EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (1-1) got its first win of the 2016 season with a 28-14 victory over visiting Brevard College (0-2). While the Battle at Bristol will dominate the college football world in primetime, Saturday afternoon's contest at Fred Selfe Stadium gave fans plenty to be excited about.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 28, Brevard 14
LOCATION – Emory, Va. – Fred Selfe Stadium
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (1-1, 0-0 ODAC); Brevard (0-2, 0-0 SAC)
How It Happened
- E&H the scoring started at the 3:06 mark of the first quarter as freshman running back Kendrick Kube (Culpeper, Va.) went 58 yards over the left side for a touchdown.
- Emory & Henry's defense held strong on fourth down to put a 13-play, 42-yard drive to a halt with 6:12 to go before the break.
- The Wasps doubled their lead on the next possession on a 10-yard reception by sophomore receiver Jesse Santiago (Yorktown, Va.) from junior quarterback Kevin Saxton (Monroe, N.C.).
- After an interception halted E&H's first drive of the second half, BC went on the attack with a 44-yard touchdown run by Karris Johnson to make the score 14-7.
- Following four straight punts, the Wasps got the ball close to midfield and pushed their advantage back to 14 (21-7) points thanks to a second touchdown reception by Santiago, this time a 38-yarder.
- Brevard showed versatility in moving away from its triple option offense and went to the air under quarterback Bubba Craven. Craven hooked up with Bobby Clerisier for a 42-yard touchdown to close the gap to 21-14 with 13:01 remaining in the contest.
- Another fumble by the Tornado offense with 2:19 to go set in motion the game-clinching strike for the Wasps. Sophomore running back Sam Wagner (Marion, Va.) rumbled over the right side from 54 yards out on the first play of the drive, giving E&H a 28-14 lead.
- A pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties backed Emory & Henry up on the ensuing kickoff and gave Brevard the ball at the Wasp 41 with 1:58 remaining. Though BC got a big play on first down, a loss of 14 yards brought up 4th-and-24 and a turnover on downs thereby allowing E&H to run out the clock for the win.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Wagner ran for a career-high 136 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown to lead all players.
- Kube also had a career high with 78 yards and his 58-yard score while junior Isaiah Rodgers (Canton, Ga.) added 74 rushing yards.
- Saxton threw for two touchdowns on 19-for-27 passing with 205 yards, connecting with nine different receivers on the day.
- Jesse Santiago caught seven balls for 115 yards and two scores, adding a key block on Wagner's touchdown run.
- Sophomore Chris Gannon (Alexandria, Va.) had four receptions for 30 yards while senior A.J. Hampton (Roanoke, Va.) notched three receptions for 31 yards.
- Freshman placekicker Matt Seals (Rogersville, Tenn.) converted all four of his point-after attempts.
- Senior linebacker Rhasheen Williams (Charlotte, N.C.) had nine tackles including a sack for 10 yards while sophomore defensive backs Jaylyn Johnson (Roanoke, Va.) and Zeke Vance (Pounding Mill, Va.) added nine stops each.
Brevard Individual Leaders
- Karris Johnson rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown while Jarkevius Hopkins added 121 yards.
- Craven finished the day three-for-five passing after entering the game in the second half for 83 yards and a score.
- Clerisier had the Tornados' receiving touchdown, a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter.
- Jinsly John posted a game-high 11 tackles while Ashud Moore made eight stops, forced a fumble and broke up a pass.
- Amir Williams added a 28-yard interception return to his four tackles while Matthew Parce recovered a fumble.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry held a 496-398 advantage in yards of total offense despite Brevard racking up 315 rushing yards with their triple option. The Wasps had 268 yards on the ground and 228 through the air.
- After only possessing the ball for 9:51 in the opening 30 minutes of play, E&H's time of possession was nearly even with Brevard's after the intermission.
- The Wasps won the turnover battle with three takeaways, scoring touchdowns on two of those possessions.
- BC converted six-of-15 third down attempts while E&H went four-of-11 on third down. The Wasps tallied 24 total first downs compared to 16 by the Tornados.
- Emory & Henry was penalized nine times for 85 yards but Brevard's seven infractions came at the cost of 98 yards.
Notable
- The contest was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
- The two schools do have a distant history, however, as E&H played Rutherford College – a precursor school to Brevard – in the late 1920's.
- Brevard is a member of NCAA Division II and the South Atlantic Conference but is in the process of transitioning to Division III and will be a member of the USA South Athletic Conference beginning in 2017.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry will travel to face one of its oldest rivals in Maryville (Tenn.) College next Saturday. Kickoff at Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium is set for 1:30 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Dave Grace