EMORY, Va. – The Bridgewater College Football Team (4-4, 1-4 ODAC) got its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference win of the year Saturday afternoon as it defeated Emory & Henry College (4-4, 1-4 ODAC) by a 34-17 score at Fred Selfe Stadium. The game also served as Senior Day for the Wasps, who honored its 21 seniors who are completing their education this year.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff into E&H territory and then drove 41 yards in six plays for a 7-0 lead. Willie Logan found Nick Wimer with a 12-yard touchdown pass to cap the possession. Four plays into Emory & Henry's first chance of the game, the game was delayed due to lightning in the vicinity.
After play resumed, the Wasps were forced to punt. The two squads traded punts and Bridgewater got the ball back with 5:25 to go in the opening quarter. BC then burned 4:26 off the clock as they went in for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Logan had a 29-yard pass to Anthony Church that highlighted the drive.
Bridgewater extended the lead to 21-0 when Logan connected with a streaking Cliff Woodard with a 52-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive.
Emory & Henry got on the board with 2:18 to go before the half on a 23-yard field goal by junior Austin Breed (Atlanta, Ga.). The Eagles pushed their advantage back to three touchdowns with a 46-yard field goal by Chandler DeHaven as time expired in the half.
E&H had to punt on their opening drive but forced a three-and-out by Bridgewater. The Wasps blocked the punt and found themselves at the one yardline with first and goal. Redshirt freshman Jonathan Turpin (Wytheville, Va.) plunged in for the score to close the gap to 24-10 with 9:32 on the clock.
On the ensuing drive, Bridgewater went 74 yards in seven plays to push their advantage to 31-10. Logan had his second long scoring pass of the game, this time finding Cassidy Burns down the right sideline for the touchdown.
The Eagles forced the Wasps to punt and went back on the attack, chewing up over six-and-a-half minutes of clock on an 11-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a 24-yard field goal by DeHaven.
Emory & Henry closed the gap to the final 34-17 margin on its next possession. Senior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) went four-for-five on the drive including a 68-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Lucas Kirby (Covington, Va.).
The Wasps got inside the Eagles 10 yardline on their final two drives of the game but turned the ball over on downs, as they were unable to close the margin.
Logan led Bridgewater with 291 passing yard and three touchdowns while adding nine rushing yards and a score on the ground. Jacob Wright had 60 rushing yards while Wimmer caught five passes for 70 yards and was one of eight Eagles to have a reception in the game. Andrew Palmer led the defense with 11 tackles, including two for a loss while Sammy Coleman had six stops. Jack Wecker and Sonny Romine each had interceptions.
Emory & Henry was led by offensively by Boden's 20-for-40 day for 241 yards, but fell victim to two interceptions. Boden added 32 rushing yards while junior running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) paced E&H with 38 yards. Senior Cleo Cooper (Raleigh, N.C.) had four catches for 49 yards while Kirby made the most of his one reception, going 68 yards for the score.
Sophomore linebacker David Crouch (Hudson, N.C.) had a team-high 10 tackles including one for a loss. Junior linebacker Paul Forney (Newton, N.C.) and senior defensive end Scott Hill (Jefferson, Ga.) tallied eight and six stops, respectively.
E&H will make its first-ever trip to Winchester, Virginia next Saturday to take on Shenandoah University in an ODAC game. Kickoff between the Wasps and Hornets is set for 1:00 p.m.
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