Sep 02, 2023
LEXINGTON, Va. - Four costly turnovers proved to be the deciding factor in the Washington and Lee University football team's 28-7 loss against No. 25 Salisbury University Saturday afternoon in the season opener at Wilson Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
- The Generals' opening drive seemed promising as they marched 58 yards down the field in 17 plays but on third and seven, Jacob Romero coughed up the ball and it was recovered by Salisbury's Casey Counts on the 17 yard line.
- Following the turnover, the Sea Gulls capped off a five-play, 83-yard drive with a 52-yard rush from quarterback Ben Hutchins to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Second Quarter
- W&L's second drive spanned into the second quarter but, once again, a fumble ended the drive. Burke Cigelske rushed left and was met by Frank Giannetti who jarred the ball loose on the Salisbury 21 yard line.
- Ronald Clark capped off a 13-play, 79-yard drive as he punched in a one-yard rush to extend the Sea Gulls' lead to 14.
- The Generals' next drive resulted in a punt as Stephen Murrin's pass to Cigelske lost them a yard on third down. However, the Generals' defense stood tall and stuffed Salisbury on a 4th and 11 attempt to get the ball back with 3:39 left in the second quarter.
- W&L's next drive stalled and Salisbury went into halftime with a 14-0 advantage.
Third Quarter
- Salisbury elected to receive in the second half and only needed two plays to find the endzone as Jaden Davis broke free on an 83-yard scamper to put the Sea Gulls up 21-0 just one minute into the half.
- Both teams' next drives resulted in punts but, on the Generals second drive of the half, Murrin found Evan Novak streaking across the field for a 24-yard gain. As Novak attempted to dive into the endzone, Barley delivered a big hit causing a fumble. The ball bounced outside of the right side of the endzone, resulting in a touchback for Salisbury.
Fourth Quarter
- The Generals' final drive of the third quarter stretched into the start of the fourth and Romero capped off a 15-play, 76-yard drive with a one yard rush to cut the Sea Gulls' lead to 21-7.
- The W&L defense forced the Sea Gulls to punt once again but a booming 50-yard kick from Noah Christenson pinned Murrin and the offense at their own five yard line.
- After getting the ball to their own 16 yard line, Murrin was scrambling out of the pocket and lost the ball which wobbled its way back to the Generals two yard line and was recovered by Sa'Veon Olfus.
- The Sea Gulls put the game away with a one yard scamper from Hunter Hruz to give them the 28-7 win over the Generals.
W&L GAME NOTES
- The Generals are now 3-8 in their last 11 season openers with their last win coming in 2018 at Dickinson College. W&L has not won a home opener since it defeated Averett University, 63-35, in 2015.
- W&L accumulated 21 first downs compared to Salisbury's 10, while picking up 18 of 21 first downs on the ground.
- The Blue and White out-rushed the Sea Gulls 270-198 on 60 attempts.
- The Generals defense held the Salisbury offense, who was ranked third in the nation in total rushing offense (325.4) a season ago, to 198.
- Washington and Lee was penalized three times for a total of 22 yards.
SALISBURY GAME NOTES
- Salisbury scored 21 points off W&L's four turnovers.
- The Sea Gulls had a total of ten first downs in the contest today, four rushing, four passing and two on W&L penalties.
- They rushed 31 times, producing an average of 6.4 yards per carry to gain their 198 rush yards. Salisbury gained 211 yards on the ground while only losing 13.
- The Sea Gulls completed eight of 17 pass attempts for a total of 106 yards and 13.3 yards per completion.
- Despite giving up 270 yards on the ground, the Sea Gulls limited the Generals to 4.5 yards per carry and one rushing touchdown.
- Salisbury was flagged four times for a total of 35 yards.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Salisbury's Ben Hutchins completed six of his 12 passes for 85 yards and a long of 29 yards while Murrin was 9-of-20 for 68 yards and a long of 24.
- W&L's Romero led all rushers with 115 yards, a new career-high, and one touchdown on 29 carries.
- Jaden Davis led the Sea Gulls with 93 yards on four carries which included a 83 yard touchdown run.
- Gabe Mendez of Salisbury led all receivers with two receptions for 44 yards and a long of 29 yards. Novak of W&L and Alex Richards of Salisbury each had 24 yards.
- Jimmy Celentano led all tacklers with 15 total tackles, 12 assisted and three solo. Hunter Hawk led the Generals with 11 total tackles, six solo and five assisted, while having 2.5 tackles for loss.
- Christenson punted four times for Salisbury for 181 yards for an average of 45.2 yards per kick with his longest being 50 yards.
UP NEXT
- The Generals host Methodist University on Saturday, Sept, 16.
- Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Wilson Field