HOMECOMING RUN:
Bridgewater will play in three Homecoming games over the next four weeks, beginning with a chance to spoil Shenandoah's Homecoming weekend on Saturday.
The Eagles' own Homecoming is on October 17 vs. Guilford, followed by Washington & Lee's Homecoming game vs. BC the next week.
PARKING INFORMATION FOR SATURDAY:
Due to the rain and wet conditions, all football parking for Saturday, October 3 is limited to paved lots only. Please do not park on grass. Handicap parking is unchanged; available at home and visitors sides of the stadium.
Gates open at 4:30. Parking for Saturday's game is free to all. Both the campus entrance and Route 50 entrance to stadium are open and available for use.
The following lots will be open:
Lot P (Paved Lot): Valid Reserved Parking Passes Only
East Campus Commons: Open to all. Enter off of Route 50 or Shockey Drive
Aikens Athletic Center: Open to all.
Lot B (Chapel Lot): Available to all.
Parking Garage: Available to all
Lot G (Grass Lot): CLOSED TO ALL
Tailgating is permitted in all open lots at vehicle locations.
BRIDGEWATER TAILGATE PARTIES:
Saturday will be the first of two Bridgewater Football Tailgate parties, featuring a pre-game potluck (the second will be at Hampden-Sydney on October 31). The Shenandoah tailgate starts at 5 p.m. and the College hopes to see a strong alumni and fan turnout. For more information, visit bridgewateralumni.com or call 540-828-5451.
LAST TIME OUT:
Bridgewater is coming off a comfortable 34-14 victory over The Apprentice School on September 19 at Jopson Field.
PREVIOUS MEETING:
Matthew Pisarcik connected with
Jacob Wright on a 47-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and the Bridgewater defense had two fourth-down stops over the final four minutes of play as the Eagles defeated Shenandoah by a 27-23 tally last year. That game was also the ODAC opener for both squads.
Wright led the Bridgewater ground attack with a 107-yard evening on 23 carries and added that crucial 47-yard touchdown reception. Pisarcik was efficient all evening, completing 10-of-14 passes for 155 yards and two scores.
Nicholas Anthony and
Alex Collins led the defense with 13 tackles each.
SERIES:
Bridgewater is 13-2 vs. Shenandoah, with Mike Clark at the helm for the entire series. Despite an Eagle dominance in the win column the games have been consistently close, with Bridgewater not winning by more than one score since 2007. The Hornets grabbed a 29-20 win two years ago and a 10-6 decision in 2008.
HEAD COACHES:
Clark's 136 overall victories have included 13 wins over Shenandoah. The Hornets are led by Scott Yoder, who is trying to pull his record to .500 after going 11-12 in his first two-plus seasons in charge at SU.
BRIDGEWATER OFFENSE:
Nick Ollie has taken over primary rushing duties over the past two games, and leads the Eagles in both rushing yards (139) and touchdowns (three).
Jeffrey Moore ranks fifth in the ODAC with 16 catches, and leads Bridgewater in all-purpose yards with 219. Bridgewater is looking to continue to improve on an offensive attack that ranks seventh in the ODAC in both scoring and total offense through three games played.
BRIDGEWATER DEFENSE:
Jason Monroe, a sophomore, now has three interceptions, tied for the ODAC lead. A young defense includes freshmen
Tyler Miller (15 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 TFL) and
Chance Morris (12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL) among its team leaders as well.
BRIDGEWATER SPECIAL TEAMS:
Chandler DeHaven continued his perfect start to 2015 vs. Apprentice, and made his longest kick of the year with a 41-yard field goal. He is now 4-for-4 FGs and 10-for-10 PATs.
Tyler Dawson is averaging 35.5 yards on 18 punts, with no touchbacks and eight kicks inside the 20.
SHENANDOAH OFFENSE:
Shenandoah has racked up 123 points in a 3-0 start, third-best in the conference. Junior running back Cedric Delaney (375 yards, 4 TDs) is the only ODAC player averaging over 100 yards per game on the ground this season. The 2014 All-ODAC, All-State and All-Region selection was a second team USA College Football Preseason All-American this fall.
SHENANDOAH DEFENSE:
The Hornets' defense stood firm last game in their first true test of the season, shutting down North Carolina Wesleyan in the second half of a game that was tied 17-17 heading into the break. The Hornets forced four punts and got an interception from Michael Messick and a fumble recovery from Bayvon Young- leading to the 14 points that made the difference in the contest.
SHENANDOAH SPECIAL TEAMS:
Sophomore punter Christian Arias is averaging an impressive 39.5 yards per attempts (with no touchbacks), although he does not appear as the ODAC leader due to minimum attempts with a successful Shenandoah offense only being forced to punt 10 times in three contests.
DOUGLASS HONORED FOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Bridgewater senior
Sean Douglass has been named a national semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's 2015 Campbell Trophy, recognizing the top football scholar-athlete in the country across all divisions. Douglass was one of 135 semifinalists named, of which just 27 came from Division III. He was also the lone ODAC player on the list. The NFF will announce 15 finalists on Oct. 29, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments.
A second team All-ODAC and All-State selection in both 2013 and 2014, Douglass is in his third year as Bridgewater's starting center. As a student, he has maintained a 3.86 GPA in a challenging applied physics major (with minors in computer science and mathematics). He has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team in each of the past two seasons. Over the summer Douglass, who wants to pursue a career in computer engineering, worked as a systems engineer intern- using rockets to clear inactive satellite debris from outer space.
ODAC WEEKLY UPDATE:
Only two teams were action this past weekend, but both proved victorious in the ODAC's final two non-conference contests of the season. Washington and Lee University moved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2000 season with a 56-21 triumph over Newport News Apprentice. Emory & Henry College recovered from a 14-0 deficit to move to 2-1 with a 27-24 win over NCAA Division I FCS foe East Tennessee State. Read the full ODAC Week 4 Report here: http://odaconline.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/092715-fball-report-week04
After the Wasps' big win over a bigger opponent, ODAC Player of the Week honors went to E&H kicker Skyler Simcox (two 48-yard field goals) and cornerback Tre'von Lightfoot (interception). Lightfoot is tied with Monroe for the ODAC lead with three interceptions.
ODAC PRESEASON POLL:
Following a four-team tie for first place in 2014, it was little surprise to see a crowded group near the top of the 2015 ODAC preseason coaches poll. Bridgewater, Hampden-Sydney and Emory & Henry all tied for second, with Guilford emerging as the favorite. The Eagles will face the preseason favorite Quakers on Homecoming (October 17), while BC's Halloween trip to Hampden-Sydney was listed by D3football.com as one of the region's top matchups this season.
CATCHING UP WITH…:
Check your home football game programs for a feature from
Steve Cox catching up with some of Bridgewater's football's popular alumni. Last game's article is now posted online and chronicled the program's first-ever ODAC championship through the eyes of that year's senior class: http://bridgewatereagles.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20150930knqaux
NEXT TIME OUT:
Bridgewater is about to enter a tough stretch where the Eagles will face the top five teams from last year's ODAC standings (besides themselves) over five consecutive weeks. That grind begins next Saturday at Emory & Henry, who defeated the Eagles 34-21 last season, in the second of four away games over five weeks.
