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SVU Snags First Win
The Southern Virginia University football team earned its first victory of the season. The Knights came from behind to defeat USA South Athletic Conference rival Methodist University 21-17 in a thrilling contest, powered by a strong passing game and timely defensive plays, on Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, N.C.
The Knights (1-6 overall, 1-4 conference) grabbed the lead early, scoring on the very first play of the game on a long TD completion from Quarterback Devin Watson to Cintez Gibson. The Knights led 7-0 just 20 seconds into the contest.
The Monarchs pulled ahead in the second quarter following a field goal and two TDs. Methodist led 17-7 at halftime. The Knights captured the momentum in the second half. Tyreeck Hall rushed for a TD to narrow the gap to 17-14 entering the fourth quarter. A rushing TD by Antione Mills allowed the Knights to take the lead for the final margin of victory.
SVU’s passing was a key factor in the win, with the Knights accumulating 360 passing yards compared to Methodist’s 290. On the defensive side, Spike Adams led SVU with 10 total tackles, and Kutlur Matheson contributed nine tackles and a critical fumble recovery. CJ Williams had a crucial interception late in the game to seal the win for SVU.
The Knights will look to build on this momentum in their next matchup at home against USA South Conference rival North Carolina Wesleyan (1-5, 1-3) this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Knight Stadium. For updates on SVU football, visit knightathletics. com and follow @ knight_ftbl on Instagram.
W&L Defeats
Guilford
The Washington and Lee University football team picked up its third consecutive win Saturday, going on the road to defeat Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Guilford College, 40-23.
Trailing 3-0 early in the game, the Generals (4-2, 3-0 ODAC) marched 67 yards on 12 plays, with Jacob Romero scoring from three yards out for the Generals’ first TD. The Quakers responded with a 66yard drive of their own that was capped by a 1-yard TD by running back Malik Woodard.
Andrew Bland had one-onone coverage on fourth-and-2 on W&L’s next drive, leaping over the defender to make an acrobatic grab and finding his way into the end zone for a 34yard TD pass from Ty Collins.
After receiving the ball to start the second half, Romero took a handoff and sprinted 50 yards to the Guilford 5-yard line before punching it in from five yards out to put the Blue and White up 20-9.
Guilford capped a 10-play, 43-yard drive, with Caleb Robles connecting with AJ Merriman for a 12-yard score to cut the deficit to four. Later, W&L’s Wilson Axley returned a punt 33 yards into the end zone to give the Generals a 27-16 lead.
On the Generals’ second drive of the fourth quarter, Ty Collins took off on a designed run, sprinting 43 yards into the end zone to give W&L a commanding 34-16 lead with 7:15 remaining in the game.
W&L’s Jack Johnson then intercepted a pass, returning it 37 yards to the Guilford 10. Burke Cigelske scored from there to give the Generals a 24-point advantage. Guilford completed the scoring on its last drive of the game, as Caleb Robles connected with Jay Daniels for a 20-yard score to make the final score 40-23.
The Generals recorded 338 yards of total offense, averaging eight yards per play. The rushing attack played a pivotal role in the win, as W&L rushed for 251 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards per carry on 35 attempts. Romero led all rushers with 120 yards on 14 carries and two TDs. Collins completed 4-of-6 passes for 87 yards and a TD, adding a career-high 83 yards on the ground and one score.
The Generals will continue ODAC action on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ferrum College (3-3, 1-2). For the Generals’ schedule and updates, visit www.generalssports. com.
