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Football

Washington and Lee Defeats Lycoming to Claim the Cape Charles Bowl Trophy

Generals' Win for Second Time in Three-Year History of Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- The Washington and Lee University football program closed the 2025 season with a 14-12 victory at Lycoming College in the Cape Charles Bowl on David Person Field at Girardi Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Washington and Lee (7-4) took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter when Ryan Clemens capped a 17-play 75-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. This was the first possession of the game for either team and covered 8:18 of the opening frame.
  • After the Generals' second drive ended on downs at the Warriors' 40-yard line, Clemens again put the finishing touch on a long W&L possession. His 4-yard burst put the Generals ahead, 14-0, with 9:13 to go in the second quarter. It ended a 12-play 83-yard drive that accounted for 5:47 of game time.
  • The Generals' defense forced Lycoming into a pair of punts and then a turnover on downs on its first three drives before the Warriors moved the scoreboard.
  • Quarterback Joe Lyons hit receiver Karson Kline with a 7-yard scoring pass, but the Lyco kicker missed the extra-point, leaving the Generals with a 14-6 lead with 1:11 to go before halftime.
  • Twice the Generals' defense came up with big plays to end Lycoming drives in W&L territory. In the third quarter, Parker Maynard stopped the Warriors at the Generals' 24-yard with the first of his two interceptions on the day.
  • At the outset of the fourth quarter, it was Jack Johnson that stalled Lycoming's offense, intercepting Lyons at the W&L 9-yard line with 10:31 on the clock.
  • The score did not change for 27:51 of game time before the Warriors registered their second touchdown with 3:20 to play. Lyons and Kline connected for a second time, this time on a 15-yard scoring play to pull Lycoming to within two at 14-12.
  • The Warriors went for two-points to try to tie the game, but Lyons' pass was intercepted by Parker Maynard to preserve the Generals' advantage.
  • WLU took over possession with 3:15 to play and ran 2:15 off the clock before Lycoming took over for the final time at its own 15-yard line with just a minute to play.
  • The Warriors managed a first down on their first play, a 23-yard pass to Brendan Clark - head coach Mike Clark's on - before the Generals' defense stiffened.
  • On 4th-and-10, defensive lineman Will Knight effectively ended the contest with a sack of Lyons.
  • The Generals knelt down once in victory formation to run out the clock.
W&L GAME NOTES
  • Washington and Lee is now 2-1 in three appearances in the Chesapeake Challenge.
  • The Generals lost the inaugural Cape Charles Bowl to Lycoming, 20-17, in 2023 in Lexington. That outing also served as the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between the two schools.
  • Last season, the Generals won the Cape Henry Bowl with a 40-21 triumph over Wilkes University in Salem Stadium. Both 2024 bowl games were competed in the historic Salem, Virginia-based facility that previously hosted 25 consecutive Stagg Bowls -- the Division III Football Championship title game -- as well as the 50th Stagg Bowl in 2023.
  • The Generals close their season at 7-4 overall and carry this victory into next season's schedule as W&L will try to start a new winning streak with its first game in 2026.
  • Washington and Lee ran for 337 yards on Saturday, out-gaining the Warriors by 290 yards on the ground.
  • Overall, the Generals ran 73 plays for 361 yards of offense and enjoyed a 36:24-23:36 advantage in time of possession.
LYCO GAME NOTES
  • Lycoming ends its 2025 campaign at 5-6 overall.
  • The Warriors are now 1-1 in two Chesapeake Challenge appearances, adding this result to their 20-17 win at Washington and Lee in the 2023 Cape Charles Bowl.
  • LYCO threw for 238 yards on 18-of-35 passing, but two interceptions thwarted some of the Warriors' efforts.
TOP PERFORMERS
  • Clemens exploded for a game-high 188 yards to go with his two touchdowns. The first-year back from Doylestown ends the season with 1,086 yards and 10 touchdowns on 159 carries. Over the final five games of the season, Clemens went over 100 yards each time including a career-best 223-yard effort in a win over Roanoke. He amassed 899 yards over that stretch of games.
  • Michael Schoenberg ran for 66 yards on 15 carries, and Josh Garcia added 49 yards on seven rushes.
  • Linebacker Brennan Stout led the W&L defense with 13 tackles. Knight made four stops including his game-ending sack, while Cameron Sheppard also registered a quarterback sack.