SEWANEE, Tenn. - The University of the South football team will have a second attempt for a season opener Saturday against Washington and Lee University.
THE BASICS
Sewanee (0-0) at Washington and Lee (0-1) | Sept. 11, 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT
Lexington, Va. | Wilson Field
All-Time Series: WLU leads, 44-24
A LOOK AT THE GENERALS: Unlike Sewanee, Washington and Lee played for the first time in 659 days on Sept. 4 at Christopher Newport University. Trailing 21-14 with 13:19 left in the fourth, the Generals saw a 20-yard touchdown run by Coby Kirkland and a 35-yard field goal by Arturo Ramirez to lead 24-21 with six minutes left in regulation. On the next drive, the Captains, who are affiliate members of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), used a 13-play, 96-yard drive that saw 5:20 erased from the clock and ended with a 6-yard sprint by Matt Dzierski to give CNU the 28-24 victory.
As it has been with the Generals over the last couple of years, the running game was dominant in their loss to the Captains. WLU ran for 173 yards on 42 carries, led by quarterback Jack Pollard who had 93 yards on 18 carries. In 2019, WLU finished fifth in the nation in rushing offense (315.7).
CNU used a strong passing game, led by Dzierski, who had 266 yards and two scores on 29-of-39. Washington and Lee averaged 272 yards on passing defense two seasons ago.
Robert Poindexter and Parker Corley had two tackles for a loss, while David Onyejekwe had a 71-yard interception return.
Head coach Garrett LeRose enters his fourth season with the Generals, and has won the previous two meetings in the all-time series against Sewanee.
LAST TIME OUT VS. WLU: Sewanee and Washington and Lee last played in 2019 in Lexington, Va. Despite Sewanee taking a 7-0 lead into the half, WLU scored 42 unanswered points, all on rushing touchdowns, in the second half to win the contest, 42-7.
This will be the 69th meeting all-time between Sewanee and Washington and Lee as the rivalry returns in 2021. The Generals hold the advantage, 44-24.
The Generals have a 28-5 record in the series when the game is played at Wilson Field. Sewanee will be seeking its first win in Lexington since 1986 (16 straight).
Missing the 2020 edition due to COVID, it is just the second time since 1955 that the teams did not play in a season (2007).
HITTING THE RESET BUTTON: Sewanee, despite not actively participating in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) in 2020-21 due to the pandemic, is in a similar boat to Washington & Lee, who did not play at all last year.
Cooper Hancock, who went 13-of-22 for 166 yards and two touchdowns in Sewanee's lone spring game against Greensboro (N.C.), is expected to take some snaps this weekend. However, it will be Tucker Kirk that will be getting the nod under center for Sewanee's opening offensive possession.
While Michael McGhee and George Morrice should carry the bulk of the running game, expect newcomers to step up as well. On the receiving end, Dagem Samuel caught 109 yards in the spring game, and with the return of Cyrus McCullough, Cyrus Wilson and Grayson Baker, expect a well-rounded offensive attack for the Purple and White.
On defense, senior Henry Proctor is one of the leaders, joining Jacob Jackson and Thomas Latimer. Over the last three years, Sewanee has been one of the best teams in the conference in many defensive categories.
On special teams, expect junior kicker Brody Palmer to connect through the uprights in 2021, while Jack Satterfield will handle the punting duties.
SEPTEMBER 11: 20 YEARS LATER: 20 years ago, on a Tuesday morning, our country was shaken in less than two hours' time when 19 terrorists boarded and hijacked four commercial airplanes to attack America.
Airports were immediately shut down. Major League Baseball postponed the regular season for a week, and most of NCAA Division I football games were either postponed or canceled.
However, Sewanee and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) agreed to play athletic events that weekend as scheduled that have not been affected by travel problems. The Tigers were scheduled to host Emory & Henry College on the Domain on Sept. 15.
Entering his 27th year as Director of Athletics in 2021, Mark Webb reflected on that week, and there was a special guest in the stands at historic Hardee-McGee Field at Harris Stadium: Roy Kramer, Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) from 1990-2002. He was also Webb's boss when he was at Vanderbilt serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Internal Operations.
Webb received a phone call from Kramer informing him that the SEC was canceling games this weekend and asked if Sewanee was still playing their game as scheduled.
Kramer watched from the stands at historic Hardee-McGee Field at Harris Stadium as Sewanee won the game over E&H, 20-13.
#Sewanee2024: Because of the pandemic, we were unable to highlight our freshmen student-athletes of the Class of 2024. As the 2021 season begins on Wednesday, the football program "officially" welcomes 23 sophomores to the program: James Beddington, Decorian Bowers, Aidan Burnside, William Cady, Kabal Caldwell, Jo Cantrell, Zach Cowan, Austin Crowley, Walid Cruz-Vanegas, Josh Higuchi, Jacob Jackson, Alex Johnson, Hunter Jones, Tucker Kirk, Thomas Latimer, Connor Maness, Nathan Null, Dagem Samuel, Kaleb Seay, Cam Sizemore, Mason Ware, Neal Webb and Cyrus Wilson.
#Sewanee2025: The football program welcomes 34 newcomers to the team: Cody Anderson, Blake Bachman, Bennett Brinson, Ethan Britt, Stewart Buchanan, George Caldwell, Smith Cochran, Brady Cruthirds, Harris Cravens, Hunter Deal, Luke Dobson, Keegan Glaze, Cade Golden, Mitchell Gibbons, Kason Holder, Ryland Holder, Andrew Holloway, John Hubbard, Darrell James, John Luke Lasseter, Stevie Mack, Gray Nischwitz, Will Nottingham, Jose Osa, Price Pennington, Puk Puk, Payton Reed, Dawson Riggins, Dixon Riggins, Tripp Richardson, Jack Satterfield, Holt Stewart, Maverick Tucker and Jeremiah Young.
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