HAMPDEN SYDNEY, Va. – The Hampden-Sydney College Football Team (4-2, 1-1 ODAC) piled up 523 yards of total offense as it defeated Emory & Henry College (3-3, 0-3 ODAC), 47-17, in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Lewis C. Everett Stadium.
Emory & Henry got on the board with a touchdown on the first possession of the game. Junior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) found senior wide receiver Corey Ware (Buchanan, Va.) from 12 yards out to complete the 13-play, 70-yard drive.
The Tigers answered on their first possession to tie the contest at seven points apiece. A 23-yard completion from Nash Nance to Michael Mey set up first and goal for Hampden-Sydney. Two plays later, Nash connected with Holton Walter for the score.
On the first play of the second quarter, Max Antwerpes converted a 23-yard field goal to make the score 10-7 in favor of the Tigers. The Wasps got a field goal of their own to knot the score at 10 as senior Matt Turchin (Salisbury, N.C.) split the uprights from 26 yards out.
Another field goal by Antwerpes and a pair of touchdowns later in the second gave H-SC a 26-10 lead going into halftime. John Michael Sparagna reeled in a 15-yard pass for the Tigers' second touchdown of the game and Sidney Henry picked off a pass at the Emory & Henry 33 and returned it 67 yards to make the score 26-10 after the failed extra point by Antwerpes.
Hampden-Sydney pushed its lead to 33-10 coming out of the halftime break. The Tigers went 67 yards on five plays highlighted by a 43-yard rush by Regis Craft. Nance threw for his third score of the game, this time finding Jalen Wood for a 12-yard score.
E&H put an end to H-SC's 23 unanswered points after junior corner DeMikael Burse (Charlotte, N.C.) picked off a pass and returned it 45 yards to the Hampden-Sydney 30 yardline. On the Wasps' first play from scrimmage, a misdirection play saw junior wide receiver Chad Williams (Elkton, Va.) find sophomore running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) for a 25-yard touchdown with 9:53 remaining in the third quarter to cut the lead to 33-17.
The Tigers scored twice more to put the contest out of reach. Evan King rumbled in from six and one yards out, with the final score coming at the 11:03 mark in the fourth quarter to make the margin 47-17.
Hampden-Sydney put up 523 yards of total offense with 277 coming through the air and 264 on the ground. The Tigers held the ball for 35:30 of the contest and converted four-of-four fourth down attempts.
Nance went 23-for-44 with three touchdowns and an interception for 277 yards through the air while King had 101 yards rushing and two scores. Craft finished the contest with 94 rushing yards. Both Sparagna and Walker caught six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown for H-SC.
Offensively for Emory & Henry, Boden completed 16 of his 33 pass attempts for 120 yards and a touchdown to Ware, who caught a team-high seven passes for 66 yards. Vaughn had 98 yards rushing while Boden added 21 rushing yards of his own. As a team, the Wasps had 278 yards of total offense (133 rush, 145 pass).
Kenny Fryman led the Tigers' defense with 11 tackles including 3.5 for loss while John Moore had eight solo stops in the contest. Tyler Ikwild made six tackles and broke up a pass and Sean Clark had five tackles with 1.5 for loss. Henry had a 67-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The Emory & Henry defense was paced by freshman linebacker Rennel Marshall (Rustburg, Va.) with nine tackles while the trio of Burse and seniors Daniel Woods (Bristol, Va.) and Devan Sproles (Norton, Va.) had seven tackles each. Woods forced a fumble and Sproles had a tackle for loss and a pass break-up.
E&H will return to Fred Selfe Stadium next Saturday at 1:00 p.m., where it will take on The Catholic University of America in ODAC play. The contest will serve as the highlight of the Wasps' annual Homecoming celebration.
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