EMORY, Va. – The Washington and Lee University Football Team (3-2, 1-1 ODAC) rushed for 441 yards as it defeated Emory & Henry College (3-2, 0-2 ODAC) by a 21-17 score Saturday afternoon at Fred Selfe Stadium.
E&H got on the board first as it put together a nine-play 97-yard drive to open the game. Junior running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) rushed for 78 yards on the drive including a 63-yard dash down the left sideline that set up first and goal. He punched it in from a yard out three plays later for the 7-0 lead.
Washington and Lee closed the gap to 7-6 on the first drive of the second quarter with a seven-play 94-yard strike that took just 2:21 off the clock. Luke Terna had a 73-yard scamper for the score but Joe Beninati's point-after attempt was blocked.
After each team had a drive stalled and missed a field goal, Emory & Henry got the ball back with just 62 seconds to go before halftime. The Wasps struck down the field with senior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) completing key passes to senior wide receiver Cleo Cooper (Raleigh, N.C.) and junior Josh Smith (Radford, Va.). Boden, who went three-for-three through the air found junior Lucas Kirby (Covington, Va.) for a seven-yard touchdown and a 14-6 halftime score.
On the first drive of the second half, W&L went straight down the field 80 yards in 10 plays. Terna had rushes of 17 and 16 yards to highlight the drive to set up Nick Lombardo's eight-yard rush for the touchdown to make the score 14-12.
After Emory & Henry missed another field goal, Washington and Lee went down the field and got a 25-yard field goal from Matt Underhill for a 15-14 lead with 2:17 left in the third quarter. Lombardo rushed for 51 yards on three attempts to set up the field goal.
The Wasps regained the lead, 17-15 at the 11:16 mark of the fourth quarter as junior placekicker Austin Breed (Atlanta, Ga.) converted a 26-yard field goal. The score capped a 13-play 72-yard drive that took 6:01 off the clock.
On the next possession, the Generals drained 7:21 off the clock with a 16-play 82-yard drive. Lombardo put W&L on his back as he accounted for 63 yards on the ground and through the air. Marshall Hollerith plunged in with a two-yard run to put Washington and Lee for the 21-17 lead.
Emory & Henry got the ball back with 3:55 to go in the game. Boden completed a pair of key passes to get into W&L territory but was intercepted on his attempt to find Kirby inside the Generals' 25 yardline.
Washington and Lee was able to run out the clock and preserve the 21-17 victory.
W&L had 463 yards of total offense and gained 23 first downs in the game while E&H had 428 yards of offense and 16 first downs. Both teams were nine-for-15 on third down but missed field goals proved to be the undoing of the Wasps.
Terna had 169 yards rushing and a touchdown while Lombardo rushed for 140 yards and a score and passed for 22 more. Hollerith had 110 yards on the ground as well for the Generals. Defensively, Matt Palicz made 10 tackles while Mitchell Thompson had eight stops in the game.
Emory & Henry was paced by Vaughn's 109 yards on the ground. Boden had 278 yards on 24-for-31 passing while Cooper had 106 receiving yards on five catches. Senior safety Jason Hill (Hickory, N.C.) and junior safety Roth Healy (Easton, Pa.) each had 10 tackles in the game while senior defensive lineman Scott Hill (Jefferson, Ga.) notched nine tackles and returned a fumble 11 yards.
The Wasps will host the Tigers of Hampden-Sydney College next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The contest will serve as the highlight of Emory & Henry's annual Homecoming celebration.
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