Bridgewater Routs Shenandoah (Daily News-Record)

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — When it comes to pushing the envelope, traditionally conservative Shenandoah University barely registers a blip on the football radar.

But there the Hornets were at sun-soaked Jopson Field on Saturday, starting an unproven third-string freshman quarterback and cheekily opening the game with an onside kick.

Not that it helped at all.

For the second week in a row, Bridgewater (2-0) shut out a non-conference opponent, rushing past Shenandoah 30-0. And for the second week in a row, the BC offense — especially the passing game — showed signs of early-season rust.

Eagles coach Michael Clark said the air attack needs to get on track sooner rather than later if BC wants to stop seeing eight- and nine-man defensive fronts. The Eagles did gain 318 total yards – 147 passing -- but they were unable to string together a long scoring drive and quadrupled their punting total from last week’s 41-0 rout of McDaniel, going from one to four.

"People are going to force us to throw the football," Clark said later in Nininger Hall. "We have to throw it efficiently. The receivers are going to have to go one-on-one and be able to win."

BC quarterback Jeff Highfill had an up-and-down game Saturday, completing several clutch throws early but also overthrowing open receivers and tossing an early interception. Afterward, he credited the Hornets’ defense for disguising itself well.

"They threw some coverages at us that didn’t work out well for the plays we called," Highfill said. "And the other thing, I’ll take credit for it -- it was the formations. We’ve started to do more signaling and I made a few formation mistakes. That’s on me."

The Roanoke native was money when it counted. Facing a third-and-20 from the Hornets’ 46-yard line — with the Eagles leading 9-0 late in the second quarter — Highfill zipped an 18-yard pass to senior receiver Michael Oakes on a corner route. BC went for it on fourth down, and Highfill (8-of-17, 147 yards) found Brandon Copeland over the middle for a 16-yard gain. On the next play, the 6-foot-3 junior scampered 10 yards down the left side for the score.

It may have saved the offense from a halftime tongue thrashing.

"Yeah, [Coach Clark] was real happy with the last drive at the end of the half," Highfill said. "We made a statement there. He said we need to come out, stop relying on the defense, and make a statement."

His roommate and No. 1 safety outlet agreed.

"We had to pick up the intensity and get a little more focused," Copeland said, sporting a large pair of fashionable sunglasses on top of his head. "We were over-thinking ourselves. I guess that’s why you can say we’ve started a little shaky."

If 71 points in two games for the Eagles can be considered "shaky," then there are few adjectives to describe BC’s defense, which spent a good portion of the game in the Hornets’ backfield. It also continually frustrated SU quarterback Twaun Rhodes.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound freshman from Richmond completed just three of eight passes with one interception and fumbled the ball twice. He also rushed 10 times for minus-26 yards in his first-ever collegiate action.

Rhodes offered his props to the Eagles’ defense for his less-than-stellar stat line.

"That’s a disciplined team," Rhodes said. "They ran a couple of stunts and a couple of blitzes on the edge, but for the most part they were disciplined and knew what they had to do."

Hornets coach Paul Barnes testily defended his choice of Rhodes over senior Blake Derby, adding it was a "football decision," and not related to an injury.

But was it a prudent decision to start a freshman, on the road, against the No. 13 team in Division III?

Barnes thought so.

"Why? I mean, we’re going to face tougher tests in our conference. … So why not here? It’s not like we’re playing Superman,” he said. “I mean, they are a good football team, but I expect our team to go out there and win. And whoever I put out there, I expect to do the job."

Rhodes did little to test BC’s defense until late in the fourth quarter against the second-team unit. But with Shenandoah (0-2) facing a fourth-and-13 in the Eagles’ red zone, Rhodes’ pass was picked off by defensive back Kyan Thomas to seal the victory.

BC was without senior tailback Winston Young, who is nursing injured ribs. He was replaced by junior Phillip Carter, who rushed for 90 yards on 12 carries and scored the game’s opening touchdown with an 8-yard, tackle-breaking run in the first quarter.

Still, Carter was unimpressed with his performance, but noted that he’s pretty hard on himself.

"I always think I can do better," Carter said.

So do the Eagles, who get perhaps their toughest test next weekend when they travel to defending USA South Conference champion Ferrum (0-1).