Eagles Scrimmage Hargrave PG

The Bridgewater College Eagles had their annual scrimmage versus Hargrave Military Academy's post-graduate football team on Thursday night. The game was played under the lights at Bridgeforth Stadium on the campus of James Madison University. Hargrave is known as one of the best prep teams in the country. They currently have 19 players committed to attend major Division I-A schools next season.

Hargrave won by a final of 35-20, with the second half played with no special teams except for extra points. The Eagles got on the board first with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter when junior Jeff Highfill connected with senior Michael Oakes for a 42-yard touchdown. Sophomore Luke Taylor added the extra point to give Bridgewater a 7-0 lead. The Eagles' defense held Hargrave to only 54 yards of offense in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Hargrave finally got on the board with 4:18 left in the half when Andrew Calantone found Ronnie Tyler (committed to Maryland) for a 50-yard score. Kyle Hughes' extra point tied the score at 7-7.

Following a three-and-out by Bridgewater, Calantone would find Ben Finney in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. Another Hughes' extra point would make it 14-7. The Eagles' Taylor would boot a 28-yard field goal as time expired to bring Bridgewater within four at 14-10.

Senior Winston Young gained 49 yards on 11 carries for the Eagles in the first half, with junior Phillip Carter adding 32 yards on four carries. Highfill finished with 61 passing yards before senior Nick Lincoln took over in the second quarter, going 4-of-6 for 27 yards. On the receiving end, Oakes tallied 42 yards on two catches, while junior Brandon Copeland hauled in three receptions for 41 yards.

On defense for the Eagles, senior linebacker Craig Smith recorded six tackles through the first half. Senior defensive back Derrick Burroughs added four stops. Midway through the first quarter, with Hargrave on Bridgewater's one-yard line, Smith forced a fumble which junior Desmond Jalloh scooped up.

Special teams looked especially good, with sophomore punter Scott Ruebush booting a 55-yarder and 36-yarder. Senior Colin Owens added a 62-yarder and 42-yarder. In the return game, Young returned a kickoff 18 yards, while sophomore Rocket Gadsden ran one back 36 yards. Copeland returned one punt for 13 yards. Defensively, special teams blocked a punt and tackled the punter who fumbled the snap on another for a loss of 17 yards.

Here is the scoring summary for the second half;

-Bridgewater's Kyle Beach (K) kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:42 left in the third quarter to bring the Eagles within one, 14-13.
-Hargrave's Jamie Childers (QB) scored on a 15-yard run with 1:17 left in the third quarter, a Hughes extra point made it 21-13.
-Hargrave's Emanuel Francis (QB, committed to Louisville) passed to Brent Vinson (WR, committed to Tennessee) for a 13-yard touchdown. Hughes' extra point made it 28-13 with 6:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
-Bridgewater's Ricky Milbourne (QB) passed to Jon Brown (WR) for a five-yard score. Taylor's extra point made it 28-20 with 2:20 left in the game.
-Hargrave's Jamie Childers (QB) scrambled for a 47-yard score with 1:30 remaining in the game. Hughes' extra point made the final score 35-20.