Randolph-Macon College Football

Game 3 – September 18, 2021

#18 R-MC (2-0, 0-0) at BC (2-0, 0-0)

Series vs. Bridgewater

R-MC is 61-17-3 all-time against BC in a series that dates to 1926. The Yellow Jackets have won five of the past six and 10 of the past 13 meetings with the Eagles. The Yellow Jackets won 25-13 this past spring in Ashland. BC claimed a 28-21 victory at home in 2019. R-MC won 44-41 in double overtime in 2018 in Ashland and posted a 52-24 victory three years ago at BC. The Yellow Jackets have averaged 34.7 points per game vs. the Eagles in the past 10 contests. R-MC is 30-14-1 in ODAC games vs. BC going back to 1976. R-MC went 21-0-1 in the first 22 meetings with BC before the Eagles posted an 18-0 win in 1962.

Past 13 Meetings

3/5/21              H         W        25-13

11/9/19            A         L          21-28

10/20/18          H         W        44-41 2OT

10/7/17            A         W        52-24

10/8/16            H         W        21-0

11/7/15            A         W        35-14

11/8/14            H         L          25-28

11/9/13            A         W        35-34

11/3/12            H         W        38-26

11/5/11            A         W        51-36

11/6/10            H         L          26-31

11/7/09            A         W        33-23

11/8/08            H         W        40-18

2021 R-MC Results/Schedule (2-0)

9/4       at Dickinson                      W 31-21

9/11     Catholic                             W 62-10

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

Last Meeting

Presley Egbers rushed for more than 100 yards, threw for two touchdowns and ran for one more R-MC defeated Bridgewater 25-13 at Day Field.

How it Happened:

• The Eagles took the opening kickoff and drove to the R-MC 1. BC tried a quarterback run on fourth down but was stopped by Jace DePriest as the Yellow Jackets took over on downs. The Yellow Jackets put together a 17-play drive and moved to the BC 8. The Eagles held and Chris Vidal hit a 31-yard field goal to give R-MC a 3-0 lead with 2:38 left in the opening period.
• Following a BC punt, R-MC drove to the Eagles 21. Vidal made a 38-yard field goal to put the home team on top 6-0 with 10:30 left in the second quarter. After another BC punt, Egbers took the Yellow Jackets down the field and hit Zach Bowman on a six-yard scoring pass to give R-MC a 12-0 lead with 2:50 left.
• The Eagles got on the board with 39 seconds left to make it 12-6. After a fair catch on the kickoff, Egbers hit speedy David Wallis on a 73-yard scoring strike as the Yellow Jackets took an 18-6 lead at intermission.
• BC scored on its first possession of the second half to make it 18-13. Egbers would score from one yard out early in the fourth to make the final 25-13.

By The Numbers:

• Egbers completed 11 of 14 passes for 190 yards and two TDs. He ran the ball 24 times for 103 yards and one score.
• Justin DeLeon had 22 carries for 109 yards.
• Wallis had three catches for 145 yards and one score.
• DePriest and Stephen Richardson led the R-MC defense with four tackles each.

Last Time Out

R-MC amassed nearly 700 yards of total offense, including 443 through the air, in a 62-10 victory over Catholic.

How it Happened:

• The Yellow Jackets took the opening kickoff and put together an impressing 69-yard scoring drive in 13 plays, using seven minutes. Justin DeLeon took it in from one-yard out to give R-MC a 7-0 lead.
• The R-MC defense forced a punt on the first possession for the Cardinals. Presley Egbers hit David Wallis in stride for a 70-yard scoring strike as the home team went up 14-0 with just over five minutes left in the first period.
• Catholic found the end zone on the first play of the second quarter as it cut the deficit in half at 14-7.
• On the ensuing possession, the Yellow Jackets would go 66 yards in 11 plays as Egbers connected with Holden Hodge on an eight-yard TD pass as the lead grew to 21-7 with 9:19 left in the first half.
• With four minutes until halftime, Joel Calkins forced a fumble and KU Htoo recovered on the Catholic 49. DeLeon scored from 10 yards out with 53 seconds remaining as R-MC led 28-7 at intermission.
• The Cardinals had a 15-play drive to start the third period, but the R-MC defense held them to a field goal, making it 28-10.
• Egbers hit DeLeon on a screen pass that went 59 yards for a touchdown, giving the Yellow Jackets a 35-10 advantage.
• Owen Arruza had an interception and Kwesi Clarke found the end zone from 10 yards out to extend the lead to 41-10.
• Early in the fourth quarter, the R-MC defense stopped Catholic on down at their five-yard line. After Clarke gained one yard on first down, sophomore Brecht Heuchan hit Zach Bowman on a 94-yard TD pass to make it 48-10.
• Heuchan connected with Hodge on an 85-yard scoring play, extending the lead to 55-10. Clarke scored from 28-yards out with 53 seconds left to make the final 62-10.

By The Numbers:

• R-MC finished with 694 yards of total offense. The Yellow Jackets had 251 on the ground and 443 through the air.
• DeLeon had his second straight 100-yard rushing game, carrying the ball 20 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
• Egbers went 11 for 17 for 230 yards and three TDs. Heuchan was perfect, completing all six passes for 213 yards and two scores.
• Wallis had four catches for 97 yards and one TD. R-MC had two receivers go over 100 yards. Holmes had 3 catches for 111 yards and one score, while Bowman grabbed three balls for 102 yards and a touchdown.
• Calkins paced the defense with seven tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one pass breakup.

Head Coach Pedro Arruza

Pedro Arruza is in his 18th season as head coach at Randolph-Macon. He has compiled an overall record of 106-66 (.616) and now owns the top spot on R-MC's career list with those 106 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 79-32 (.712) under Arruza. Arruza has been named ODAC Coach of the Year four times (2008, 2016, 2018, 2020).

Win Streak

Following the victory over Catholic, the Yellow Jackets have won nine straight and 16 of their past 17 games. It matches the second-longest win streak in program history. The Yellow Jackets also won nine straight between 1969 and 1970. The program record for consecutive victories is 19, achieved from 1967-69.

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.

Top In Punting

R-MC leads the nation in net punting at 51.0. Chris Vidal had two punts in the opener at Dickinson. The Yellow Jackets did not punt in the win over Catholic.

Strong in Passing

The Yellow Jackets are fourth in country and first in the ODAC in team passing efficiency at 224.3. R-MC is tops in the conference and 15th in the nation in passing yards per completion at 18.4. The Yellow Jackets are first in the league and 19th in the country in completion percentage at .717.

Strong in 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.

Strong Offense

R-MC is tops in the ODAC and eighth in the nation in total offense at 553.5 yards per contest.

Strong on Third Down

The Yellow Jackets are first in the conference and ninth in the country in third down conversion percentage at .583.

Strong on the Ground

Justin DeLeon leads the ODAC in rushing at 114.5 yards per game. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the first two contests.

Beat the Clock

R-MC is first in the ODAC and 11th in the nation in time of possession at 36:43.

D3football.com Top 25 – Week 2

1    MH-Baylor (13)    2-0       597   1

2    UW-Whitewater   2-0       577   3

3    Mount Union (4)   1-0       574   2

4    N Central (Ill.) (4) 1-0       573   4

5    Wheaton (Ill.) (4)  1-0       539   5

6    Hardin-Simmons   2-0       449   7

7    St. John's               1-0       448   6

8    Muhlenberg           2-0       419   9

9    UW-Oshkosh        2-0       396   11

10  Delaware Valley   2-0       390   10

11  Linfield                 1-0       354   12

12  Wash & Jefferson 2-0       309   13

13  Union                    2-0       292   14

14  Salisbury               1-1       288   8

15  Bethel                    2-0       255   17

16  Central                  2-0       249   16

17  Chapman               2-0       211   18

18  R-MC                   2-0       205   19

19  Ithaca                    2-0       107   --

20  John Carroll           0-1       106   22

21  Johns Hopkins       2-0       105   25

22  Heidelberg            1-0       92     23

23  Whitworth             2-0       80     24

24  UW-La Crosse      2-0       79     --

25  Berry                     2-0       74     --

Dropped out: No. 15 Wartburg; No. 20 Brockport; No. 21 Aurora.

Others receiving votes: Case Western Reserve 38; Redlands 35; Bridgewater (Va.) 30; Hobart 30; Cortland 29; Wabash 25; Westminster (Pa.) 25; Aurora 21; Wartburg 21; Gustavus Adolphus 21; Brockport 16; Centre 13; Susquehanna 13; East Texas Baptist 13; Baldwin Wallace 8; Birmingham Southern 7; Western New England 5; Middlebury 4; RPI 2; Trinity (Texas) 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.

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.