HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Senior quarterback and team captain Tanner Bernard (Lynchburg) passed for a game-high 240 yards and one touchdown, adding a touchdown on the ground, to lead Hampden-Sydney College to hard-fought 24-14 home football win past Bridgewater College on Saturday afternoon during Senior Day on Fulton Field at Lewis C. Everett Stadium. Senior running back Kaleb Smith (Rocky Mount) rushed for a game-high 84 yards and one touchdown in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) contest. The host Tigers improved to 5-4 overall, 4-1 in the ODAC, while the visiting Eagles dropped to 3-6 overall, 0-5 in the ODAC.
H-SC took the opening possession of the game and drove 74 yards on 13 plays as Bernard scored from the one-yard line on fourth-and-goal at 10:04 of the first quarter, followed by the first of three PATs from sophomore placekicker Palmer Smith (Chesapeake). Key plays on the drive were a 38-yard pass completion from Bernard to fifth-year wide receiver and second-year team captain Dillon Costello (Haymarket) on a third down play, and a 14-yard completion from Bernard to fifth-year tight end and team captain Ed Newman (Farmville).
The Tigers made it 14-0 late in the quarter with just 51-seconds on the clock when Bernard connected with sophomore wide receiver Braeden Bowling (Cary, NC) on a 21-yard touchdown pass. It was a quick seven-play, 80-yard drive that featured a 29-yard completion from Bernard to Costello and a three-yard run by K. Smith on a fourth-and-one … one play before the score, making it 14-0 after one quarter.
H-SC led 17-0 at halftime after P. Smith made a 30-yard field goal with only six-seconds remaining in the second quarter. The points culminated a 14-play, 78-yard possession that included a 53-yard completion from Bernard to Bowling, 21 yards on the ground by K. Smith and 11 yards rushing by sophomore running back Melik Frost (Hardeeville, SC).
BC had the only score of the third quarter courtesy of a one-yard touchdown run by Kenneth McCray at 5:38, followed by the PAT from Jackson Hendren. The Tigers led 17-7 after three quarters.
H-SC answered and scored its final touchdown early in the fourth quarter with 12:00 left to play when K. Smith ran into the end zone from two yards out—the score coming after he had earned one yard on the previous fourth-and-one play for first-and-goal. It was another long drive that consumed 8:30 off the clock, as the Tigers went 75 yards on 17 plays. K. Smith had 36 yards rushing on the possession, along with a six-yard pass reception, while Bernard found fifth-year slot receiver Nick Kallivokas (Purcellville) for a 14-yard completion, as well, and the Garnet and Grey led 24-7.
The Eagles added a late touchdown when Matt Lawton connected with Chad Jones on an eight-yard scoring pass play with just 3:53 left to provide for the final margin.
Bernard passed for his game-high 240 yards (15-22) and one touchdown with no interceptions for H-SC, adding the touchdown on the ground, as well. K. Smith rushed for his game-high 84 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown, adding 24 yards receiving on three receptions, while also completing a pass (1-1) for six yards. Bowling had his 83 yards receiving and one touchdown on three receptions, Costello added 79 yards receiving on four catches, Kallivokas had 27 yards receiving on two catches, and Newman finished with 20 yards receiving on two receptions.
Fifth-year linebacker and team captain Brendan Weinberg (Apex, NC) finished with 11 tackles and one pass breakup to lead the Tigers defensively. Freshman safety Joseph Pierre (Mobile, AL) and senior linebacker Garrett Robinson (Culpeper) each added nine tackles, including a 1.5 for loss (one sack) and two pass breakups by Pierre—collegiate-bests for Pierre, and Robinson had half a tackle for loss. Sophomore safety Will Pickren (Mt Pleasant, SC) had eight tackles and a pass breakup, sophomore safety James-Ryan Salvi (Troutville) added six tackles and one interception, and sophomore defensive lineman Kevin Gholson (Montpelier) also had six tackles, including two for loss (two sacks).
Lawton passed for 179 yards (22-30) and one touchdown with one interception for BC. McCray rushed for 38 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown. Jones had a game-high 108 yards receiving and one touchdown on 10 receptions. Brett Tharp had a game-high 15 tackles, including half a tackle for loss, to lead the Eagles.
H-SC plays on the road next weekend at archrival Randolph-Macon College in ODAC action to close the season on Saturday, November 13, at 1 p.m. in Ashland. It's the 126th edition of "The Game" ... and the Tigers continue to lead the Oldest Small School Rivalry in the South, 60-54-11; however, the Yellow Jackets have won seven-straight and nine of the last 10 games played between the two storied programs.
It was Senior Day for the Tigers and 23 outstanding young men were recognized during a special pregame ceremony. They include: Josh Baker … Peyton Carneal … Stephen Cash … Brendan Dudding … Kevin Dunn … Wyatt Elam … Jordan Fields … Slater Gammon … David Haiss … Michael Harris … Cody Howard … Jared Lawson … Adam Lovelace … Jacob McCarty … Justin Primm … Dallas Robinson … Garrett Robinson … Hunter Slaughter … Kaleb Smith … Dillon Costello … Nick Kallivokas … Ed Newman … Brendan Weinberg.