Tigers Win ODAC Title, Head to NCAA's
Grind out Victory through Mud at R-MC
ASHLAND, Va. --- The 115th edition
of "The Game" was more like a mud bowl following days of rain
throughout the Commonwealth, but that didn't stop Hampden-Sydney
College from finish the regular season undefeated with a 34-27 win
at Randolph-Macon College. The victory secured the Tigers
their sixth ODAC title and cemented a place for them in the NCAA
Division III Tournament through the league's automatic
qualifier.
The tournament, which features 32 teams from around the nation,
begins next weekend with 16 first round matchups. The event
concludes on Saturday, December 19, with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl
in Salem, Virginia. The bracket and first round pairings will
be announced at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 15, on ESPNews.
Big plays and lofty stats filled the stat sheets in Ashland on
Saturday despite the field conditions. The biggest came from
H-SC return man Steven Fogleman. Following a touchdown run
from R-MC's Thaddeus Scruggs that put the Yellow Jackets ahead
27-26, Fogleman darted 90 yards with the ensuing kick-off to
provide the game's final and decisive score with 12:47 showing on
the fourth quarter clock.
The two foes combined for 629 yards of total offense, most of which
came through the air for both teams. Randolph-Macon wide
receiver, Earl Peoples, had the best individual offensive day with
15 catches for 199 yards and a touchdown. Defensively,
Hampden-Sydney safety Trevor Ikwild led all players with 13 tackles
while lineman Will Riggenbach made nine stops that included three
quarterback sacks.
The Yellow Jackets opened the game's scoring late in the first
quarter. Akeem Hardy intercepted H-SC quarterback, Corey
Sedlar, at the Tigers' 11-yard line and returned seven yards to the
four. After two runs resulted in a loss of a yard,
quarterback Austin Faulkner hit Dwayne Jenkins for the five-yard
score for a 7-0 R-MC lead.
It took only 34-seconds for the Tigers to respond. Starting
from his 32-yard line, Sedlar hit receivers Adam Gillette and
Andrew Bruckner with 15 and 18-yard completions to the
Randolph-Macon 35-yard line. Gillette hauled in his second
pass of the drive on the next play, covering the remaining R-MC
turf for the first of three Sedlar touchdown passes with 0:44
seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Randolph-Macon continued the one-upsmanship by retaking the lead on
its ensuing possession. Faulkner and Peoples capped a
nine-play 54-yard drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass to put the
home side ahead, 14-7, at the 10:51 mark.
Following two unproductive possessions from both teams,
Hampden-Sydney evened the count with 3:00 minutes left in the
half. Sedlar completed all four of his passes covering a
53-yard drive, including a six-yard scoring toss to Craig Warnement
for the leveling score.
H-SC added a rushing touchdown before the half, setup by an
interception by Bill Doody at the Tigers' 37-yard line.
Sedlar took advantage of the extra opportunity, connecting on
passes of 18 yards to Gillette and 42 yards to Kyle Vance.
Running back Kirk Rohle took care of the remaining three yards for
the touchdown, but a blocked extra point sent the game to the
intermission with H-SC leading, 20-14.
R-MC took the kickoff in the second-half and ate up just under
eight minutes, driving 76 yards on 15 plays, tying the score at
20-20 on a one-yard plunge by Thaddeus Scruggs. The point
after attempt would be no good, leaving the game knotted.
The score remained that way until nine seconds left in the third
stanza when Sedlar found Kirk Rohle on a screen pass for a 250-ard
touchdown to put H-SC back out in front 26-20 after its point after
attempt was no good.
Randolph-Macon responded on its next possession, going 60 yards in
six plays to push ahead, 27-26, on a 10-yard scamper by Scruggs
with 13:02 to play.
