WINCHESTER, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (6-3, 4-2 ODAC) assured itself of a winning season with a 54-21 throttling of Shenandoah University (4-5, 1-5 ODAC) Saturday afternoon at Sprint Field at Shentel Stadium. E&H's 54 points and 33-point margin of victory is the best since it topped Ferrum by a 48-point (55-7) margin to open the season.
The Wasps' offense put on a clinic with 631 yards of total offense - including 301 rushing yards. The 631 yards of offense are the most since E&H put up a record 667 yards against Samford in 1987 and 301 yards on the ground is the most since 2009 when Emory & Henry ran for 302 yards. The 631 yards rank fourth all-time for E&H.
Emory & Henry's 47 points and 449 yards of offense in the first half by Emory & Henry is the most in over 20 years. It is also the first time the Wasps have scored over 40 points in the first half since hanging 41 on Catholic last year on Homecoming weekend.
E&H got out to a 26-7 lead after the first 15 minutes of play. A 41-yard interception return by senior linebacker Rennel Marshall (Rustburg, Va.) set up first-and-one for freshman running back Sam Wagner (Marion, Va.) to put E&H up, 7-0.
The Wasps added three more first-quarter touchdowns for a 26-0 lead. Sophomore running back Chris Thompson (Blue Ridge, Va.) went in from four yards out, redshirt freshman wide receiver Tyree Ward (Statesville, N.C.) had a an 80-yard catch and run and a 28-yard fumble return by freshman defensive lineman Davon Keith (Columbia, S.C.) put E&H in the driver's seat for the rest of the afternoon.
Shenandoah got on the board when Jalen Hudson flipped a kickoff return to Cedrick Delaney, who ran around the left side 82 yards to the end zone for the 26-7 score at the end of the first quarter.
Emory & Henry pushed its lead back to 26 (33-7) on the next drive, capped off by a nine-yard run by sophomore running back Isaiah Rodgers (Canton, Ga.) for the touchdown. The Wasps reached the 40-point mark when sophomore quarterback Kevin Saxton (Monroe, N.C.) found Ward for his second score of the day with 4:46 to go in the half. E&H made it 47-7 at the half thanks to a 10-yard rush by Rodgers, earning his second touchdown of the afternoon.
The third quarter was scoreless, but Shenandoah's offense finally found some life. A five-yard touchdown catch by Qlyl Meddelijn with 12:53 to play made the score 47-14 after a 12-play, 80-yard drive.
Emory & Henry wet back on the attack, chewing up 4:09 of time on its 79-yard drive. Saxton connected with senior wideout Jake Hess (Abingdon, Va.) with a one-yard pass for the score.
SU capped the scoring with a nine-yard pass to Miles Green from Hayden Bauserman for the final 54-21 margin.
Saxton was 18-for-28 passing for 294 yards and three touchdowns while redshirt freshman quarterback Dominic Dunnaville (Roanoke, Va.) added 36 passing yards. Ward completed the afternoon with three catches for 103 yards and two scores while Hess had five catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Eight different receivers caught passes for E&H as sophomore Nick Webb (Troutville, Va.) had game-high six receptions for 55 yards. Thompson led all players with 129 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 15 carries. Rodgers ran for two scores and 87 yards while Wagner had a personal-best 63 yards and a score.
Defensively for the Wasps, freshman defensive back Zeke Vance (Pounding Mill, Va.) had nine tackles and two passes defended while junior linebacker Rasheen Williams (Charlotte, N.C.) added six tackles and sophomore defensive back Carter Harlow (Bristol, Va.) notched five stops and two pass break-ups. Marshall and Keith added three and two tackles, respectively, to go along with their takeaways.
Shenandoah managed just 51 yards of offense in the first half, but ended up getting things going in the final 30 minutes of play. Bauserman threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns on 20-for-38 passing while Delaney added 81 rushing yards to his kickoff return score. Bauserman hit eight different receivers on the afternoon, led by Green with three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Leonard Scott had four catches for 34 yards as well. Michael Messick once again paced the SU defense, this time with 14 tackles, while Gladimir Dupalis and Cedrick Bridges added nine and eight stops, respectively.
Emory & Henry will play its season finale next Saturday when it faces Guilford College at the Armfield Athletic Center at 1:00 p.m. With a win against the Quakers, the Wasps will solidify a tie for second place in the ODAC.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15