HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Hampden-Sydney College plays on the road for just the second time this season at Averett University in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football action on Saturday afternoon, October 14, at 4 p.m. in Danville. The visiting Tigers are 3-2 overall, 1-1 in the ODAC, while the host Cougars are also 3-2 overall, though 0-2 in the ODAC.The game can be heard locally on WVHL Radio, Kickin' Country 92.9 FM, pregame airing at 3:30 p.m., 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 the Averett Sports Network.

Hampden-Sydney at Averett | Stats | Audio | Video | Game Notes (PDF)
Location: Frank R. Campbell Stadium | Danville, VA
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023
Time: 4 p.m.
Radio: Frank Shanaberger (play-by-play), Richard LeSueur (analyst)

Last Week
H-SC took a convincing 48-10 ODAC home win past Ferrum College on Oct. 7 on Fulton Field at Lewis C. Everett Stadium. The contest was tied at 7-7 after one quarter, before the Tigers led 21-10 at halftime, and 41-10 after three quarters en route to the decisive home victory against the Panthers. The Garnet & Grey compiled a season-high 502 yards of total offense, including 342 yards passing and 160 yards rushing, while scoring 40-plus points for the second time in three games. AU dropped a 59-7 ODAC decision on the road at nationally-ranked No. 10 Randolph-Macon College in Ashland a week ago.

Favret Coaching Final Season
H-SC head coach Marty Favret, the all-time winningest coach in program history, announced on August 20 that 2023 will be his final season of coaching. In 23-plus seasons at the College, he has attained 148 victories (148-88) and led the Tigers to 15 winning seasons with five ODAC Championships (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014) and six NCAA Division III Football Championship appearances (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014). Favret is currently the longest-tenured collegiate football head coach in Virginia.

The Series
H-SC leads the overall series against AU 6-3, including a 37-26 home win last season (10/15/22). The Tigers and Cougars first met on the gridiron in 2010, resulting in a 45-30 road win H-SC, who is 2-2 in road games at AU.

Scouting The Tigers
Senior quarterback Andrew Puccinelli (Glen Allen) has passed for 1,067 yards (80-110-1) and 12 touchdowns with one interception thrown this season, adding one rushing touchdown. Puccinelli made his first start of the season at Greensboro (9/16) and passed for a career-high 368 yards (30-42) and three touchdowns, adding the rushing touchdown. He passed for a game-high 296 yards (21-25-1) and four touchdowns, tying is career-high, last week vs. Ferrum (10/7).

Senior running back Melik Frost (Hardeeville, SC) has rushed for 368 yards on 94 attempts and five touchdowns.

Sophomore wide receiver Mason Cunningham (Arlington) has 35 receptions for 366 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Austin Fernandez (Warrenton) has 22 receptions for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Jamahdia Whitby (Williamsburg) has 21 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Braeden Bowling (Cary, NC) has 13 receptions for 258 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior All-American safety and team captain Will Pickren (Mount Pleasant, SC) has 47 total tackles, including 14 solo, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery/return for a touchdown and one blocked punt. Senior linebacker Dorian Green (Martinsville) has 42 total tackles, including 14 solo, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one quarterback hurry. Senior safety James-Ryan Salvi (Troutville) has 35 total tackles, including 10 solo, 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception. Junior linebacker Jackson Lott (Norfolk) has 31 total tackles, including eight solo, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Freshman linebacker Harrison Wood (Richmond) has 27 total tackles, including nine solo, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Senior cornerback Tobias Lafayette (Charleston, SC) has 24 total tackles, including 16 solo, one tackle for loss and five pass breakups.

Sophomore placekicker Elijah Swett (Matthews, NC) is 23-27 (85%) on PAT kicks and 4-6 (67%) on field goals, including a season-long of 41 yards. Swett has averaged 57.0 yards on 27 kickoffs (eight-yard line) with three touchbacks. Senior punter George Langhammer (Roanoke) has averaged 34.5 yards on just eight punts, including a long of 47 yards, with one inside the 20. Sophomore wide receiver Joseph Gonzalez (Spotsylvania) has averaged 27.9 yards on 10 kick returns, including a long of 91 yards, and one touchdown. Mason Cunningham has averaged 4.4 yards on five punt returns, including a long of seven yards.

Scouting The Cougars
Fifth-year quarterback Bryce Jackson has passed for 792 yards (59-123-7) and nine touchdowns with seven interceptions—adding two rushing touchdowns. Sophomore running back Dreylan Martin has rushed for 307 yards on 52 attempts and one touchdown. Sophomore running back Isaiah Lytton has rushed for 294 yards on 51 attempts and one touchdown. Junior wide receiver Shawn Watlington has 16 receptions for 235 yards and seven touchdowns, while sophomore wide receiver Trevor Testerman has 14 receptions for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Fifth-year linebacker Qumar Price has 39 total tackles, including 24 solo, 3.5 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. Fifth-year defensive end Jahlin Russell has 36 total tackles, including 16 solo, 7.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, four quarterback hurries and one forced fumble. Redshirt-junior linebacker Lamar Horner has 33 total tackles, including 14 solo, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hurry and two fumble recoveries. Fifth-year placekicker Will Caviness is 13-14 on PAT kicks (93%) and 3-6 (50%) on field goals, including a season-long of 33 yards, and has averaged 60.1 yards on 21 kickoffs (five-yard line) with two touchbacks. Senior punter Mason Smith has averaged 37.5 yards on 19 punts, including a long of 55 yards, with six fair-caught and five inside the 20. Sophomore cornerback P.J. Hopper has averaged 17.1 yards on nine kick returns, including a long of 27 yards, and has averaged 10.0 yards on three punt returns, including a long of 16 yards.

Among the ODAC & National Leaders
Andrew Puccinelli leads the ODAC in passing yards (1,067), passing yards per game (266.8), passing touchdowns (12), passing efficiency (188.4), completion percentage (72.7) and total offense per game (263.8). He ranks sixth in NCAA Division III in completion percentage, and eighth in passing efficiency.

Will Pickren has one of just two fumble returns for a touchdown in the ODAC, is tied for second in interceptions (2), tied for fourth in total tackles (47) and tackles per game (9.4), and tied for fifth in fumbles recovered (1).

Joseph Gonzalez has one of only three kickoff returns for a touchdown in the ODAC, and is second in kick return average (27.9). He is tied for third in Division III in kickoff return touchdowns (1).

Mason Cunningham leads the ODAC in receptions (35), is second in receiving yards (366) and receiving yards per game (73.2), and tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (3).

Elijah Swett is second in the ODAC in kick scoring points (35) and points per game (7.0), and tied for second in field goals (4).

Sophomore safety Jaylan Long (Martinsville) is tied for second in the ODAC in interceptions (2).

Austin Fernandez is third in the ODAC in receiving yards (342) and receiving yards per game (68.4), is fourth in receptions (22), and is tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (3).

Melik Frost is fourth in the ODAC in rushing yards (368) and rushing yards per game (73.6), and tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (5).

Tobias Lafayette is fourth in the ODAC in pass breakups (5), and tied for fifth in passes defended (5).

Dorian Green is tied for fourth in the ODAC in fumbles forced (1).

Sophomore cornerback James Townsend (Hardeeville, SC) is tied for fourth in the ODAC in fumbles forced (1) and tied for fifth in fumbles recovered (1).

Junior defensive end Brendan Wallace (Virginia Beach) is tied for fourth in the ODAC in fumbles forced (1).

Braeden Bowling is fifth in the ODAC in receiving yards (258) and receiving yards per game (51.6), and tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (3).

Jamahdia Whitby is tied for fifth in the ODAC in receptions (21) and receiving touchdowns (3).

Sophomore defensive end Jacob McKinney (Springfield) is tied for fifth in the ODAC in sacks (2).

Senior defensive tackle Braxton Mergenthal (Efland, NC) is tied for fifth in the ODAC in fumbles recovered (1).

ODAC Offensive Player of the Week (X2)
Andrew Puccinelli has already been named the ODAC Football Offensive Player of the Week two times this season, including week three and week six. He passed for a game-high and career-high 368 yards (30-42-0) and three touchdowns with no interceptions, adding one rushing touchdown, while making his first start of the season during a 58-28 road win at Greensboro (9/16). Last week against Ferrum (10/7), he passed for a game-high 296 yards (21-25-1) and four touchdowns—tying his career-high—with one interception during a 48-10 home win.

Oh So Close ...
H-SC opponents have converted two game-winning, two-point PAT attempts following touchdowns in the final minutes of the two one-point setbacks this season. Wabash (4-1) scored with 2:02 on the clock and converted a trick-play pass for its 29-28 road win on Sept. 2, while Bridgewater (4-1) scored with just 23-seconds remaining and converted a run for its 39-38 road win on Sept. 30.

It's A First (X6)
Junior tight end Sutton Lasso (Raleigh, NC) caught his first collegiate receiving touchdown in the season-opener vs. Wabash (9/2) ... a 16-yard catch from Carter Sido in the second quarter. Sophomore running back Markevus Graves-Franklin (Lynchburg) caught his first collegiate receiving touchdown vs. Brevard (9/9) ... a two-yard catch from Carter Sido in the first quarter—Graves-Franklin scored his first collegiate rushing touchdown at Greensboro (9/16) ... a six-yard run in the second quarter. Will Pickren scored his first collegiate touchdown at Greensboro (9/16) ... a 33-yard fumble return in the second quarter. Junior running back JT Diehl (Warrenton) caught his first collegiate receiving touchdown at Greensboro (9/16) ... a four-yard catch from Andrew Puccinelli in the third quarter. Freshman running back Terry Hicks (Clayton, NC) scored his first collegiate rushing touchdown at Greensboro (9/16) ... a 24-yard run in the fourth quarter. Joseph Gonzalez scored his first collegiate touchdown vs. Ferrum (10/7) ... a 91-yard kickoff return to begin the second half/third quarter.

Career Watch: Will Pickren
The 2022 First Team AP Division III All-American and three-time First Team All-ODAC safety currently totals 314 career tackles, and now needs just 31 to equal and 32 to surpass and become the school's all-time leader in tackles. Brendan Weinberg '22 is the current career leader in tackles with 345.

100/200-Yard Rushing Games
Melik Frost has six career games with 100-plus yards rushing, including a career-high 211 yards on 21 attempts (10.0) and four touchdowns last season vs. Greensboro (9/17/22). It was the sixth-best single-game rushing effort in program history. He has two 100-yard rushing games this season, including 103 yards on 23 attempts and one touchdown vs. Brevard (9/9) and 108 yards on 19 attempts and two touchdowns vs. Ferrum (10/7)  ... and had three other 100-yard rushing games in 2022, including 101 yards on 17 attempts and two touchdowns at Wabash (9/3), 105 yards on 18 attempts and one touchdown at Ferrum (10/8) and 125 yards on 30 attempts and three touchdowns vs. Guilford (10/29).

William V. Campbell Trophy®
George Langhammer was named a semifinalist for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award, as announced on Sept. 27 by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF). He was among a record number of 201 semifinalists from all divisions, while one of only two from the ODAC and 48 selected from Division III. Langhammer is the College's fourth consecutive semifinalist, following Tyler Howerton '21, Kaleb Smith '22 and Michael Harris '23—Howerton went on to become one of 12 finalists for the prestigious award in 2020. George is a six-time Dean's List student majoring in foreign affairs with a minor in Spanish and has attained a 3.91 GPA.

Team Captains
Leading the Tigers are senior offensive tackle TJ Minter (Chester), Will Pickren, James-Ryan Salvi and senior defensive end Tramell Thompson (Queens, NY). Minter becomes a two-time team captain after serving in the leadership role last season, as well, while Pickren, Salvi and Thompson are each first-time team captains. TJ is the son of the late Tony Minter and Catherine Minter. Will is the son of Wilson and Renee Pickren. James-Ryan is the son of Ryan and Denise Salvi. Tramell is the son of Chelsea Thompson.

Hampden-Sydney Football
H-SC has a 128-year history of football, amassing 575 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, 86 All-Americans, 16 Academic All-America selections and 214 First Team All-ODAC honorees. H-SC also played in the 1970 and 1971 Knute Rockne Bowls (NCAA College Division East Regional Championship).

Complete game notes are available via the linked PDF above.