UVa. loses wild one at Duke
Virginia got 649 yards of total offense, but the defense could not stop Duke in a wild fourth quarter that saw the Blue Devils score last on a 35-yard touchdown run by Desmond Scott en route to a 55-48 Duke win on Saturday.
Keith Payne scored from six yards out with 2:26 to go to cap a fourth-quarter UVa. rally that turned a 47-35 deficit into a 48-47 ‘Hoos lead. But Duke (3-6, 1-4 ACC) moved the ball 91 yards on 10 plays, getting a conversion on a fourth-and-18 pass from Sean Renfree to Donovan Varner before Scott ran almost untouched on a pitch play down the left sideline with 40 seconds left.
Marc Verica drove Virginia (4-5, 1-4 ACC) to the Duke 40 before throwing an incomplete pass into the Duke end zone on the game’s final play.
Verica threw for a school-record 417 yards and had four touchdown passes, but also threw three interceptions, which the Blue Devils converted into 16 points.
Richmond sends JMU to fourth straight defeat
Sophomore Wil Kamin drilled a 20-yard field goal in overtime to lift No. 20 Richmond past No. 22 James Madison, 13-10, at a sold-out Robins Stadium Saturday in yet another thriller between CAA Football rivals.
The victory was the Spiders (5-4, 3-3) second-straight over the Dukes (4-5, 1-5), kept Richmond’s playoff hopes alive, gave the home team a win in the series for the first time since 2003 and was Richmond’s first home win over JMU since 2002.
Although Saturday marked the first overtime decision in the 28-game all-time series between the rivals, six of the last seven have been one-score decisions and four-consecutive have been decided either in the final minute or overtime.
After Richmond won the overtime coin toss, the defense imposed its will on James Madison by halting RB Jamal Sullivan for no gain on first down, dropping QB Drew Dudzik for a one-yard loss on second down, and following a delay of game penalty, Dudzik was sacked by Tyler Sullivan for a 14-yard loss. The Dukes’ fourth-and-30 play came up short and Richmond took over on downs.
That’s when senior RB Tyler Kirchoff went to work, chewing off four-consecutive positive gains of six, eight, one and seven yards to set the stage for Kamin. The sophomore, who had connected on an 18-yarder to tie the game at 10-10 midway through the third, drilled the winner from 20 yards.
Kamin has converted the first nine field goals of his career (all this season).
Kirchoff finished the day with 72 of Richmond’s 85 rushing yards on 15 carries, while sophomore QB John Laub, who became the third different Spider QB to engineer a game-winning drive this season, was 15-of-29 passing for 176 yards, a TD and two interceptions in his first college start.
Senior LB Eric McBride tied his career with 18 tackles, fellow senior LB Patrick Weldon established a new career-high with 16 stops and sophomore LB Darius McMillan’s 14 tackles were a career-high.
Sullivan got the scoring started for the visiting Dukes with a 12-yard TD run with 2:47 left in the first quarter and the running back finished with 137 yards rushing on 25 carries.
But Laub, who has not played since the second game of the season while recovering from a wrist injury, finally shook the rust off midway through the second quarter as he hooked up with junior Tre Gray for his first career TD pass – 41-yards – which came one play after McBride picked off a Dudzik pass.
James Madison capitalized on the ensuing drive when Richmond muffed a punt, which was recovered by the Dukes in Richmond territory. The defense limited the damage to a field goal – 21-yards by Dixon Wright with 2:31 left – and JMU took a 13-10 advantage into halftime.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Richmond marched 83 yards in 15 plays, consuming 8:59 off the clock and tying the game with Kamin’s 18-yard field goal.
Laub moved the sticks on three clutch third-down throws to keep the drive alive, hitting Gray for 11 yards on third-and-six, finding Donte Boston for 17 yards on third-and-eight and connecting with Gray again for 14 yards on third-and-13.
A three-time All-America pick, CB Justin Rogers set the CAA Football career record for kickoff return yards in the game, and got into the offensive mix as the versatile senior threw an 11-yard pass to TE Kevin Finney on a reverse option to put the ball at the one. Richmond couldn’t punch it in and settled for Kamin’s kick.
Gray reeled in five catches for 86 yards and his 10th career TD, while Finney had a career day with four grabs for 45 yards. Boston, seeing his first action since a rib injury sidelined him in Week 2, caught three balls for 28 yards.
Coastal Carolina dominates VMI
Zach MacDowall threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, and the visiting Coastal Carolina Chanticleers scored 31 unanswered points en route to a 31-3 win over the VMI Keydets, Saturday afternoon in Big South football action at Foster Stadium in Lexington, Va.
The Keydets got on the board first Saturday, but the Chanticleers responded with seven points in the first quarter, 10 in the second and a touchdown each in the third and fourth. The Coastal Carolina defense held VMI to 199 total yards with just 125 of those yards coming after the first quarter. VMI mustered just one drive all day that gained more than 40 yards.
VMI’s final home game of the season opened on a cool, blustery day, and began with the home team forcing a punt on Coastal’s opening drive. The Keydets made steady progress down the field on their opening possession, but freshman quarterback Eric Kordenbrock was intercepted on a fade pass to the near sideline. Josh Norman picked off the pass, giving Coastal the ball for the second time.
The visiting Chants could not take advantage, and VMI responded with a 10-play, 39-yard drive to take the lead. Kordenbrock completed his first three passes to move the Keydets into position, and Jeff Sexton capped the push with a 22-yard field goal to give the home team the lead, 3-0, with 5:14 left in the first.
Coastal (4-5, 3-1 BSC) responded with the first of two lengthy drives, a nine-play, 74-yard effort to snatch the edge right back. MacDowall went five for five, and in fact, that began a stretch of 16 consecutive completions for the CCU quarterback. He capped this drive with a 15-yard strike to Marquel Willis, and with under a minute left in the first quarter, Coastal had a 7-3 lead.
After an exchange of punts, VMI’s Marc Ray pinned Coastal on its own 1-yard line, forcing them to come out of their own endzone. The Chanticleers responded decisively, marching 99 yards in just seven plays, keyed by a 53-yard strike to receiver Ben Collins. It was just Collins’ second career catch, and led to the touchdown play as MacDowall hooked up with Willis from 18 yards out, giving the visitors a 14-3 edge with 5:03 left in the half.
The Coastal defense forced yet another punt, giving them the ball back on the Keydet 31 yard line. This time, the VMI defense held and Justin Durham kicked a 23-yard field goal, pushing the CCU lead out to 17-3, which would be the score going into the half.
MacDowall was the story of the first half, as the quarterback went 14 of 16 for 191 yards and two scores. The Chanticleers also outgained VMI 226-126 in the opening two quarters.
The second half got underway with another VMI punt, as the Keydets had gained just two first downs since the opening period, and Coastal marched 79 yards in seven plays for a touchdown. MacDowall capped the effort with a two-yard quarterback keeper, and Durham’s point after made it CCU 24, VMI 3 with 11 minutes remaining in the third.
VMI moved to the CCU 2 early in the fourth quarter but had the drive end on downs.
The only other points came off a 39-yard interception return by CCU’s Keon Cunningham with 1:17 remaining, giving the visitors their final victory margin.
Senior Michael Rainey-Wiles, who had missed the last three contests with a shoulder injury, turned in VMI’s lone interception of the day in the second half.
Redshirt junior defensive back Byron Allen posted double-digit tackles with 13 tackles to lead the Keydets on the defensive charts.
The Keydets (3-6, 2-3 BSC) will return to action next Saturday as they travel to Norfolk, Va. to take on the Old Dominion Monarchs. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised by Comcast Network and can be seen on various cables systems throughout the country.
Bridgewater holds off Randolph-Macon
Bridgewater jumped out to a 29-6 lead behind an opportunistic defense and a record-setting performance from wide receiver Tyler Beiler before holding off a late Randolph-Macon rally to defeat the Yellow Jackets by a 29-26 tally at Day Field.
With the win, Bridgewater ended a three-game skid against the Yellow Jackets.
Beiler hauled in seven passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns to snap the single-game receiving record by one yard.
Bridgewater’s offense struggled early on, with two three-and-outs to open the game, but the defense was stout, holding the conference’s leading scoring offense off of the scoreboard early.
At the mid-way point in the first stanza, the Eagles got rolling, when quarterback Hagan Driskell (Ruther Glen, Va./Caroline) connected with Beiler to move Bridgewater into Randolph-Macon territory. Three plays later, the Eagles moved into scoring position on a McKenzie run, before an 18-yard Jordan Thacker field goal gave Bridgewater a 3-0 lead with 3:25 to play in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Randolph-Macon moved into Bridgewater territory before a huge stop by the defense forced a turnover on downs, keeping the Eagles ahead 3-0.
Bridgewater answered with a 70-yard strike from Driskell to Beiler to put the Eagles ahead 10-0 with 10:19 to play in the opening half.
Randolph-Macon immediately answered when the Yellow Jackets settled for a field goal with 4:27 to play in the first half to chip the Bridgewater lead to 10-3.
With 3:09 to play in the first half, Bridgewater tacked another touchdown on the board when Driskell again hit Beiler, this time from 78 yards out, to build a 16-3 advantage.
On the following Randolph-Macon drive, Stephen Howard (Afton, Va./Nelson County) picked off a screen pass and returned it 32 yards to the endzone to put the Eagles up 23-3.
Randolph-Macon moved the ball inside the Bridgewater five with under a minute left but another Bridgewater goal-line stand kept the score at 23-3 as the game headed to the intermission.
Out of the halftime break, the Yellow Jackets marched downfield but settled for another field goal to chip the lead to 23-6.
Following a Bridgewater turnover on downs, the defense against came up with a huge turnover when Brandon Mitchell returned an interception to the endzone to put Bridgewater ahead 29-6 after the PAT failed.
Randolph-Macon again moved into the Bridgewater redzone, but a defensive hold kept the Yellow Jackets off of the scoreboard, giving the Eagles the ball back.
Bridgewater committed its first miscue of the day on its next possession when a McKenzie fumble gave Randolph-Macon the ball in Eagles territory. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 42 yard run from Drake Saunders to cut the lead to 29-12. The two-point conversion attempt failed, keeping the margin at 17 as the game entered the final quarter.
Randolph-Macon barreled downfield again on its first possession of the final quarter to cut the Bridgewater lead to a 29-19 margin when Scruggs scored from 17 yards out with 14 and change remaining.
Following an ineffective drive from both teams, Randolph-Macon cut the lead to three points when a 20 yard completion went to the endzone to bridge the gap to 29-26 with 3:56 remaining.
Bridgewater got a first down on the following drive but couldn’t drain the clock, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball back with 2:12 to play and 90 yards to go.
On the first play of the drive, senior Scottie Littles (Norfolk, Va./Landstown) picked off a Greg Petrohovich pass to give the Eagles the ball back inside the Randolph-Macon redzone.
Bridgewater tried to drain the clock out but Randolph-Macon held the Eagles out of the endzone to get the ball back with 25 ticks remaining.
Following an incomplete pass on first down, a sack in the endzone by Joel Francis (Woodbridge, Va./Freeedom) forced a safety putting Bridgewater ahead 31-26.
Randolph-Macon had one more opportunity, but its onside kick attempt was recovered by up-back Damien Ward (Chesterfield, Va./Louisa County) to seal the deal, snapping a three-game skid against the Yellow Jackets.
On the ground, Darrin McKenzie (Rustburg, Va./Brookville) led the way with 65 yards in 17 carries.
Through the air, Driskell ended the day 8-of-15 for 221 yards and a pair of scores.
On the receiving end, Beiler’s record setting day came on seven catches, two of which went the distance. Beiler had receptions of 70 and 78 yards on the day. The Ronks, Pa. native also smashed the single season receiving record, which now stands at 1,217 yards with one game remaining.
Defensively, the Eagles outscored the offense. The defensive unit had three players in double-figures with Littles leading the way with 15 stops, including a dozen solo tackles. Littles’ 15-tackle output was the highest for a Bridgewater player since Ward’s 17 tackles against the Yellow Jackets in 2007. The Norfolk,Va. native also intercepted a pass in the waning moments of the game.,
T.J. Montague (Reston, Va./South Lakes) chipped in 13 tackles, while defensive back Jeff Mehlhaff (Louisa, Va./Louisa County) recorded a career-high 11 tackles.
Bridgewater’s defense recorded three interceptions, including two that were returned to the endzone.
Randolph-Macon was led on the ground by Thaddeus Scruggs’ 140 yards on 34 carries. Saunders also chipped in 118 yards for the Yellow Jackets rushing offense.
Through the air, the Yellow Jackets struggled. Starting quarterback Luke Sellers was 8-of-24 for 135 yards and a pair of interceptions, which were returned to the endzone. Petrohovich was 3-of-7 for 41 yards in relief of Sellers.
Wide receiver Earl Peoples led the way for Randolph-Macon with four catches for 86 yards.
The Yellow Jackets ran off 95 plays on the day, to outgain Bridgewater by a 456-to-308 tally. Randolph-Macon was 7-of-18 on third down, while holding the Eagles to just 1-of-11 on third down.
Bridgewater is back in action next Saturday when it wraps up the regular season at Catholic. Action from the nation’s capitol is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.
UVa. men get win in exhibition game
The Virginia men’s basketball team recorded an 82-50 victory over Roanoke College Saturday afternoon in exhibition action at John Paul Jones Arena. The contest served as the Cavaliers’ final tune up before the season opener next Friday (Nov. 12) at home against William and Mary.
Mike Scott scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Freshmen KT Harrell and Joe Harris added 10 points each. Melvin Felix was the lone player from Roanoke in double figures, with 11 points.
Virginia jumped out quickly by scoring the game’s first 13 points. The Cavaliers held a 25-6 lead in the first half before Roanoke rallied to cut the lead to nine, 27-18. UVa scored 12 of the last 16 points in the half to open up a 39-22 lead at halftime. UVa then stretched its lead to as many as 33 in the second half.
UVa shot 50 percent (28-for-56) in the contest. The Cavaliers held Roanoke to 34.4 percent shooting (21-for-61). The Cavaliers held a big advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Maroons, 49-25.
Nine Cavaliers saw at least 13 minutes of game action, led by Harrell with 28 minutes.
Virginia jumps into regular-season play at 7 p.m. Friday (Nov. 12) when it welcomes William and Mary to JPJA. The Cavaliers then play host to USC Upstate at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 before embarking on a six-game road trip before their next home game on Dec. 7 against Radford.
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