Randolph-Macon College Football

Game 5 – October 2, 2021

R-MC (3-1, 1-1) at Ferrum (3-0, 0-0)

Audio Pregame Show at 12:30 pm https://rmc.prestosports.com/video/FB

Series vs. Ferrum

R-MC earned its first win in the series two years ago at Ferrum, a 31-10 victory. The Panthers won the first five meetings. Ferrum is 2-1 at home and 3-0 in Ashland. The teams are 1-1 in ODAC contests.

9/28/19            A         W 31-10

11/3/18            H         L 23-28

10/27/90          H         L 14-41

10/28/89          A         L 10-59

10/25/86          H         L 20-35

10/26/85          A         L 34-41

2021 R-MC Results/Schedule (3-1, 1-1)

9/4       at Dickinson                      W 31-21

9/11     Catholic                             W 62-10

9/18     at Bridgewater*                W 31-13

9/25     Washington & Lee*          L 24-25

10/2     at Ferrum*                         1:00 pm

10/9     Emory & Henry                1:00 pm

10/16   at Guilford*                      1:00 pm

10/23   Apprentice                        6:00 pm

10/30   Shenandoah*                    1:00 pm

11/13   Hampden-Sydney*           1:00 pm

Head Coach Pedro Arruza

Pedro Arruza is in his 18th season as head coach at Randolph-Macon. He has compiled an overall record of 107-67 (.615) and now owns the top spot on R-MC's career list with those 107 victories. Ted Keller previously headed the career wins list with 105 victories in 18 seasons (1964-81). Over the past 12 seasons, the Yellow Jackets are 80-33 (.708) under Arruza. Arruza has been named ODAC Coach of the Year four times (2008, 2016, 2018, 2020).

Flip the Field

R-MC is first in the nation in net punting at 50.38. Chris Vidal has punted eight times for an average of 50.6 yards per kick. Five of his punts have been 50 yards or more. Vidal would lead the country in punting but has not had enough attempts to qualify.

Last Meeting

R-MC picked up 184 yards on the ground and 182 yards through the air, and the Yellow Jacket defense held the Panthers to nine first downs and 10 points, as R-MC posted a 31-10 ODAC victory at Ferrum.   R-MC took the opening kickoff and put together a 13-play drive, going 67 yards in 7:06. R-MC moved to the FC 7, where Colin Brooker hit a 24-yard field goal to give the visitors an early 3-0 lead. On the first drive for the Panthers, a fumble was recovered by the Yellow Jackets at the FC 16. Presley Egbers hit Sam Tanner with a 16-yard scoring strike as R-MC took a 10-0 lead with 6:30 left in the first period. The Yellow Jacket defense forced a pair of punts. R-MC faced 3rd-and-1 on the FC 45 when Jordan Foster ran the distance for a TD, giving the Yellow Jackets a 17-0 advantage less than a minute into the second quarter. FC put together a scoring drive, getting a TD with 8:41 left in the half to make it 17-7. That would be the score at intermission. With 9:35 left in the third quarter, the game was delayed 2:30 by lightning. The teams traded punts before the Yellow Jackets took over on their own 33. R-MC would use 11 plays to go 67 yards in 6:24, as Foster scored from two yards out to give the Yellow Jackets a 23-7 advantage with 55 seconds left in the third period. Ferrum would take the ensuing kickoff and move to the RMC 11. On 3rd-and-10, Erik Harris had a sack for a loss of six yards. The Panthers settled for a field goal, making it 23-10 with 12:27 left in the fourth quarter. After R-MC was forced to punt, the Yellow Jacket defense held FC to 3-and-out. Foster fielded the punt on his own 13 and returned it 60 yards to the FC 27. R-MC needed four plays to reach the end zone, as Egbers hit Trey Owens with a five-yard scoring strike with 7:09 remaining. Tanner caught a pass from Andrew Ihle on the extra-point attempt to make the final 31-10. Egbers hit 15 of 22 passes for 175 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Foster had five catches for 41 yards, while Owens added four receptions for 27 yards and a score. Tre Frederick finished with 26 carries for 77 yards. Calvin Whitehead topped R-MC with 11 tackles.

Last Time Out

Washington and Lee scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with no time remaining to edge R-MC.

How it Happened:

• The Yellow Jackets took the opening kickoff and drove 67 yards in 10 plays, as Presley Egbers found the end zone from five yards out as R-MC took a 7-0 lead five minutes into the contest.
• The R-MC defense held the Generals to 3-and-out and took over on their own 38. The Yellow Jackets moved to the W&L 26, where an interception stopped the drive with one minute left in the first.
• The Generals went 89 yards in nine plays to knot the score at 7-7 with 11:20 left in the second quarter.
• On the next Yellow Jacket possession, Egbers scored from four yards out to give the home team a 14-7 lead with 5:19 left until halftime.
• Following an exchange of punts, W&L hit a 78-yard TD pass to level the score at 14-14 at intermission.
• The Generals took the second-half kickoff and drove to the RMC 15, hitting a 32-yard field goal to make it 17-14 with 8:15 left in the third period.
• On the ensuing drive, R-MC would move 60 yards in 14 plays to the W&L 15. Chris Vidal hit a 32-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the third to tie it at 17-17.
• Early in the fourth quarter, W&L faced fourth and six on their own 30. A bad snap on the punt attempt rolled back to the three, where the punter kicked the football into the end zone. The Yellow Jackets declined the safety and accepted the illegal kicking penalty, taking over on the W&L 1. Justin DeLeon scored on the next play as R-MC went up 24-17 with 14:44 remaining.
• After another exchange of punts, Vidal pinned W&L at its own one with 7:38 left. The Generals drove the length of the field and faced fourth and one from the RM 1 with one second left. W&L scored on the 19th play of the drive and was successful on the two-point conversion to take the 25-24 victory.

ODAC Standings          ODAC      Overall

Washington & Lee         2-0             3-1

Hampden-Sydney          2-0             2-2

Randolph-Macon         1-1             3-1

Ferrum                            0-0             3-0

Shenandoah                   0-1             2-1

Bridgewater                   0-1             2-2

Guilford                         0-2             1-2

Saturday, Oct. 2

*Randolph-Macon at Ferrum 1 pm

*W&L at Hampden-Sydney 1 pm

Guilford at Apprentice 1 pm

*Bridgewater at Shenandoah 7 pm

Saturday, Oct. 9

Emory & Henry at R-MC 1 pm

*Shenandoah at Guilford 12 pm

Apprentice at Washington & Lee 1 pm

*Ferrum at Bridgewater 2 pm

Best in ODAC

Over the past six seasons, R-MC is 42-11 overall (.792) and 29-6 in ODAC play (.829). Both marks are the best in the conference. Over the past 15 seasons, the Yellow Jackets are 100-44 overall (.694) and 65-28 in league play (.703). Both records also lead the ODAC.

Beat the Clock

R-MC is first in the ODAC and 12th in the nation in time of possession at 35:00. The Yellow Jackets have had the advantage in time of possession in each of their four games this season. R-MC held the ball for 40:05 at Dickinson in the opener.

Win Streak

The Yellow Jackets had their 10-game win streak snapped vs. WLU. That 10-game win streak was the second-longest in program history. The program record for consecutive victories is 19, achieved from 1967-69.

Potent Passing

The Yellow Jackets are first in the ODAC and 14th in the nation in team passing efficiency at 181.32.

Potent on PATs

Chris Vidal now owns the program record for PATs made at 140. Josh Storm (2009-12) held the previous mark at 137. Vidal has the third-highest total in ODAC history. Matt Seals of E&H (2016-20) is first at 166 and Tyler Hunt of Guilford (2012-15) is second at 156.

Strong on Third Down

R-MC leads the ODAC and is eighth in the country in third down conversion percentage at .558. The Yellow Jackets were 8 for 11 vs. Catholic for 72.7% and went a perfect 5 for 5 in the second half.

Strong on the Ground

Justin DeLeon leads the ODAC in rushing at 96.0 yards per game and in all-purpose yardage at 117.8 yards per contest. He rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the first two contests. DeLeon also leads the conference with 73 carries, five rushing touchdowns, six total TDs and 36 points.

High Point Total

The Yellow Jackets tallied 62 points in the win over Catholic. The last time R-MC scored as many as 62 points was October 6, 2018, when the Yellow Jackets topped Guilford 63-34.

High Total Offense

The 694 yards of total offense against Catholic was the most for the Yellow Jackets since Sept. 12, 2015, in a 49-28 win at Averett. R-MC had 340 rushing yards and 376 through the air against the Cougars.

Brothers Put Points on the Board

Freshman Kyle Ihle made the final three extra points for R-MC against Catholic. His brother, senior Andrew, was the holder for those three kicks.

Potent Passing, Part 2

R-MC had two quarterbacks throw for at least 200 yards in the win over Catholic. Starter Presley Egbers was 11 of 17 for 230 yards and three TDs. Brecht Heuchan came off the bench to go 6 for 6 for 213 yards and two scores.

Players of the Week

R-MC has had ODAC Player of the Week each of the past two weeks.

9/12 ODAC Offensive Player of the Week

Justin DeLeon, senior running back

Registered 174 all-purpose yards and scored 3 touchdowns in 62-10 win over Catholic. Rushed 20 times for 105 yards & 2 scores. Had 2 catches for 68 yards and 1 TD.

9/19 ODAC Defensive Player of the Week

Dominic Gray, sophomore linebacker

Led all players with 11 tackles in 31-13 win at Bridgewater. Had 6 solo stops. R-MC defense held Eagles to 27 yards rushing on 24 carries.

Returning All-Conference Performers

R-MC returns several All-ODAC selections from this past spring.

Off. Player of the Year: QB Presley Egbers

First Team

QB Presley Egbers

OL Will Jackson

OL Nehemiah Nixon

PK Chris Vidal

DL Tyler DeBerry

LB Matt Vergara

DB Cade Jones

Second Team

WR David Wallis

OL Connor Denning

OL Tre Fortune

DB Stephen Richardson

2021 ODAC Football Preseason Poll

1 Randolph-Macon (6) 36 pts.

2 Hampden-Sydney 27 pts.

3 Bridgewater 26 pts.

4 Washington and Lee (1) 25 pts.

5 Shenandoah 14 pts.

6 Ferrum 13 pts.

7 Guilford 6 pts.

All-Americans

This past spring, kicker Chris Vidal and offensive lineman Will Jackson were All-America Second Team by D3football.com.

Double Century Mark

Twice last season, R-MC had two players rush for more than 100 yards in the same game. Against Bridgewater, running back Justin DeLeon had 22 carries for 109 yards and quarterback Presley Egbers rushed 24 times for 103 yards. At Shenandoah, Egbers rushed for 174 yards on 19 carries. Running back Nick Hale ran 18 times for 102 yards.

ODAC Titles

For the 2020 season, played this past spring, R-MC claimed its 12th ODAC title and third in five years. The Yellow Jackets won ODAC crowns in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2008, 2016, 2018 and 2020. In the 46-year history of the ODAC, R-MC has won the most championships with 12. Pedro Arruza has led the Yellow Jackets to four titles, while Ted Keller and Jim Blackburn followed with three ODAC titles as R-MC head coach. Scott Boone and Joe Riccio both led the Yellow Jackets to one title.