VIDEO FOR MOBILE: COACH CLARK RECAPS RANDOLPH-MACON AND PREVIEWS CATHOLIC
BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater College will look to earn its eighth win of the season on Saturday and cap off a stellar 2014 campaign when the Eagles travel to the nation's capital for a showdown with Catholic.
With a win, the Eagles could end the season in a tie for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title, but would miss out on the program's seventh championship due to the conference tiebreakers.
Bridgewater enters Saturday's game off of a strong showing in a 28-23 victory at Randolph-Macon. Senior Jacob Wright rushed for three scores and junior quarterback Ross Rushing threw an additional touchdown pass as the Eagles ended a three-game skid against the Yellow Jackets and secured their third victory in a row.
Catholic enters Saturday's game off of its first ODAC victory of the season. Last week in Washington, D.C., the Cardinals upended Washington and Lee by a 40-36 tally in a back-and-forth affair. TJ Tutone's five-yard touchdown run handed Catholic a four-point win, ending a five-game skid.
Offensively, the Eagles are led by the ground attack and the efforts of Wright. The senior enters the season finale with 13 rushing touchdowns which leads the conference and ranks in a tie for 16th in all of Division III. Wright's 13 rushing scores are the most for a Bridgewater tailback since Phillip Carter rushed for 17 scores in 2007. The Manassas Park, Virginia native enters Saturday's game needing 128 yards to become Bridgewater's 13th running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Behind center, junior Ross Rushing has earned the bulk of the snaps in recent weeks. Rushing's thrown for 1,150 yards and eight scores on the season. His two interceptions is the lowest total for an ODAC quarterback with 150 or more passing attempts.
Sophomore Jeffrey Moore leads the Eagles receiving corps with 42 catches and 458 yards on the season. Overall, Bridgewater's quarterbacks have connected with 19 different receivers on the year.
Bridgewater's defense is led by the efforts of senior linebacker Alex Collins. Collins enters Saturday's game needing 15 tackles to become Bridgewater's 11th player, and second in as many seasons, to amass 100 or more tackles in a season. Andrew Palmer tallied 103 stops a year ago. Overall, Bridgewater's defense leads the ODAC in yards allowed per game (341.1) and points allowed per game (22.3).
Catholic is led on the ground by the efforts of Matt Perno. Perno's rushed for 685 yards and eight scores on the year. As a team, the Cardinals average 168.2 yards per game on the ground.
Tutone paces the aerial assault for the Cardinals, throwing for 2,122 yards on the season. The junior has thrown 14 touchdowns but has also been intercepted a league-high 14 times.
Junior Tim Murphy is the leading target for the Cardinals with 35 catches for 412 yards. Tight end Lucas Morley adds 31 grabs for 373 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.
Anthony Santo's 66 tackles leads a Catholic defense which is statistically ranked last in points allowed per game (39.0) and yards allowed (452.6)
Bridgewater and Catholic meet up for the 25th time in series history on Saturday in the season finale for both teams. Bridgewater owns the all-time series with a 17-7 record against the Cardinals after Catholic ran past Bridgewater last season by a 42-19 score at the Jopson Athletic Complex.
Catholic's victory last season snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Eagles against the Cardinals. Catholic claimed the first game in series history by a 32-0 score in 1950.
Kick off on Saturday afternoon is set for 1 p.m. For fans who are unable to attend, the game will be aired live on 95.5 WBOP FM with the pregame show starting at 12:30 p.m.
