Randolph-Macon College Football

Game 2 – September 11, 2021

Catholic (1-0) at #19 R-MC (1-0)

Series: R-MC leads 24-13-1 since 1947

The Yellow Jackets have won 10 of the past 12 meetings with the Cardinals, including the past six in Ashland. R-MC has scored at least 20 points in each of the past 12 meetings and at least 34 points in six of the past nine contests. The Yellow Jackets went 13-5 against Catholic in ODAC games.

9/12/2018     H               W     41        6

9/16/2017     A               L       20        25

10/22/2016   H      *       W     21        0

10/10/2015   A      *       L       20        28

10/10/2014   H      *       W     42        21

10/11/2013   A      *       W     34        10

10/5/2012     H      *       W     45        12

10/7/2011     A      *       W     51        34

10/8/2010     H      *       W     56        28

9/26/2009     A      *       W     31        21

9/27/2008     H      *       W     32        20

9/22/2007     A      *       W     27        17

9/23/2006     H      *       L       7          14

9/24/2005     A      *       L       24        28

9/25/2004     H      *       W     16        13

9/27/2003     A      *       L       14        31

9/28/2002     H      *       W     26        18

9/22/2001     A      *       W     24        20

9/23/2000     H      *       W     31        28

10/9/1999     A      *       L       26        35

9/19/1998     A              L       12        22

9/20/1997     H              L       21        34

9/21/1996     A              W     30        28

9/16/1995     H              T       50        50

9/17/1994     A              L       18        25

9/18/1993     H              W     34        6

9/19/1992     A              L       14        20

9/21/1991     H              L       7          10

9/15/1990     A              W     20        15

9/16/1989     H              L       11        16

9/24/1988     A              W     12        7

9/26/1987     H              L       14        19

10/20/1984   H              W     37        18

10/22/1983   A      *       W     6          3

10/14/1950   H               W     26        21

10/15/1949   A               W     9          7

1948                               W     20        13

1947             H               W     35        0

Last Meeting

The Randolph-Macon offense gained 456 yards, including 381 yards on the ground, and the Yellow Jacket defense held Catholic to six points in a 41-6 victory at Day Field.

How It Happened

• The Cardinals (0-3) scored a TD on their second possession, but missed the extra point in taking a 6-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets (2-1) would score on its next four possessions (2 TDs & 2 FGs) to take a 20-7 lead at the break.
• Sean McDonald had a one-yard scoring run and Burke Estes scampered in from three yards out, both coming in the first period, as R-MC took a 14-6 advantage.
• Chris Vidal hit field goals of 22 and 23 yards in the second quarter to put the home team up 20-6 at the break.
• After punting on its first possession of the second half, the Yellow Jackets tallied touchdowns on their next three drives to build a 41-6 lead.
• McDonald added a two-yard TD run in the third quarter to make it 27-6.
• Jordan Hall scored from seven yards out and Joe McBride found the end zone from two yards away in the fourth period as R-MC posted the 41-6 victory.

By The Numbers

• The Yellow Jackets rushed 48 times for 381 yards and five TDs. Hall gained 134 yards on seven carries, while Tre Frederick had 127 yards on 17 rushes.
• For the third straight game, R-MC won time possession. The Yellow Jackets had the ball for 34:33, compared to 25:27 for the Cardinals. R-MC held the ball for 10:06 in the final period.
• The R-MC defense held CUA to 95 yards on 36 carries. Brady Berger went 13 for 21 for 135 yards for the Cardinals, but was sacked six times.
• Julian Drew averaged 50.7 yards on three punts, having one downed on the CUA one-yard line.
• Ryan Burns topped the team with six tackles. Aaron Cox registered a pair of sacks for -17 yards, while Joel Calkins had two tackles for loss for -4 yards.

Last Time Out

The Yellow Jackets outscored the Red Devils 28-7 over the final three periods as R-MC posted a 31-21 victory at Dickinson.

How it Happened:

• After DC was forced to punt on its first possession, R-MC drove to the DC 21, where Chris Vidal hit a 41-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead four minutes in.
• The Red Devils found the end zone on their next two possessions to take a 14-3 with 5:38 left in the first quarter.
• Late in the second period, the Yellow Jackets put together a 10-play, 63-yard scoring drive as Presley Egbers found Joey Hunt on a five-yard TD pass with nine seconds left as the visitors trailed 14-10 at halftime.
• R-MC took the second-half kickoff and drove 84 yards in 12 plays, with Holden Hodge running it in from three yards out as the Yellow Jackets reclaimed the lead at 17-14.
• The Yellow Jacket defense held DC to three-and-out on the subsequent drive and R-MC needed nine play to go 74 yards to reach the end zone again. Nick Hale scored from 18 yards out as the Yellow Jackets went up 24-14 late in the third period.
• The Red Devils scored early in the fourth to pull within three at 24-21.
• R-MC responded with another scoring drive. The first six plays were rushes and moved the Yellow Jackets into the Red Zone. Hale finished the drive with a one-yard TD run as R-MC took a 31-21 lead with 5:33 remaining.
• DC drove to its 48, but the R-MC defense stopped the home team on downs. The Yellow Jackets took over near midfield with 3:43 left, picked up a first down and were able to run out the clock and claim the victory.

By The Numbers:

• R-MC amassed 415 yards of total offense, with 252 on the ground. Justin DeLeon carried 17 times for a career-high 123 yards, his second 100-yard rushing game.
• The Yellow Jackets held the ball for more than 40 minutes.

2021 R-MC Results/Schedule (1-0)

9/4       at Dickinson                      W 31-21

9/11     Catholic                             1:00 pm

9/18     at Bridgewater*                2:00 pm

9/25     Washington & Lee*          1:00 pm

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 105-66 (.614) and is now tied for the top spot on R-MC's career list with those 105 victories. Ted Keller shares first with Arruza on the career wins list with 105 victories in 18 seasons (1964-81). Over the past 12 seasons, the Yellow Jackets are 78-32 (.709) under Arruza. Arruza has been named ODAC Coach of the Year four times (2008, 2016, 2018, 2020).

Win Streak

Following the victory at Dickinson, the Yellow Jackets have an eight-game win streak. R-MC won its final two games of 2019 and went 5-0 this past spring.

Wednesday Action

In their last meeting on Sept. 12, 2018,      R-MC and Catholic played on a Wednesday evening. Hurricane Florence was expected to hit central Virginia that weekend, so the game was moved up from Saturday to Wednesday ahead of the storm.

Record Tie

When Catholic travelled to Ashland on Sept. 16, 1995, the teams battled to a 50-50 tie. It is in the NCAA record book as the highest scoring tie in Division III history.

All-Americans

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

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.

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

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.

D3football.com Top 25 – Week 1

1    MH-Baylor (12)    1-0       594   1

2    Mount Union (4)   1-0       581   2

3    UW-Whitewtr (1) 1-0       573   4

4    N Central (Ill.) (4) 0-0       562   3

5    Wheaton (Ill.) (4)  1-0       544   5

6    St. John's               1-0       462   6

7    Hardin-Simmons   1-0       431   7

8    Salisbury               1-0       412   8

9    Muhlenberg           1-0       410   13

10  Delaware Valley   1-0       365   12

11  UW-Oshkosh        1-0       349   9

12  Linfield                 0-0       346   10

13  Wash & Jefferson 1-0       299   19

14  Union                    1-0       263   15

15  Wartburg               1-0       233   18

16  Central                  1-0       204   14

17  Bethel                    1-0       195   16

18  Chapman               1-0       170   21

19  R-MC                   1-0       163   17

20  Brockport              1-0       148   22

21  Aurora                   0-1       142   23

22  John Carroll           0-1       99     11

23  Heidelberg            1-0       84     24

24  Whitworth             1-0       61     --

25  Johns Hopkins       1-0       56     --

Dropped out: No. 20 Westminster (Pa.); No. 25 Berry.

Others receiving votes: UW-La Crosse 55; Berry 49; Bridgewater (Va.) 34; Susquehanna 31; Westminster (Pa.) 29; Ithaca 28; Redlands 27; Wabash 27; Case Western Reserve 21; Hobart 16; East Texas Baptist 10; Hope 9; Centre 8; Cortland 8; Hanover 5; Middlebury 5; Hendrix 4; UW-Stevens Point 4; Western New England 4; Baldwin Wallace 2; Huntingdon 1.

The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.