HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Hampden-Sydney College plays on the road at Washington and Lee University in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football action on Saturday afternoon, October 22, at 1 p.m. in Lexington. The visiting Tigers have won three of their last four games and are now 3-3 overall, 2-1 in the ODAC (T-3), while the host Generals are 5-1 overall, 3-0 in the ODAC (T-1)—with five-straight wins. The game can be heard locally on WVHL Radio, Kickin' Country 92.9 FM, and will also be available worldwide on the Internet at wvhl.net or via the TuneIn Radio App, while available to watch as well on via Washington and Lee All-Access.

Hampden-Sydney at Washington and Lee | Stats | Audio | Video | Game Notes (PDF)
Location: Wilson Field | Lexington, VA
Date: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022
Time: 1 p.m.
Radio: Frank Shanaberger (play-by-play), Richard LeSueur (analyst)

Run at the Record Book
Twenty-third year head coach Marty Favret totals 143 football coaching wins with the Tigers, tying legendary H-SC Hall of Fame head coach J. Stokeley Fulton as the winningest football coach at the College. Coach Favret has an overall record of 143-84, while Coach Fulton compiled a record of 143-99-5 over 25 seasons from 1960-84.

Last Week: @H-SC 37 - Averett 26
H-SC took a 37-26 ODAC home win past AU on Oct. 15 on Fulton Field at Lewis C. Everett Stadium. The Tigers scored the first 21 points of the game during the opening 8:48 en route to a 23-6 lead after one quarter, and led 30-15 at halftime toward their home win against the visiting Cougars. W&L took a 17-7 conference road win at Ferrum last Saturday, scoring 10 unanswered points in the second half following a 7-7 halftime score.

The Series
H-SC narrowly leads the overall series against W&L, 39-38-2. The Generals; however, have won seven of the last 11 games against the Tigers, including a 32-30 win at Everett Stadium on Oct. 2, 2021. H-SC won seven of the first 10 games between the two schools under Coach Favret, who is 11-10 overall against W&L since 2000. The two programs first met on the gridiron in 1899 with the Generals winning 6-5 in Lexington.

Scouting The Tigers
H-SC has the top-ranked passing offense in NCAA Division III (366.0), and is led offensively by fifth-year quarterback and second-year team captain Tanner Bernard (Lynchburg). Bernard has passed for 1,887 yards (140-218-3) and 17 touchdowns in five games, adding two touchdowns on the ground, as well. Bernard missed the Greensboro (NC) game (9/17) due to injury.

The running game features junior running back Melik Frost (Hardeeville, SC). Frost has rushed for 561 yards on 107 attempts (5.2) and eight touchdowns, adding 165 yards receiving on 17 catches and one touchdown.

Sophomore wide receiver Austin Fernandez (Warrenton) has led the receiving unit with 563 yards receiving on 39 receptions and four touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Mason Cunningham (Arlington) adds 510 yards receiving on 39 receptions and six touchdowns, while senior tight end David Byler (Virginia Beach) has 415 yards receiving on 34 catches and four touchdowns, and junior wide receiver Jamahdia Whitby (Williamsburg) has 238 yards receiving on 16 catches and five touchdowns.

Junior safety Will Pickren (Mount Pleasant, SC) leads the Tigers on defense with 63 total tackles, including five tackles for loss, two interceptions, one forced fumble and two pass breakups. Junior safety James-Ryan Salvi (Troutville) has 61 total tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and four pass breakups. Junior linebackers Jaylin Jones (Rustburg) and Dorian Green (Martinsville) add 35 and 31 total tackles, respectively, including three tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry by Jones, and 3.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack, two interceptions, one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries by Green.

Senior placekicker Jack Breedlove (Atlanta, GA) is 22-23 on PATs, and 1-2 on field goals (30 yards). Freshman placekicker Elijah Swett (Matthews, NC) is 7-8 on PATs. Sophomore left-footed punter George Langhammer (Roanoke) has averaged 42.8 yards on 12 punts, including a long of 62 yards, six fair-caught and four inside the 20.

Junior wide receiver Brice Wilson (Charlottesville) has averaged 22.0 yards on 10 kick returns, including a long of 31 yards. Senior wide receiver Talen Smith (Ruther Glen) has averaged 22.8 yards on four kick returns, including a long of 29 yards. Mason Cunningham has averaged 6.0 yards on three punt returns, including a long of nine yards.

Scouting Washington and Lee
W&L has the seventh-ranked rushing offense in Division III (292.3), and is expected to be led offensively by either junior quarterback Stephen Murrin or sophomore quarterback Eli Hildebrandt, along with senior running backs Alex Wertz and Harry Crutcher, as well as sophomore running back Jacob Romero. Murrin has rushed for 211 yards on 41 attempts (5.1) and three touchdowns, and passed for 248 yards (18-31-1), while Hildebrandt has rushed for 212 yards on 39 attempts (5.4) and one touchdown, and passed for 138 yards (6-15-0) and one touchdown. Wertz has rushed for 367 yards on 68 attempts (5.4) and five touchdowns, Crutcher has rushed for 261 yards on 62 attempts (4.2) and five touchdowns, while Romero has rushed for 298 yards on 49 attempts (6.1) and one touchdown. Senior linebacker David Onyejekwe has led the Generals on defense with 34 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, one interception and two pass breakups. Sophomore linebacker Jalen Todd adds 26 total tackles and one forced fumble. Junior placekicker Arturo Ramirez is 18-19 on PATs, and 6-8 on field goals, including a long of 40 yards. Senior punter Paul Pivirotto has averaged 37.6 yards on 12 punts, including a long of 60 yards, with one fair-caught and three inside the 20. Freshman running back Burke Cigelske has averaged 23.5 yards on four kick returns, including a long of 29 yards. Jacob Romero has one punt return for nine yards.

2021: W&L 32 - @H-SC 30
W&L converted four of four two-point conversions on the day and stopped H-SC on its lone two-point attempt with just 29-seconds remaining for a dramatic 32-30 ODAC road win at Everett Stadium. The host Tigers drove 83 yards on seven plays to score the last-minute touchdown, but needed the two points to tie, and the visiting Generals denied the potential game-tying opportunity on an incomplete pass. Tanner Bernard passed for a game-high 393 yards (22-34) and two touchdowns with no interceptions, adding 12 yards on the ground and one touchdown. Stephen Murrin passed for 107 yards (6-7) and two touchdowns with one interception for W&L, adding 56 yards on the ground—and a pair of the two-point conversions. Josh Breece rushed for 91 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns, adding one conversion, while Alex Wertz added 65 yards rushing on 16 carries and one conversion.

ODAC / NCAA Rankings
Tanner Bernard leads the ODAC in passing yards (1,887), passing yards per game (377.4), passing touchdowns (17), completions per game (28.0) and total offense (375.4), while second in completion percentage (64.2), passing efficiency (159.9) and passing yards per attempt (8.5), while third in passing yards per completion (13.5). He ranks first in Division III in passing yards per game, while second nationally in completions per game and total offense, fifth in passing yards and 16th in passing touchdowns.

Melik Frost leads the ODAC in rushing yards (561), rushing yards per game (93.5), all-purpose yards (726), all-purpose yards per game (121.0) and total touchdowns (9), is tied for first in rushing touchdowns (8), and fifth rushing yards per carry (5.2).

Austin Fernandez is tied for first in the ODAC in receptions (39) and receptions per game (6.5), is second in receiving yards (563) and receiving yards per game (93.8), and tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns (4).

Mason Cunningham is tied for first in the ODAC in receptions (39) and receptions per game (6.5), is second in receiving touchdowns (6), and third in receiving yards (510) and receiving yards per game (85.0).

Will Pickren is second in the ODAC in total tackles (63) and tackles per game (10.5), and tied for second in interceptions (2).

Dorian Green is tied for second in the ODAC in interceptions (2).

David Byler is third in the ODAC in receptions (34) and receptions per game (5.7), fourth in receiving yards (415), tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns (4), and fifth in receiving yards per game (69.2).

Jamahdia Whitby is third in the ODAC in receiving touchdowns (5).

Brice Wilson is third in the ODAC in kick return average (22.0).

James-Ryan Salvi is third in the ODAC in total tackles (61) and tackles per game (10.2).

400-Yard Passing Games
Tanner Bernard has passed for 400-plus yards in each of his last two games played this season (892 yards, 9 touchdowns) ... and has now passed for over 300 yards nine times in his H-SC career, including each of his five games played this season. He passed for a career-high 452 yards (33-49-0) and five touchdowns vs. Averett (10/15), after passing for 440 yards (33-44-2) and four touchdowns at Ferrum (10/8). Bernard has games of 346 yards and four-touchdowns at Wabash (9/3), 328 yards and three touchdowns vs. Widener (9/10), and 321 yards and one touchdown at Bridgewater (10/1). Last season, Bernard had 393 yards passing vs. Washington and Lee (10/2/21), 316 yards and one touchdown at Widener (9/11/21), and 327 yards and two touchdowns at Guilford (9/25/21). He passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns at Guilford (3/19/21), as well.

200-Yard Rushing Game
Melik Frost rushed for a career-high 211 yards on 21 carries (10.0) with four touchdowns vs. Greensboro (9/17). It's the sixth-best single-game rushing effort in program history. He now has three 100-yard efforts during his H-SC career, including a 101 yards on 17 carries (5.9) and two touchdowns at Wabash (9/3), and 105 yards on 18 carries (5.8) and one touchdown at Ferrum (10/8).

From DIII H-SC To FBS Memphis
Ryan Silverfield '03 became the 25th head coach in the University of Memphis football history in December 2019. He is currently 18-13 overall in his third season at the helm of the Tigers, including 4-3 this season. Silverfield led Memphis to a record of 8-3 in 2020, and the Tigers were 6-6 in 2021. Ryan coached four seasons as an undergraduate at H-SC, starting as an offensive assistant in 2000, serving as the defensive line coach during 2001 and 2002, before coaching the tight ends and H-backs in 2003.

Up Next
H-SC returns home to welcome ODAC member Guilford (NC) College on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. at Everett Stadium. It'll be Homecoming Weekend on the Hill for the Tigers.

Complete game notes are available via the linked PDF above.