ASHLAND, Va. – The Randolph-Macon College Football Team (3-1, 1-0 ODAC) opened Old Dominion Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon with a 45-20 victory over visiting Emory & Henry College at Day Field.
The Yellow Jackets got on the board at the 13:33 mark of the first quarter when Tom Buchanan recovered a fumble and took it 30-yards for the touchdown.
E&H tied things up later in the first quarter when redshirt freshman fullback Jonathan Turpin (Wytheville, Va.) punched it in from a yard out to make the score 7-7.
R-MC got the lead back with 17 points in the second quarter. Colin McFadden kicked a 27-yard field to start things off and John Byrd had a one-yard rush for a touchdown to put the Yellow Jackets up 17-7.
The Wasps closed the gap to 17-14 when senior wide receiver Chad Williams (Elkton, Va.) caught a 15-yard pass from senior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.). Randolph-Macon got a touchdown just before halftime to extend the lead to 10 points when Zac Naccarato found Christian Cook with a 39-yard pass for the score.
In the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets added a pair of touchdowns for a 38-14 lead. Mike Doe caught a 56-yard pass from Naccarato and Will McGhee had a four-yard rush for a score.
Emory & Henry got its lone score of the second half with 9:11 to go in the game. Senior tight end Kenton Williams (Madison, Ind.) caught a one-yard pass from junior running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.). The drive covered 63 yards on 11 plays and drained 5:06 off the clock and was the Wasps'second-longest drive of the game. Boden's two-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 38-20.
Randolph-Macon got the final score of the game with 6:45 remaining. After recovering an E&H fumble at in the shadows of their own goalposts, McGhee broke a 99-yard touchdown run for the final 45-20 margin.
The Yellow Jackets had 549 yards of total offense compared to just 294 for the Wasps. Naccarato went 13-for-18 for 187 yards and two touchdowns. McGhee rushed 28 times for 218 yards and a pair of scores while Cook and Doe each had 79 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Defensively for R-MC, Abel Simpson had 10 tackles while Eric Long made seven stops with one tackle for loss, two pass breakups and a forced and recovered fumble. Buchanan finished the day with three tackles including two for loss to go along with his fumble recovered for a touchdown.
Boden paced the Emory & Henry offense with 223 yards on 23-for-37 passing and a touchdown. Vaughn rushed for 42 yards while junior running back Kasey Jones (Jacksonville, Fla.) had 25 yards on four carries. Williams caught five passes for 75 yards and a touchdown while junior wideout Lucas Kirby (Covington, Va.) and sophomore Josh Smith (Radford, Va.) had 51 and 48 receiving yards, respectively.
The Wasps' defense was led by junior linebacker Paul Forney (Newton, N.C.) with nine tackles, an interception and another pass defended. Sophomore corner Ryan Byrd (Grottoes, Va.) made seven stops while senior corner Anthony Jones (Bristol, Va.) had six tackles including one for loss.
Emory & Henry will return home next Saturday for an ODAC contest with Washington and Lee University at Fred Selfe Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
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