BRIDGEWATER, Va. – On Saturday evening, history will be made on the Bridgewater College campus as the Bridgewater Eagles football team hosts Greensboro College on in the first-ever night football game in school history.
One year after the school completed the turf field project and installed lights at the Jopson Athletic Complex, the Eagles will tangle with the Pride for the third time in series history with major stakes on the line. Not only are the Eagles looking for their third win in a row against the Greensboro Pride, pride will be on the line as the Eagles look to take home a victory in the program's first night game.
Last season the Eagles used an efficient offense and a defense that scored a touchdown off of a Sammy Coleman interception return to run past Greensboro by a 33-7 score at Jamieson Stadium. Willie Logan and the Bridgewater offense piled up 436 total yards, including 244 yards on the ground in a 26-point victory.
This season, the two teams are coming off of mirror opposite opening weekends. Last week, the Eagles came from behind for a 33-32 victory at Gettysburg. The win marked the first time since the 2011 season finale against Catholic that the Eagles notched a come-from-behind win and it was a familiar face that proved to be a major difference maker in both games. Senior wide receiver Cliff Woodard hauled in the game-winning touchdown pass in that comeback win against Catholic, and also led the Eagles on Saturday with five receptions for 135 yards and two scores.
Bridgewater's quarterback situation remains unsolved after Ross Rushing and Matthew Pisarcik each showed moments of brilliance and also committed costly mistakes against the Bullets. Both quarterbacks threw an interception, but Pisarcik led the Eagles on the game-winning drive and amassed 202 yards and three scores on 19-of-30 passing. Rushing finished the day with 116 yards and a touchdown, but his interception was returned for a score by the Bullets defense.
Bridgewater's defensive performance was very similar to that of the quarterbacks last week as the unit made plays when it needed to in securing the program's ninth-straight season opening victory. The defense allowed Gettysburg to rush for 204 yards on the day, but following the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were able to hold off the Bullets offense in securing the victory. Senior linebacker Alex Collins led the Eagles with 13 tackles and a pair of sacks in the win.
Greensboro is reeling entering Saturday's game after a 52-0 loss on Saturday at Guilford College in the annual Gate City Soup Bowl. The Pride held with Guilford through a quarter of action before allowing a 24-point second quarter as the Quakers ran away to their first shutout win in series history with the Pride. The 52 points given up by the Pride defense also marked the highest points total in series history.
On offense, the Pride also used two quarterbacks as Mac Graham threw for 106 yards and Ryan Throndset threw for an additional 70 yards. On the ground Warren Scott, Jr. had 45 yards, while Raymond Jackson contributed 26.
Greensboro's wide receivers were led by the efforts of Raymond Bridges who recorded 71 yards on three receptions.
Defensively, linebacker Chase Sam led the way for Greensboro with a game-high 17 tackles and a fumble recovery.
The Eagles will be looking for their 47th victory in the month of September under Clark when action kicks off on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Jopson Athletic Complex. Prior to Saturday's game, the College will host a Fan Day from 4 to 6 p.m. as the College welcomes fans and community members to take a guided tour of the newly renovated Nininger Hall facility and enjoy refreshments.
For fans who are unable to attend, the game will be aired live on 95.5 WBOP FM in the Shenandoah Valley starting with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. For fans outside of the area, a live video stream will be available at BridgewaterEagles.com. Fans will be able to enjoy high-definition streaming at a cost of $5, or watch the game in standard definition for free, courtesy of Bridgewater's partnership with Boxcast, Inc.
