps of receivers with four catches for 68 yards and Christian Cook had six receptions for 35 yards.
The Emory & Henry defensive unit was paced by junior linebacker Devan Sproles (Norton, Va.) with 11 tackles and two interceptions while sophomore defensive back Jason Hill (Hickory, N.C.) had 10 stops. Junior defensive back Tyler Houk (Galax, Va.) and senior defensive end Daniel Preston (Kingsport, Tenn.) recorded eight and seven talks respectively while Ellis and sophomore linebacker J.T. Jacobs (Goode, Va.) each had an interception.
David Fetter led the Yellow Jackets' defense with eight tackles including one for loss and an interception while Akeem Hardy had eight stops as well. Andrew Leonard and Abel Simpson both recorded seven tackles on the day.
Emory & Henry will return home to face Washington and Lee University next Saturday. The Wasps and the Generals will hit the gridiron at 1:00 p.m.
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