Randolph-Macon has had its eyes on the end zone all season, and has found it often. Photo of Nick Hale by Dan Hunter, d3photography.com

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

Points haven’t been tough to come by for Randolph-Macon this season. In each of their first four games, the Yellow Jackets have lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 50 points or more, a first in program history.

They reached a high point last week against Guilford in a 70-14 win, hitting the 70-point mark for the first time since 1985, and along with that success comes added hype as the Yellow Jackets find themselves ranked 10th in the nation by D3football.com, the highest they’ve ever been in the poll.

And yet, as happy as head coach Pedro Arruza has been with his team’s play up to this point he is quick to remind everyone that the season is far from over.

“I think it’s still really early,” Arruza said. “We knew we had an experienced team coming back, and we have a really good group of guys who are trying to get better every week, but it’s early. That’s all I can say.”

Averaging 544.8 yards per game behind a well-balanced attack that has seen Randolph-Macon churn out more than 1,000 yards on the year in both the passing and running game, it’s easy to lock in on just the offense.

But the defense has been a big factor in what the Yellow Jackets have been able to do on the other side of the ball, limiting big plays, forcing turnovers and creating short fields.

“One thing I will say, and I stress this to the team, is that whenever we score a lot of points, it’s a team thing,” Arruza said. “We’ve been fortunate to create a lot of takeaways, we’ve had short fields and have had a lot of opportunities to score because of the way the defense has played.”

One play last week against Guilford in the ODAC opener serves as an example of the defense’s impact on what the offense has been able to do. On the first play from scrimmage, linebacker Jackson Deaver recovered a fumble at the 18-yard line of the Quakers.

Four plays later, Nick Hale ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.

“We have a great idea of what we are trying to accomplish, which is to limit the explosive plays, stop the run and get the ball back to our offense fast,” Deaver said. “At the end of the day, if the other team doesn’t score, and we get the ball back to our offense, our chances of winning go up. Every guy has a responsibility and everyone on the defense is playing great.”

That effort has allowed the Yellow Jackets to force 11 turnovers while holding opponents to an average of 24 minutes and 49 seconds of possession time.

“We simplified things (on defense) in the offseason,” Arruza said. “The guys have been playing really fast and have been good fundamentally.”

Deaver said the simplicity is working.

“I can tell you I’m playing a lot more free and a lot faster,” Deaver said.

Quarterback Drew Campanale can’t say enough about what the defense has done to help set the table for the offense, which has cashed in on 26 of its 27 opportunities in the red zone and is benefitting from a little more than 35 minutes and 11 seconds of possession time per game.

“Their takeaways and all that contribute to our success. It’s complementary football,” Campanale said. “When you get the ball inside the 50, anything can happen. It opens the playbook. We’re confident watching our defense and our offense knows we’re going to have chances to put points up.”

Campanale believed coming into the season that Randolph-Macon was poised to be a high-scoring team.

“We have an older and experienced offensive line, which is always a good thing, and I have a lot of confidence in our receivers and running backs. We’ve done some good things, but we’re still learning week to week and always trying to get better.”

It’s not just about the statistics, however. It’s about the players as well, and as Arruza points out, this team’s experience and willingness to work hard have been difference makers.

“We have a really mature group and a good number of fifth-year players back,” Arruza said. “The kids really care about football, they have great character and have really bought into what we are doing. And they want to be coached hard. Some teams don’t respond well to that. These guys have responded well.”

Deaver said the team bond has been crucial to success as well.

“We have 134 guys on this team and we are one big family,” Deaver said. “If you are on campus, you’ll see that we hang out all the time. These guys are all my brothers.”

A year ago, Randolph-Macon went 11-1, winning the conference championship before falling 39-32 to Delaware Valley in the second round of the playoffs.

The Yellow Jackets would love to duplicate that success this year and then some, but no one on this team is looking ahead.

“We don’t talk about how many games we are going to win and we don’t take anything for granted,” Arruza said. “At the end of the day, we want to be the very best football team we can be. My college coach told me the job of a head coach is to take the available talent and maximize results. That’s what I care about more than anything. It’s not about the number of points scored or who we beat. It’s about maximizing your capability and playing up to that. If you do, you have a shot to win games.”

Staying locked in amid the added attention is also important, and the players seem dialed in there.

“We’re focused on the task in front of us,” Campanale said. “We have to take care of each game. Every week is a playoff game for us. Our job is to be 1-0 at the end of it to have a chance to play in late November.”

Deaver has similar thoughts.

“There’s definitely outside noise, on campus, off campus, on social media,” Deaver said. “I can tell you we are shutting all that out. We’re focused on being 1-0 at the end of the week.  If we get complacent or start taking things for granted, we are going to find ourselves in a world of hurt at the end of the year. There’s always going to be outside noise, but we want everyone on the team to understand that doesn’t matter.”