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The Virginia Military Institute football team finished its season on a high note, earning a 27-24 home win over No. 14 Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Foster Stadium in Lexington.
Powered by running back Hunter Rice’s 138 rushing yards and a career- high four rushing touchdowns, the Keydets (5-6 overall, 4-4 SoCon) capped off Danny Rocco’s first season as their head coach in style.
The defense, which came up with a crucial stop to end the game after Western Carolina (7-4, 5-3) almost came back from a 27-10 deficit, was led by the senior tandem of Evan Eller (16 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble) and Josh Knapp (10 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery).
Collin Ironside, who regained his starting quarterback job, threw for 194 yards for VMI, and Aidan Twombly grabbed six receptions for 133 yards.
The game wrapped up the football career for offensive lineman Austin Doyle, a 2020 RC graduate who was a starter in his final two seasons.
The Keydets won four more games than they won last year, when they went 1-10 overall, going 0-8 in the SoCon in Scott Wachenheim’s final year as their head coach.
Reviewing the game, Rocco said, “Both teams gave it everything they had. Western Carolina had a lot to play for, they were coming in here and a win guaranteed them a playoff spot – I personally believe that team belongs, and I hope the SoCon can get four teams in – but our kids came with really strong confidence. Defense took control of the game early. … In the second half, we started running the football. We started to wear them down. To their credit, they bounced back and took us down to the wire, but we made one last big play.”
For more on this game, visit www.vmikeydets.com.
