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| Trevor Oakes completed two key passes on Birmingham-Southern's final drive and capped it off with a naked bootleg for the game-winning touchdown. Birmingham-Southern athletics file photo by Michael Wade |
Birmingham-Southern came up big in the final minute, Mary Hardin-Baylor rolls again, and ODAC members Randolph-Macon, Hampden-Sydney and Bridgewater each got their seasons off on the right foot in Week 4 of the 2020-21 Division III football spring season.
On a day where Robert Shufford was held in check, Trevor Oakes came up big in the closing minutes, running the two-minute drill to perfection. He drove the Panthers 60 yards in just five plays and took 48 seconds to get himself and his team in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown in a 42-35 win.
Tavion Fleming set B-SC up with great field position after a kickoff return out to the 40, where they started with 1:22 left. Oakes found Wells Smith in Centre territory for a 13-yard gain, then hit Branden Rew on a big play down to the 9, and on second-and-goal, Oakes took the naked bootleg and ran it in for the touchdown.
Robert Shufford's streak of 100-yard rushing games ended, as he was held to 76 yards on 20 carries.
Brett Tharp had a timely tackle for loss, and an even more timely interception to help Bridgewater hold off Shenandoah and win 27-21 in the season opener for both teams. The Eagles had jumped out to a 21-0, only to see the Hornets creep back into it.
Nick Rauchwarg took a 63-yard touchdown catch into the end zone early in the fourth quarter to cut Bridgewater's lead to 24-21. Bridgewater responded with a bruising drive, eating up 8:37 while going 50 yards on 17 plays, converting two fourth downs on the way to a 27-yard Cameron Gieseman field goal. Shenandoah responded with a drive that seemed destined to give the Hornets the lead, but Tharp jumped in front of Zachary Mathis' pass at the 10-yard line and sealed the win. Tharp added nine tackles in the win. The victory was also Michael Clark's 165th career victory, breaking the ODAC record set by Emory & Henry's Lou Wacker.
Randolph-Macon's defense was firing on all cylinders under the lights on a rainy Friday night, holding Guilford to 71 yards of total offense in a 44-0 win. Sophomore Zyreon Jones-Walker recovered a fumble on the GC 35 on the third play from scrimmage and it never got better for the Quakers. Presley Egbers hit Joseph Marinella for a 12-yard score five minutes in, the Yellow Jackets added a field goal, then scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to put the game away early. It was win 100 for Pedro Arruza as R-MC's head coach.
Freshman Melik Frost rushed for two touchdowns in his collegiate debut, and the Tigers' defense had three interceptions and a fumble recovery, to lead Hampden-Sydney to a 21-0 Old Dominion Athletic Conference win against visiting Southern Virginia. H-SC's defense was strong all day, limiting SVU to only 152 yards of total offense, 88 yards through the air. Davis Pinkston passed for 88 yards (13-for-16) with one interception, adding seven rushes for 39 yards for SVU. Tigers defensive lineman Tyler Lohman had a fumble recovery, seven tackles and a tackle for loss in helping preserve the shutout.
Rhodes scored its first touchdown of the season after being held scoreless for 11 consecutive quarters, but it was Berry which improved to 2-0, rolling past the Lynx 54-7. The performance was punctuated by a 57-yard pick-six by Brock Skinner, one of his two interpcetions on the day. Gavin Gray threw three touchdowns for the Vikings.
UMHB rolled up 465 yards of total offense, 255 on the ground, as the Cru improved to 2-0 with a 52-7 win against Southwestern. Starting quarterback Tommy Boweden ran for 112 yards on nine carries and was 7-for-12 passing for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The Cru defense held Pirates quarterback Landry Gilpin to 4-for-13 passing for 126 yards, the biggest chunk coming on a 57-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
Plus, this:
2) @brandonjay21k mossed the defender and gets the foot down on an incredible TD grab. #SCTop10 #UMHB #d3fb pic.twitter.com/cA6R3jFWJQ
— Jack Allen (@JackAllenKXXV) February 28, 2021