Bridgewater looks at home in its 'new' home. Bridgewater athletics photo

Head east on I-64 and, if you time it just right, you will approach a gorgeous sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Welcome, you’re in ODAC country.

My Around the Mid-Atlantic predecessor, the estimable Ryan Tipps, lives in the heart of the region and can easily attend his share of ODAC or USA South contests during the season. Me, I live in Cincinnati, a good six hours (or a personal-best of 5:19) from the nearest ODAC institution, which just so happens to be my alma mater. I wish I could see more of the teams I cover in action, but haven’t had the chance since Washington and Lee played at Thomas More in the first round of the 2011 playoffs.

A recent road trip presented an opportunity to visit some ODAC institutions in the middle of the week. I visited with three conference coaches to talk not X’s and O’s, but facilities and surroundings. Division III is full of unique college towns, and the ODAC is no exception. Guilford is in a decent-sized city, but shares the Division III footprint with its neighbor, Greensboro. Catholic is in the biggest ODAC city, but is not a top draw for Washington, D.C. sports fans. Hampden-Sydney has arguably the best game-day atmosphere and tradition, but Farmville is not in the most accessible location. Randolph-Macon is close enough to be a suburb of the state capital, but Richmond is also home to a Division I program that won the 2008 FCS national championship. Emory and Henry is in a unique location, where the area’s biggest sporting event takes place at the speedway just across the Tennessee border.  

I didn’t make it to any of those schools this trip, but I’ve been to each one before. I hope to some day return to each of these stadiums, especially to see the recent renovations at Hampden-Sydney, Randolph-Macon, and Emory and Henry.

My trip took me up I-81. I woke up in Lexington, Virginia, a historic college town of roughly 7,000 citizens. I met an old professor, mentor, and friend for coffee at Lexington Coffee. I toured Wilson Field, renovated in 2008. The Generals built a new press box, new seating, a new FieldTurf, and a new video scoreboard. They also added visitor seating for the first time. The addition of lights to the new Wilson Field gave the Generals a new opportunity for night games. The football team now shares the field with W&L’s lacrosse team. I spoke to head coach Scott Abell about his favorite things to do in Lexington and what makes this town special.

The Generals have the most widespread recruiting base of all ODAC teams, bringing in student-athletes from all over the nation. Not many alumni stay in Lexington, and the Generals must compete with neighboring Division I program Virginia Military Institute for local Saturday crowds. Current students and team parents make up most of the game day crowd at Wilson Field, but there is healthy support from the Lexington community especially in light of the program’s three conference championships in the past eight seasons.

I headed north on I-81 toward a town even smaller than Lexington. It was an absolutely perfect, sunny day to drive through the Shenandoah Valley. I took Exit 240 and headed a few miles west to Bridgewater, Virginia. The Eagles installed new FieldTurf and added lights to the Jopson Field complex in 2013 and played the program’s first home night game on Sept. 13, a win over visiting Greensboro. This year, the athletic department’s facility, Nininger Hall, received a makeover. I visited Mike Clark in his new office and he gave a tour of the new Nininger, which opened on Sept. 9. New locker rooms, new coaches offices, and an improved weight room are among the renovation highlights. The college’s department of health and human sciences has its classrooms in Nininger. The history of Bridgewater athletics, including the program’s hall of fame, is proudly displayed. A highlight is the air-conditioned event space with a balcony that overlooks the football field.

Bridgewater is as remote as its residents are friendly. If you want a variety of dining or nightlife options, Harrisonburg is just a few minutes away. The home of the much larger James Madison University, the 2004 Division I FCS champions, Harrisonburg is close enough to keep the Eagles from feeling isolated in Bridgewater. After we reminisced about our shared hometown, Clark extolled the virtues of the city of Bridgewater and its surroundings. After two decades at Bridgewater, his passion for the town is undeniable.

Another hour up 81 took me to Winchester, a city roughly five times the size of Bridgewater. Shenandoah University is the newest kid on the ODAC block. The Hornets began playing football in 2000 and joined the ODAC in 2012 after 11 seasons in the USA South.

Unlike W&L and Bridgewater which neighbor Division I FCS programs, Shenandoah has enjoyed having Winchester all to itself. Many alumni stay in the area and support the program, which is still in the early stages of building a base of football alums. Scott Yoder took over the program in 2013, becoming just the third head coach in program history. The upstate New York native and his young family have fallen hard for the Winchester community. The love has been reciprocated, as evidenced by the Shentel Stadium crowd on Saturdays.

The metropolitan campus is the heart of Winchester. The relationship between the football team and the city might be the tighest in the ODAC. That bond will only grow stronger if the Hornets continue their ascent in the conference. After going winless in conference play in their first ODAC season, Shenandoah won three league games in Yoder’s first season. Winchester is abuzz over its Hornets.

Since Bridgewater’s streak of five straight undefeated seasons ended in the 2006 season after 36 straight ODAC wins, no team has repeated as conference champion. Few conferences are as wide open and unpredictable as the ODAC. As conference play opens this weekend, get ready for another season of #ODACtion.

USA South thriller(s)

The USA South is among those few conferences as wide open and unpredictable as the ODAC. Three of the past four seasons have seen multiple teams share the league title. Christopher Newport earned the league’s playoff berth three straight seasons, but tied for third place in the league behind co-champions Methodist and Maryville and spent the 2013 postseason at home. Senior quarterback Marcus Morrast is determined to lead the Captains back to the postseason in 2014. He put his team on his back on Saturday, leading CNU to a 51-48 double overtime win over Methodist. Morrast led the Captains on an 11-play drive to tie the game with 85 seconds left in regulation. After the Captains defense held Methodist to a field goal on their possession in the second overtime, Morrast needed just one snap. He made all 11 Monarchs defenders miss on a mesmerizing 25-yard touchdown run. He finished the game with 310 passing yards, 191 rushing yards, and six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing). He needed every last yard to outduel Max Reber, who passed for 480 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. Each team had a receiver haul in over 200 yards (Methodist’s Patrick Jacobs and CNU’s Rudy Rudolph). The Captains stand atop the USA South standings at 2-0. Greensboro, which was idle, is the only other team without a conference loss.

Jacques Alston rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns and added 78 yards and another score receiving to lead N.C. Wesleyan to a 34-30 win over Ferrum. The Panthers rallied from 13 points down to take a fourth quarter lead, but Alston’s fourth touchdown of the game gave the Bishops the win.

Averett jumped out to a 22-7 halftime lead over LaGrange, forcing four first quarter turnovers and a safety. Graham Craig rallied the Panthers to a 30-29 victory, finishing with 401 yards and three passing touchdowns. LaGrange did not turn the ball over in the second half, and Craig rushed for the game-winning score with 1:36 to play. Drew Evans started strong in place of the injured Kirkland Brown, completing 17 of 21 passes for the Cougars, but his fumble and interception on the first two possessions of the second half allowed LaGrange to creep back into the ballgame.

Then there were two

Johns Hopkins and Ursinus are the only undefeated teams in the Centennial through four games. The Blue Jays held off Muhlenberg’s second half rally to hand the Mules their first defeat of 2014. While the Mules played well against the Hopkins rushing attack, quarterback Braden Anderson made them pay. He completed 28 of 39 passes for 359 yards and four touchdowns.

The surprise of the Centennial so far has to be Moravian. The Greyhounds earned their third win of the season by holding off Dickinson. Moravian won just two games each season in four of the past five years, including the past three in a row. Having already surpassed their win total from each of the past three seasons, the Greyhounds are now looking to shock Ursinus on Saturday. Johns Hopkins will try to remain undefeated against last year’s Centennial surprise, Juniata.

What did I miss?

Do you know about any upcoming milestones, big games or new names in the Mid-Atlantic? Please share them with me. If you have suggestions for next week's column, please reach out to me on Twitter at @adamturer or via email at adam.turer@d3sports.com.