HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Hampden-Sydney College opens the 2022 football campaign on the road at Wabash College in a renewal of The Gentlemen's Classic on Saturday afternoon, September 3, at 1 p.m. in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The visiting Tigers and the host Little Giants are two of the remaining three all-male four-year schools in the country—Hampden-Sydney is the oldest. H-SC and Wabash have met just two times previously and the Little Giants have won both games ... 34-21 on Sept. 6, 2014 in Indiana and 35-3 on Sept. 5, 2015 in Virginia. 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. The Game will also be available to watch via the Wabash Video Network.

Hampden-Sydney at Wabash | Live Stats | Audio | WVN Video | Game Notes (PDF)
Location: Little Giant Stadium | Crawfordsville, IN
Date: Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022
Time: 1 p.m.
Radio: Frank Shanaberger (play-by-play), Richard LeSueur (analyst)

H-SC finished 2021 with a final record of 5-5 overall, including 4-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) for third place, and have been picked third in this year's preseason poll. Wabash finished with a final record of 7-3 overall, including 6-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) for fourth place, and have been picked second in the preseason this year.

Hampden-Sydney Football
H-SC has a 127-year history of football, amassing 567 wins since beginning in 1892. The Tigers have experienced great success over the years, including nine ODAC Championships, nine Mason-Dixon Conference Championships, seven NCAA Division III Championship appearances, 85 All-Americans, 13 Academic All-America selections and 210 First Team All-ODAC honorees. H-SC also played in the 1970 and 1971 Knute Rockne Bowls (NCAA College Division East Regional Championship).

The Series
Wabash leads The Gentlemen's Classic, 2-0. The Little Giants won the inaugural meeting by a score of 34-21 on Sept. 6, 2014 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and Wabash took the second meeting by a score of 35-3 on Sept. 5, 2015 at Hampden-Sydney.

Scouting The Tigers
Veteran 23rd-year head coach Marty Favret returns 67 lettermen among the 127-man roster this fall, including 11 starters, while the roster includes a record 60 newcomers to the program, as well.

Offensively
H-SC returns five starters on offense, including fifth-year quarterback and second-year team captain Tanner Bernard (Lynchburg), who was named First Team All-ODAC last fall. He started all 10 games and passed for 2,546 yards and 15 touchdowns, adding 50 yards rushing and two touchdowns, for 2,596 yards of total offense.

The Tigers also return offensive starters in junior wide receiver Braeden Bowling (Cary, NC), along with classmates and offensive linemen TJ Minter (Chester), John Mill (Chesterfield) and Jason Southern (Culpeper).

Bowling was a Second Team All-ODAC choice last year after starting nine of 10 games with 41 receptions for 828 yards and six touchdowns.

Minter, a First Team All-ODAC honoree, and Southern each started all 10 games, while Mill started eight of nine.

Defensively
The Tigers return six starters on defense, including fifth-year defensive tackle Michael Harris (St. Stephens Church) and fifth-year cornerback Jordan Fields (Chapel Hill, NC), along with four juniors: defensive end Kevin Gholson (Montpelier), cornerback Tobias Lafayette (Charleston, SC), safety Will Pickren (Mount Pleasant, SC) and safety James-Ryan Salvi (Troutville).

Harris was a Second Team All-ODAC selection and started all 10 games with 29 total tackles, including four solo and 25 assists, and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Fields was limited by injury to four starts and had 15 total tackles, including five solo and 10 assists, one tackle for loss and three pass breakups.

Gholson was a Third Team All-ODAC choice after starting nine of 10 games with 39 total tackles, including 19 solo and 20 assists, eight tackles for loss, four sacks and two forced fumbles.

Lafayette was a Second Team All-ODAC honoree and started all 10 games with 43 total tackles, including 30 solo and 13 assists, 2.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions and nine pass breakups.

Pickren was a First Team All-ODAC selection, the 2021 Touchdown Club of Richmond State Small College Defensive Back of the Year, and Third TeamD3football.com All-Region 3 after starting nine of 10 games with 106 total tackles, including 54 solo and 52 assists, 5.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and six pass breakups.

Salvi started nine games and had 66 total tackles, including 26 solo and 40 assists, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.

Kicking Specialists
Senior placekicker Jack Breedlove (Atlanta, GA) and junior punter George Langhammer (Roanoke) return to handle the two duties, respectively.

Breedlove played in seven games as a junior and was 10-10 on PATs (100%), and 3-5 on field goals (60%) with a career long of 39 yards.

Langhammer, who is left-footed, played in all 10 games as a sophomore and averaged 39.8 yards on 25 punts with two punts over 50 yards, including a career long of 67 yards, with four downed inside the 20 and four fair caught.

Return Specialists
Juniors Brice Wilson (Charlottesville) and Jamahdia Whitby (Williamsburg) are expected to handle the kick return duties. Wilson had 21 kick returns for 470 yards (22.4) last season, including a long return of 47 yards.

Tobias Lafayette and freshman Mason Cunningham (Arlington) should handle the punt return duties. Lafayette had nine punt returns for 57 yards last fall, including a long return of 18 yards.

Scouting Wabash
Wabash is expected to be led offensively by a trio of standout juniors in quarterback Liam Thompson, running back Donovan Snyder, and wide receiver Cooper Sullivan.

Thompson was the NCAC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-NCAC in 2021 after passing for 2,956 yards (202-341) and 28 touchdowns with nine interceptions, adding 411 yards rushing on 113 attempts (3.6) with nine TDs. Snyder, First Team All-NCAC, rushed for 1,023 yards on 210 attempts (4.9) with eight TDs, adding 70 yards receiving on 13 receptions with three TDs. Sullivan, First Team All-NCAC, had 850 yards receiving on 57 receptions with seven TDs. Junior wide receiver Derek Allen Jr. also returns and had 775 yards receiving on 43 receptions with five TDs.

Senior defensive back Jose Franco and junior defensive back Will Netting return on defense for the Little Giants. Franco had 56 tackles, including 41 solo, with two interceptions. Netting also had 56 tackles, including 38 solo, with one interception. Junior linebacker Joe Rios returns, as well, after making 49 tackles, including 30 solo, with 2.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

Surpassing 300 Yards in the Air
Tanner Bernard has passed for over 300 yards four times in his H-SC career. He had a career-best 393 yards against Washington and Lee (10/2/21), completing 22-34 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Bernard passed for 316 yards and one TD at Widener (PA) (9/11/21), and for 327 yards and two TDs at Guilford (NC) (9/25/21). He passed for 309 yards and three TDs at Guilford (N.C.) (3/19/21), as well.

Run at the Record Book
The longest-tenured collegiate head coach in Virginia, Coach Favret is the second-winningest football coach in school history with 140 victories (140-81), including 15 winning campaigns, while a five-time ODAC Coach of the Year. His program is 90-48 in ODAC games, while earning five ODAC Championships and making six Division III Football Championship appearances. Coach Favret's 140 wins are second only to the legendary Hall of Fame head coach J. Stokeley Fulton (143), who is the program's winningest and longest-tenured ... Coach Fulton led H-SC Football for 25 seasons (1960-84) and compiled an overall record of 143-99-5 with nine conference championships and three post-season appearances.

Team Captains
Leading the Tigers are fifth-year team members Tanner Bernard, Jordan Fields and Michael Harris, along with junior TJ Minter. Bernard becomes a two-time team captain after serving in the leadership role last season, as well. Tanner is the son of Jason and Marsha Bernard. Jordan is the son of Damien and Tishanna Fields. Michael is the son of Michael Harris and Rabah Penn. TJ is the son of the late Tony Minter and Catherine Minter.

Complete game notes are available via the linked PDF above.