CHAVIS MARTIN | AVERETT | DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Martin, a senior from Martinsville, Va., was a force on the interior of Averett's defensive line to help the Cougars post their first ODAC win of the season with a 21-14 home victory over Guilford on Saturday afternoon. Martin helped limit Guilford to just 57 yards rushing on 31 carries for 1.8 per rush. But his most poignant contributions came in pass defense. Martin made four tackles with three of them going for sacks that cost the Quakers 14 yards of offense. His first two came on back-to-back plays in the second quarter when he set Guilford back from its own 28-yard line on second down to its 16-yard line and a punt with the ensuing possession turning into AU's second touchdown for a 14-7 lead. He posted third sack later in the quarter, forcing GC into a third-and-long that eventually became a punt just before halftime. Martin forced another punt in the third quarter with a batted down pass at the line with AU leading 21-14 midway through the frame. For the season, Martin has made 43 stops with 24 solo tackles. He is second in the ODAC with 10.0 tackles for a loss that have cost offenses 41 yards. His 5.0 sacks are also second in the conference.

CONNOR CREECH | HAMPDEN-SYDNEY | QUARTERBACK
Creech, a junior from Winston-Salem, N.C., stayed red hot in helping lead the Hampden-Sydney offense to seven touchdowns on the way to a 54-0 away shutout at Bridgewater on Saturday afternoon. Creech matched his career-high with four touchdown passes for the second straight week, all of which came in the first half. He was 20-of-26 passing (76.9%) for a career-best 291 yards without an interception. Creech connected with five different receivers with three catching touchdown passes. He hooked up with Max Nitti (8 for 141) on two of those scoring throws with Manning Lasso (6 for 101) and Kam Mahoney (4 for 36) snaring one each. Those TD passes accounted for four of H-SC's first five touchdowns. For the season, Creech is 107-of-164 (65.2%) for 1,371 yards and 15 touchdowns against six interceptions. He has also run for 185 yards and seven more TDs in his eight games played.

TANNER KRUG | WASHINGTON AND LEE | EDGE
Krug, a first-year from Dallas, Texas, had a massive final drive for Washington and Lee's defense and special teams as he helped the Generals hang on for a 17-14 home win over Shenandoah on Saturday afternoon. Washington and Lee led 17-0 early in the third quarter, but two touchdowns by the Hornets later in that frame put the game on a knife's edge. Shenandoah had the last possession of the game and put together a potential game-tying drive. Krug, who had three stops on the day, registered two sacks on that final possession to make matters more challenging for the visitors. His first came on the second play that cost SU five yards and put them on their own 3-yard line. The Hornets got out of trouble and seemed set for a manageable field goal try to at least tie the game, but Krug came up with his second sack for a loss of six yards back to midfield with the clock ticking down. Two spikes and one play later, SU attempted a 49-yard field goal. For the second time this season, Krug got his hands on a kick and blocked the would-be game-tying boot as time expired to seal Washington and Lee's victory. For the season, Krug has registered 19 tackles (7 solo) with 3.0 sacks, each of which has come in the last two weeks.

• GENERAL NOTES
  • Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon will play for the ODAC title next Saturday in the 131st playing of “The Game” as the longest small college football rivalry in the South.
  • Next week's contest will mark the 1st time since 2013 that the result of the game will have a bearing on the league trophy for both teams; H-SC won that game to improve to 6-1 and win the title with RMC finishing at 5-2.
  • H-SC has scored 30 or more points in all but one game this season with Saturday's 54-point total the Tigers' 4th game of more than 40 points.
  • H-SC has now won 8 games in a row following its season-opening loss (29-20) at Wabash College.
• OFFENSE
  • Averett QB Brandon Saunders turned into an effective receiver for new QB Keagan Reid as he caught 4 passes for 53 yards and 2 TDs; Reid threw for 273 yards and 3 TDs.
  • Hampden-Sydney's offense was both prolific – 553 yards – and time consuming – 35:25-to-24:35 TOP advantage; RB Terry Hicks ran for 135 yards and a score on 19 carries to increase his Division III-best rushing yardage total to 1,396, 36 more that Nate Wrublik from Monmouth (Ill.); Hicks' 1,396 yards is the most for an ODAC rusher since Ferrum's Brian Mann ran for 1,605 yards in 2018, the 5th-most in ODAC history; WR's Max Nitti (68 for 141, 2 TD) and Manning Lasso (6 for 101, 1 TD) each cracked 100 yards receiving.
  • Randolph-Macon's rushing attack was dominant against Roanoke with 349 yards and 5 TDs and was the main reason behind RMC's 38:39-to-21:21 advantage in time of possession; RB Devin Bryant (21 for 112, 2 TD) posted his 1st career 100-yard rushing day.
  • Shenandoah's offense nearly held the ball for 40 minutes (39:42) at W&L; QB Mekhi Brown completed 34 passes – 1 fewer than his ODAC season-high – for 287 yards and 2 TDs with WR Roge'T Walker catching 11 passes, the 2nd-most in the ODAC in a game this season; RB Aidan McCloskey ran for 100 yards on 18 carries.
  • Washington and Lee ran for 273 yards with RB Ryan Clemens rushing 23 times for 115 yards and QB Ty Collins running 7 times for 94 yards.
• DEFENSE
  • Bridgewater LB Oscar Whitely posted 16 tackles (9 solo); he is 2nd in the ODAC and 3rd in Division III in total stops (112) and 1st in the ODAC and 2nd in D-III in solo tackles (64).
  • Guilford LB Simeon Reid made 12 stops including 2.0 TFLs with a QB hurry at AU.
  • Hampden-Sydney's defense put together a team-effort in limiting the Eagles to just 158 yards of total offense on 54 plays (2.9/play) in posting the program's 1st shutout since blanking Guilford, 31-0, in Week 4 of 2024.
  • Randolph-Macon's defense forced 3 turnovers with 2 INTs (Jacob Kyger, Christian Daniel) and a fumble forced by Devyn Simmons that Khamari Veney recovered.
  • Roanoke LB Connor Cox made 12 stops (6 solo) with 2.5 for loss.
  • Washington and Lee LB Brennan Stout posted an ODAC weekly-high 19 tops (5 solo) to increase his Division III-leading total to 122.
• SPECIAL TEAMS
  • Bridgewater P Aiden Grefe punted 7 times for a 37.3 average with an ODAC season-best 70-yard boot.
  • Hampden-Sydney kicker Hank Webb made field goals of 25 and 31 yards and was 6-of-6 on PATs for 12 points.
  • Roanoke P Zach Nicklas punted 3 times for a 39.3 average with a long of 58.
  • Washington and Lee P Fulton Weaver punted 3 times for a 45.7 average including a final punt of 55 yards that was downed at the SU 4-yard line to begin the Hornets' final drive.