Randolph-Macon College Football

Game 4 – September 25, 2021

W&L (2-1, 1-0) at #16 R-MC (3-0, 1-0)

Series vs. Washington and Lee

The Yellow Jackets are 33-32-3 all-time against the Generals in a series that dates back to 1903. R-MC has won three of the past four meetings. W&L had won the previous two contests in Ashland before the thrilling 36-35 victory for the Yellow Jackets in 2019. R-MC is 25-17-1 against the Generals in ODAC contests going back to 1976.

Past 11 Meetings

11/2/19            H         W 36-35

9/29/18            A         W 23-7

9/28/17            H         L  14-17

10/29/16          A         W 18-10

10/17/15          H         L  17-21

10/18/14          A         L  25-28

10/19/13          H         W 27-21

10/13/12          A         L  14-49

10/15/11          H         L  30-34

10/16/10          A         L  28-42

10/3/09            H         W 21-13

2021 R-MC Results/Schedule (3-0, 1-0)

9/4       at Dickinson                      W 31-21

9/11     Catholic                             W 62-10

9/18     at Bridgewater*                W 31-13

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 107-66 (.618) 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 80-32 (.714) under Arruza. Arruza has been named ODAC Coach of the Year four times (2008, 2016, 2018, 2020).

Last Meeting

Chris Vidal executed a successful onside kick with 37 seconds remaining and nailed a 38-yard field goal with two seconds left as R-MC rallied for a 36-35 win over W&L.

How it Happened:

• After R-MC was held without a first down on their first possession, the Generals drove 46 yards for a TD and an early 7-0 lead. Following an exchange of punts, R-MC took over on its own 43 and used 10 plays to tie the game. Presley Egbers ran the final eight yards to make it 7-7 with 1:42 left in the first.
• R-MC put together a 14-play, 62-yard drive in the second quarter, as Egbers hit DeAndre Gill with a 15-yard TD pass as the Yellow Jackets led 13-7 at the half.
• W&L completed a 66-yard TD pass in the third quarter and took a 14-13 advantage into the final period.
• Early in the fourth quarter, Vidal hit a 25-yard field goal to put the home team on top 16-14. On the second play of its next drive, the Generals hit a 75-yard TD pass to reclaim the lead at 21-16.
• Vidal made another 25-yard field goal with 6:47 left to pull R-MC within two at 21-19. A 75-yard scoring run by W&L made it 28-19 with 6:34 left.
• R-MC had Andrew Ihle score from one-yard out, pulling within two at 28-26 with 3:17 remaining.
• The Generals had another 75-yard TD run to go up 35-26 with 3:06 left.
• The Yellow Jackets went 88 yards in 11 plays in 2:27 as Egbers hit Mike Avent with a six-yard TD pass as R-MC narrowed the gap again to two at 35-33 with 39 seconds remaining.
• Vidal bounced an onside kick to the left side that hit off a W&L player and was recovered by Cade Jones on the R-MC 46. Egbers moved the Yellow Jackets to the W&L 21. The snap was not clean, but Ihle quickly set the ball as Vidal nailed a 38-yard field goal with two seconds left to give R-MC a 36-35 lead. The Generals completed one pass, but Bryan Sullivan recovered a potential lateral to seal the R-MC victory.

Last Time Out

R-MC scored two touchdowns in a two-minute stretch late in the second period in a 31-13 ODAC victory at Bridgewater.

How it Happened:

• Neither team was able to pick up a first down on its first possession. The Eagles had 1st and 10 from its own 25. Stephen Richardson came up with an interception on the BC24. The Yellow Jackets moved to the BC5, where Chris Vidal nailed a 22-yard field goal with eight minutes remaining in the first period to give the visitors a 3-0 edge.
• BC faced 4th and 9 from the RMC32 when it hit a TD pass to go up 7.3 with 9:19 left in the second quarter.
• R-MC put together an 11-play scoring drive, as Presley Egbers reached the end zone from three yards out to put the Yellow Jackets on top 10-7 with 3:37 left until halftime.
• Jacob Hutchinson deflected a pass which was intercepted by Matt Vergara, who took it to the BC30. Zach Bowman made a nice catch on a 30-yard scoring pass from Egbers to put R-MC up 17-7 with 1:31 left until intermission. That would be the halftime score, with the visitors up 10.
• The Yellow Jackets took the second-half kickoff and drove 70 yards in 10 plays, with Justin DeLeon going in from seven yards out to make it 24-7 six minutes into the third period.
• BC rebounded and had a 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive to pull within 11 at 24-13 with 14:29 left in the final period.
• David Wallis took the kickoff to the RMC46. The Yellow Jackets drove 54 yards in 11 plays as DeLeon scored from six yards out to make it 31-13 with 7:14 left.
• The Eagles picked up a pair of first downs on their next possession, but a sack by Jace DePriest helped the R-MC defense stop BC on downs near midfield with 3:55 remaining. The Yellow Jackets picked up one first down and ran out the clock, securing the 31-13 victory.

Win Streak

Following the victory over Bridgewater, the Yellow Jackets have won 10 straight and 17 of their past 18 games. The 10-game win streak is the second-longest in program history. The program record for consecutive victories is 19, achieved from 1967-69.

Beat the Clock

R-MC is first in the ODAC and eighth in the nation in time of possession at 35:56. The Yellow Jackets have had the advantage in time of possession in each of its three games this season. R-MC held the ball for 40:05 at Dickinson in the opener.

Potent Passing

The Yellow Jackets are first in the ODAC and fourth in the nation in team passing efficiency at 204.98.

Potent Punts

R-MC is first in the ODAC and second in the country in net punting at 47.4. Senior Chris Vidal has punted five times this season for an average of 47.8 yards per kick.

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.

Strong on the Ground

Justin DeLeon leads the ODAC in rushing at 98.3 yards per game. He rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the first two contests.

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

D3football.com Top 25 – Week 3

1    NCentral (Ill.)(12) 2-0       596   4

2    MH-Baylor (10)    3-0       595   1

3    UW-Whitewatr(1) 3-0       580   2

4    Mount Union (2)   2-0       571   3

5    Wheaton (Ill.)        1-1       484   5

6    St. John's               2-0       478   7

7    Hardin-Simmons   3-0       435   6

8    UW-Oshkosh        2-0       423   9

9    Linfield                 2-0       414   11

10  Delaware Valley   3-0       410   10

11  Wash. & Jefferson 3-0       342   12

12  Union                    3-0       292   13

13  Bethel                    2-0       283   15

14  Central                  3-0       280   16

15  Salisbury               1-1       267   14

16  R-MC                   3-0       237   18

17  Chapman               3-0       201   17

18  Johns Hopkins       3-0       195   21

19  Ithaca                    3-0       189   19

20  Whitworth             3-0       122   23

21  John Carroll           1-1       118   20

22  Heidelberg            2-0       102   22

23  UW-La Crosse      2-1       81     24

24  Muhlenberg           2-1       78     8

25  Cortland                3-0       61     --

Dropped out: No. 25 Berry.

Others receiving votes: Hobart 47, Berry 34, Westminster (Pa.) 33, Gustavus Adolphus 30, Susquehanna 20, Aurora 17, Birmingham-Southern 16, Wabash 14, Wartburg 13, Centre 12, Bridgewater (Va.) 10, Baldwin Wallace 9, Ursinus 9, UW-Stout 7, Trinity (Texas) 7, Case Western Reserve 6, RPI 4, Widener 2, UW-River Falls 1.

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.