BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College football team returns home to take on Roanoke on Homecoming.

When: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Where: Bridgewater, Va.
Stadium: The Stadium at the opson Athletic COmplex
Kickoff: 2:00 pm 
Gameday Forecast: Sunny and mild, 64F
        5% Chance of rain
Series Record: RC leads 4-0 (Last meeting 1930)

I'LL TAKE THAT: The Bridgewater defense leads the ODAC and ranks 11th in the country at the midway point of the season in fumble recoveries. The Eagles defense has fallen on six loose balls so far in 2025 with six different members of the defense having a recovery to their tally. Aaron Nice leads the defense in terms of causing turnovers as he sits tied for 10th in Div. III and share the ODAC lead with 0.6 forced fumbles per game. BC has just one interception to their credit in 2025, but the defense's tenacity on loose balls has them slotted inside the top 100 in turnovers gained in Div. III. 

THE HOV PROFILE:  Jaicere Bateman is in his third season leading the Eagles' offense and sits among the ODAC leaders. Bateman ranks second in the league and 40th in the nation in passing yards and sits second in points responsible for as well. Bateman's dual-threat ability has been on display in 2025 as he sits 30th in Div. III in rushing scores with six touchdowns on the ground including a pair last week. 

TAKING ADVANTAGE: The Bridgewater offense entered Saturday as the only ODAC school to score on every visit to the redzone, but the Eagles were 3-of-5 on trips inside the SU 20 yard-line on Saturday. Despite two empty trips, the Eagles are tied for the ODAC lead with Hampden-Sydney, converting on 87.5% of their trips to the redzone. 
STOPS BEHIND THE LINE:  Aaron Nice and Shalin Green rank among the ODAC leaders in sacks per game. Nice ranks 21st in Div. III in sacks per game (1.1) and 23rd in tackles for loss per contest (1.9), but the Eagles rank in the bottom half of the ODAC in sacks as a team. BC opened the season with 11 tackles for loss against Stevenson, but had not tallied more than four in a game until they racked up five stops behind the line last week in Winchester.

SPECIAL TEAMS MATTER:  Aiden Grefe was named the ODAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts against Shenandoah on Saturday for BC's second straight winner of the weekly award. Grefe punted just one time in Saturday's loss, but scored a touchdown on a fake field goal to keep the Eagles in the game in thr fourth quarter. Grefe ranks third in Div. III in punting, averaging 45.6 yards per attempt. BC's return game has also been a talking point as Brendan Robinson ranks 35th in Div. III averaging 27.7 yards per kick return. Tommy Nelson joins Robinson among the ODAC leaders in combined kick returns and BC ranks 17th in the country in kick return average. The ODAC as a whole is still searching for its first house call on a kickoff. 

SCOUTING THE MAROONS: Roanoke is in it's first full-time season since World War II and enters Saturday off a loss to (RV) Randolph-Macon. The Maroons enter Saturday with the ODAC's top passing attack as quarterback Kam Hill and company are averaging 237.5 yards per game through the air. The Roanoke defense has been one of the nation's best in causing turnovers as former Bridgewater Defensive Coordinator Mike Giancola's unit ranks in the top 10 nationally with eight passes picked off. The Maroons' defense has also been successful with its back against the wall with the ODAC's best redzone defense as they allow opponents to score on 63.6% of their trips inside the 20. On the contrary, the Roanoke offense ranks outside the top 200 in Div. III in the redzone as they earn points 63.2% of the time. 

ROANOKE HEAD COACH:  Brian Stinespring is in his first season leading the Maroons as a varsity program and his first as a head coach at the collegiate level.  Stinespring's coaching history has seen him make stops at any schools across the Commonwealth, with the most notable being his tenure under legendary head coach Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech. Stinespring served as the offensive coordinator in Blacksburg from 2002-2012 and was with the Hokies for 25 years in total.  The JMU alum has also had coaching stops at Maryland, Delaware, Old Dominion, VMI and his alma mater in Harrisonburg in addition to his time in Maroon and Orange. 

MAROONS DEFENSE: Roanoke ranks among the ODAC and national leaders in all things turnovers along with stopping the passing game. The Maroons rank 13th nationally in turnovers gained and 10th in passes intercepted. The Maroons total defense ranks 52nd in Div. III, while their efficiency against the pass ranks 22nd and is an ODAC best. 

FAMILIAR FACES: Two former members of the Bridgewater College football coaching staff return to campus on Saturday, but this time on the opposite end of the press box. Mike Giancola and Mitch Ferrick both spent time as assistants on the Eagles' staff during their careers. Ferrick was on the Mike Clark's staff for a pair of years in 2018 and 2019 as an offensive position coach and the recrutuing coordinator in 2019. Giancola spent seven years at BC including being the defensive coordinator and associate head coach during his tenure.

BATTLE OF DUKES: Saturday's matchup features a pair of James Madison alumni facing off as head coaches. Scott Lemn is a 2008 graduate of the Harrisonburg institution while Bryan Stinespring graduated from JMU in 1986. Lemn was an All-American selection as a center for the Dukes under legendary head coach Mickey Matthews, while Stinespring also saw action on the line up front in purple and gold.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Eagles return home after a two-game road swing in search of their first win at the Jopson Athletic Complex in 357 days on Saturday. BC has a 14-8 record at home under Scott Lemn, but have dropped their last four games at The Stadium. Bridgewater's last win in the daytime at home came 364 days ago against Averett, with the last home victory coming a week later in a Night game against SU.

HOMECOMING: Bridgewater is 4-0 on homecoming under head coach Scott Lemn. The Eagles have not allowed more than 16 points in those contests and are outscoring opponents 40.3-11.5 on average in said matchups.