W&L Football Breezes Past Juniata, 45-3
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Washington and Lee recorded its first 8-win season since 1981 with a 45-3 victory over Juniata College on Saturday afternoon at Knox Stadium.
The Generals (8-2) amassed 482 yards of total offense (378 rushing) and intercepted five Eagle passes in winning their seventh-straight game.
W&L opened a 14-0 lead just 4:55 into the game following a pair of 3-yard touchdown runs by junior running back Harrison Hudson (Salem, Va./Salem) and sophomore running back Luke Heinsohn (Charlottesville, Va./Covenant). Heinsohn jump-started the Generals' offense with a 63-yard run on W&L's first offensive play of the game.
A 7-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Charlie Westfal (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) gave the Generals a 21-0 lead and the Eagles (0-10) capped the first half scoring on a 29-yard field goal by sophomore Scott Andrews with 1:20 left in the half.
Westfal hooked up with Hudson on a 79-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-3 with 6:19 left in the third quarter and another Westfal touchdown pass, this time a 10-yarder to junior wide receiver Tate Davis (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day), made it 35-3 with 3:16 left in the third period. A 35-yard field goal by junior placekicker Peter Alston (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Academy) and a 15-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Sasha Vandalov (Vienna, Va./James Madison) ended the scoring.
W&L was led by Heinsohn, who rushed 15 times for 145 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore running back Brett Murray (Lookout Mountain, Tenn./Baylor) carried 12 times for 77 yards, while Hudson amassed 20 yards and one touchdown rushing, along with his one catch for 79 yards. Vandalov rushed six times for 46 yards and one score and Westfal rushed for 28 yards and one touchdown and completed 4-of-9 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore linebacker Zach Zoller (Salem, Va./Roanoke Catholic) had a team-best seven tackles, while junior defensive back John Kavanagh (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) had two tackles and two interceptions.
Juniata totaled just 160 yards of total offense led by first-year running back Zach McCaulley, who rushed 10 times for 41 yards. First-year quarterback Gino Ramires completed 8-of-15 passes for 79 yards and two interceptions, while junior wide receiver Abe Mellinger caught five passes for 45 yards. First-year linebacker Chris Beall notched a team-high 10 tackles.
Washington and Lee now awaits word on its opponent for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which will be played on Sat., Nov. 20. The announcement of the tournament field will be made on ESPNews between 3:00 and 3:30 pm.
-- GENERALS --
