BridgewaterFootball.com Blog

BC Picked First In ODAC Football (DN-R)

2007-08-08T20:51:00.000-05:00

The Daily News-Record - By Matthew Stoss

SALEM – Bridgewater College’s Michael Clark didn’t have a prepared speech for his live Internet debut at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s preseason football gathering Tuesday, but he did have one advantage over his fellow coaches.

He was the only one wearing a tie.

It wasn’t a bad fashion choice, considering that the Eagles once again were in the spotlight during Media Day festivities at the Salem Civic Center – and not just because the event was carried live to fans via a link on the ODAC’s Web page.

The league’s coaches picked Bridgewater, the ODAC’s dominant football school since 2001, to regain the conference championship after a lapse in 2006. The Eagles edged out defending champion Washington & Lee, 45-42, in the preseason poll, and collected five first-place votes to the Generals’ two.

Clark, not surprisingly, downplayed the poll.

"[Rankings] mean a lot more to people on the outside than to the people in-house," Clark said.

Nationally, BC is ranked 17th by Street & Smith’s, but the Eagles did not make the Top 25 in the more prestigious D3football.com poll.

W&L is the only other ODAC team ranked, checking in at No. 25 in Street & Smith’s.

Clark, meanwhile, reminded reporters that Bridgewater can’t claim conference supremacy until it atones for last season’s two costly losses.

"Until October, I have to live with the fact that there are at least two people in this room better than me," the 13th-year coach said.

He was referring to Emory & Henry and Guilford. Both beat Bridgewater last year, handing the Eagles their only two losses of an 8-2 campaign and ending their run of five straight ODAC titles. Worse, the losses kept BC out of the Division III playoffs for the first time in sixth years.

Bridgewater did get a consolation prize of sorts. It handed Washington & Lee (7-4) its only league loss. W&L finished 5-1 in the conference to snag the ODAC’s automatic playoff berth, while the Eagles went 4-2 in the league.

"The tolerance for error in this conference is non-existent," W&L coach Frank Miriello said.

The rest of the preseason picks had Guilford (6-4, 3-3) third, followed by Emory & Henry (6-4, 4-2), Hampden-Sydney (4-6, 4-2), Catholic (3-7, 1-5) and Randolph-Macon (2-8, 0-6).

A primary reason for Bridgewater’s favored preseason status is experience: The Eagles return 29 seniors, by far the highest of any ODAC team. W&L has the next most with 16. Guilford has the fewest with eight.

"I get more scared every second when I hear these guys report on what they’ve got coming back," Miriello said.

For BC that includes senior quarterback Jeff Highfill – a second-year starter – who is part of an ODAC bulging with returning signal callers.

"It’s a league of quarterbacks," Miriello said. "It was a few years ago and it is again this year."

Miriello returns ODAC Rookie of the Year R.J. Varner, who passed for 1,101 yards and completed 61 percent of his passes in eight games. He threw eight touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

Guilford brings back Josh Vogelbach, who led the league in passing last season. The junior threw for 3,394 yards and completed 57.3 percent of his passes with 32 touchdowns, but he was picked off 26 times.

The only team not returning a quarterback is Emory & Henry, which graduated Todd Woods.

"That makes for exciting football," Clark said of the surplus of experienced QBs.

But Vogelback will be throwing to all new hands. The Quakers lost their top two receivers in ODAC Offensive Player of the Year Chris Barnette and Micah Rushing. They combined for 1,597 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Highfill had the best completion rate in the league at 59.9, while throwing for 1,723 yards, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Eagles also return the ODAC’s fourth-leading rusher in Phillip Carter and a trio of 2006 first-team all-conference selections: cornerback Earl Chaptman, safety Desmond Jalloh and offensive lineman Keaton Culver.

Overall, the Eagles return nine All-ODAC selections, including Carter and leading receiver Brandon Copeland. Both were second-team choices. Highfill received honorable mention.

Despite his program’s tradition and experience, Clark picked another team No. 1 in the ODAC.

"I didn’t vote for Bridgewater because Washington & Lee is the champion until someone takes that away from them," he said.

Clark Gets Potential Star At Linebacker (DN-R)

2007-08-01T15:29:00.001-05:00

The Daily News-Record - by Brent Johnson

BRIDGEWATER — Two years ago, Bridgewater College football coach Michael Clark didn’t think he could convince Stanley Barbour to play for the Eagles.

The kid just had too much talent for a Division III program.

But after a postgraduate season at Fork Union Military Academy in 2005, Barbour’s football career stalled. The former Waynesboro High School star left school and ended up working at Home Depot.

Football, however, was always on his mind.

"There was still that ‘what if?"’ the 19-year-old Barbour said Tuesday. "I was still under 20. I had years ahead of me. You never know."

So, he contacted the one school that never stopped calling him: BC.

"They never got quiet on me," Barbour said.

And now, he’s paying them back. Barbour, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker, said Tuesday that he has committed to play for the Eagles, beginning this fall.

Although Barbour has been out of football for a year and a half, Clark calls him one of the highlights of this season’s recruiting class.

Clark said he will likely play Barbour at outside linebacker, but he could easily move him to defensive end — the position Barbour played at Waynesboro. Clark wouldn’t say whether Barbour would start.

John Shuman, the postgraduate football coach at Fork Union, said Barbour could be "the next Bridgewater All-American."

"He’s one of the best players I’ve ever been around," Shuman said via phone. "He’s an impact player. He makes a lot of plays.

"We’re glad he’s at BC. We’re sad he didn’t get a good bite out of Fork Union, either from a I-A or I-AA school. But we’re glad he’s persevered."

It just took BC a while to land him.

Barbour played defensive end and tight end for Waynesboro, earning All-Valley District honors his senior season. He also was all-district in track, running the 110-meter high hurdles and 200-meter dash and throwing the shot put and discus.

After high school, Barbour attended Fork Union to focus on improving his academics. The school moved him to outside linebacker and started him most games, Barbour said.

Shuman said Barbour had the ability to play for a Division I school, but Fork Union was slow to send out Barbour’s highlight reel and he didn’t begin drawing interest until the season ended that winter. By that point, Shuman said, a lot of players had committed right out of high school and many colleges had already filled their spots.

"Somebody in-state should have [picked him up]," Shuman said.

Barbour said smaller schools like Charleston and Emory & Henry showed interest, as did Temple, long a Division I-A doormat.

Temple, Barbour said, wanted him to come to the school for the spring of 2006 and try out for the team. The Owls said they would then offer him a scholarship if they liked saw, Barbour said.

"But when I looked at that, it didn’t really sound good to me," Barbour said by phone from his home in Waynesboro. "… It was like being led in blind."

So, Barbour took some time off and got a job cutting meat at Kroger in Waynesboro. He then landed a job at the Waynesboro Home Depot, where he’s still a cashier.

Barbour said Temple stayed in contact from time to time over the next year, but Bridgewater offensive line coach Stephon Healey called often to check up on him.

Then, in February, Barbour called Clark. Still, he didn’t commit until July because Barbour said he still hadn’t made up his mind about whether returning to football is what he really wanted.

Now, Barbour has to readjust to life as a football player — though he said he’s confident he can.

"I’ve stayed in shape," Barbour said. "I haven’t gotten sloppy. I won’t allow that. …

"But we’ll have to wait until camp to see. That’s when I’ll really prove it."

At least BC finally got him.

"It’s the old analogy: Division III football isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon," Clark said. "And it’s been a long race."

BC Ranked No. 17 by Street & Smith

2007-06-23T13:10:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater football is ranked No. 17 in the preseason magazine released by Street & Smith, now on newsstands for $6.99.

The magazine says the following about the Eagles:

"Bridgewater College had its streak of five straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference titles snapped last year, but the Eagles appear poised to return to dominance. Quarterback Jeff Highfill completed 59.9% of his passes for 14 touchdowns, and can also hurt opponents with the run. Brandon Copeland is his top target (41 catches, 672 yards). Keaton Culver heads an offensive line that has four starters back, and running back Phillip Carter figures to benefit the most. Cornerback Earl Chaptman, safety Desmond Jalloh, and tackle Michael Jackson pace the defense."

Street & Smith also states that one of the "games to watch" will by Bridgewater at Washington & Lee. The Generals were ranked No. 25 by the preseason magazine.

Below is Street & Smith's Division III preseason top 25:

1. Mount Union
2. St. John's
3. St. John Fisher
4. UW-Whitewater
5. Mary Hardin-Baylor
6. Rowan
7. Wabash
8. Washington & Jefferson
9. Wheaton
10. Whitworth
11. Bethel
12. Occidental
13. Wilkes
14. Springfield
15. Millsaps
16. Central
17. Bridgewater (Va.)
18. Wartburg
19. Hope
20. UW-La Crosse
21. Linfield
22. Ohio Northern
23. Carnegie Mellon
24. Coast Guard
25. Washington & Lee

Clark Adds Defense to His Duties (D-NR)

2007-06-06T07:31:00.000-05:00

The Daily News-Record - By Matthew Stoss

BRIDGEWATER – Bridgewater College football coach Michael Clark is returning to his roots.

After more than a dozen years of coaching his team’s quarterbacks, Clark said Tuesday he plans to focus on the defensive side of the ball this season, assuming the coordinator’s duties and also coaching linebackers.

"My on-the-field work will be with the defense, and I’ll keep control of the kicking game," Clark, who will begin his 13th season as BC’s head coach when the Eagles host McDaniel College on Sept. 1, said Tuesday.

The change was prompted by defensive coordinator Grant Higginson’s decision in May to leave Bridgewater and accept a graduate assistant position at Tulane.

Clark said he posted the job and interviewed candidates, but decided instead to hire the best coach available rather than one particularly suited to the coordinator’s post.

"I just thought that was the best fit for the staff," Clark said, referring to his decision to shift his own responsibilities. "That was really the main reason. You got to be flexible at the Division III level."

While Clark has helped develop quarterbacks like Jason Lutz and Brandon Wakefield at BC, he also has a strong background in defense. After playing defensive back at the University of Cincinnati, Clark started his coaching career in 1980 as a defensive assistant at Murray State. He was Frank Beamer’s defensive coordinator at Virginia Tech for five seasons beginning in 1988, and he held the same title at Virginia Military Institute in 1993 before switching to quarterbacks in 1994.

Even so, Clark is giving up his offensive duties with a tinge of regret.

"As a head coach, you’re always reluctant to stray away from the quarterback," Clark said, "because it’s a fun position to coach and it’s a crucial position to coach.

"But I’ve always been a coach that’s thought if you play good defense and get an advantage in the kicking game, we’ll always have a chance to win the fourth quarter."

Offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Joey Soltis will be the new quarterbacks coach. Last year, in his first season as offensive coordinator since replacing the ultra-successful Bob Colbert, the Eagles had the highest-scoring offense in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, averaging 31.7 points a game. BC also led the ODAC in rushing at 205.6 yards an outing and ranked second in total offense (388.9 ypg) behind Guilford en route to an 8-2 record.

Soltis, who has been at Bridgewater since 1998, took over as coordinator when Colbert accepted the head-coaching job at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.

Stephon Healey will continue to coach the offensive line and manage the running game, but coaching the running backs will be the responsibility of newcomer Bill Shirley, a familiar name to local high school football fans.

Shirley was Buffalo Gap’s head coach before becoming R.E. Lee High School’s offensive coordinator two seasons ago.

"I’m excited to have Bill," Clark said. "Basically, in the Division III model, you have to get full-time work for part-time pay. And more importantly as a head coach, I don’t like to spend a lot of time coaching my coaches, and I’m not in that position on either side of the ball."

Ryan Lieb and Adam Martiny will also join Clark’s staff.

Lieb left his alma mater, D-III Bethany (W.Va.) College, after four years as an assistant and will work with the wide receivers at Bridgewater.

"Ryan has been in Division III for four years and has a reputation as a great recruiter," Clark said. "We try to get the best coaches we can get. One of the things we lost in Grant was a guy who did a great job in recruiting, and guys like that are hard to replace."

Martiny will coach tight ends and help with the offensive line. Martiny coached at Bridgewater in 2005 before leaving for D-III Utica (N.Y.) College.

Clark said he hired Martiny because of his familiarity with BC.

Rounding out the 2007 coaching staff will be Pete Raeford, who returns as the secondary coach, and Jack Johnson, who will remain the defensive line coach.

As for Clark, he’s confident he’ll be able to step into his new defensive duties with no major problems.

"Don’t think we’ll be building rockets over here," Clark said. "I don’t think you can work on the offensive side of the ball and not be aware of what’s going on on the defensive side. I think it helps people. I’m doing something different. I’m looking forward to that challenges."

Discuss this article on the Bridgewater football forum: http://bcfootball.informe.com/viewtopic.php?t=23

Johnson to Participate in NCAA Football Academy

2007-05-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

Jack Johnson assistant football coach was selected to participate in the NCAA Men's Football Academy. This program is sponsored by the Diversity & Inclusion and the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC). The program is administered by the NCAA and receives support from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Black Coaches Association (BCA), and the National Football League (NFL).

The program held in Indianapolis is designed to improve and reinforce various aspects of coaching to help support minority coaches in their advancement in intercollegiate athletics. The workshops run June 30th to July 2nd this summer and participants were chosen from a competitive pool across all college divisions.

"In my dealings with the NCAA, I know how competitive these programs are to get into," BC Head Coach Michael Clark commented. "It is a credit to both Jack and the standing our program has in college football. I am aware that Ron Prince and Norries Wilson two recent graduates of the program are now Division I head coaches. I hope it benefits both Jack and our program," Clark added.

Coach Higgison Joins Tulane Coaching Staff

2007-05-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

Grant Higgison is leaving his post as defensive coordinator to join the football coaching staff at Division I-A Tulane University. Higgison played for and graduated from Tulane, where he also worked as a student assistant for four years before coming to Bridgewater in the fall of 2002.

During his three years as defensive coordinator, Higgison coached 19 all-conference performers and two all-americans.

Head Coach Mike Clark had this to say about Higgison's departure;

"We will miss the contribution of Grant in our program. He has enjoyed a great run with us and we wish him the best of luck in his move back to Tulane. Having good coaches moving on to new opportunities speaks well of both them and our program. Although a late move, we are working to make the necessary staff adjustments and hires. I have told our players that by the end of May, I hope to have things reorganized as we prepare for the 2007 season."

Clark Says New Tailback Is ‘Blue Chip’

2007-05-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

The Daily News-Record | By Matthew Stoss

When tailback Darrin McKenzie drives by Turner Ashby High School on his way to Bridgewater College in August, it will be a familiar landmark in a foreign place, as he starts his freshman year as a BC football player.

But the reason it’s familiar isn’t pleasant – even if it did land Eagles coach Michael Clark a potential stud running back.

"He would have been a kid we thought we couldn’t have recruited because we thought he would’ve been recruited at a higher level," said Clark, who has collected about 40 recruits thus far for next season. "I think we’ve got a blue chip."

On Sept. 2, 2005, McKenzie was playing for Brookville High School against TA in the first game of his senior year. As a junior, he rushed for 1,064 yards and nine touchdowns and drew interest from the University of Virginia and James Madison, but both schools wanted to see what he did next season.

They just never got the chance.

With two minutes left against the defending state champion, McKenzie tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on a counter play. It ended his season.

"That was it," McKenzie said by phone this week from his home in Rustburg. "[It was] upsetting. It just hurt me. The JMU coach came to see me play the next week, and I wasn’t playing."

A year later, however, McKenzie was playing again, this time for Hargrave Military Academy’s post-graduate team, and with a week before the team’s first scrimmage and his reconstructed knee healed… he dislocated his left shoulder. The injury ended not only another football season for the 5-foot-8, 190-pounder, but also his Division I-A or I-AA prospects.

"‘Not again.’ That was the first thing I thought," said McKenzie, who originally injured the shoulder in high school. "And then, ‘Why me?"’

Enter Clark. The 14th-year coach said he knew about McKenzie during his senior year, but figured he was out of BC’s league and didn’t actively recruit McKenzie. However, after the shoulder injury last August, Clark was waiting.

"At the time, I could see why he would take a gamble and go to prep school and try to recapture the senior year that me missed," Clark said. "Physically, he battled. It was a tough, tough situation."

And without that "tough situation," McKenzie said he wouldn’t be at Bridgewater, which finished 8-2 overall, 4-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference last season.

The Eagles missed the Division III playoffs for the first time in six years. Their two losses were back-to-back to Guilford and Emory & Henry, allowing Washington & Lee to become the first team other than Bridgewater to win an ODAC title since 2000.

BC graduated 12 seniors – including all-purpose yards leader Winston Young and leading tackler Craig Smith. Smith, a linebacker, totaled 69 stops, while Young averaged 130.7 yards a game. However, the Eagles do return senior running back Phillip Carter, who rushed for 716 yards on 117 carries.

And while Clark said the Eagles are thin in the secondary, McKenzie, who has played defensive back, will start preseason practice at running back, where BC has added Shippensburg University transfer and Broadway High School graduate Seth Hardesty. Clark also said that during spring workouts, he experimented with sophomore running back David Argaud at cornerback.

"I think he has the speed," Clark said of McKenzie, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds. "He’s an athlete that’s going to have fresh legs when he gets here.

"We recruited him as a running back, but the thing is you never go wrong with speed. When kids can run, they find a way to be productive."

When asked where he’d like to play, McKenzie didn’t hesitate.

"Running back," he said. "[I like] that they run the ball. That was the biggest thing, and they were committed to it."

Bridgewater opens its season Sept. 1 at home against McDaniel College.

Ex-BHS Star Hardesty Heads To BC

2007-05-04T07:28:00.000-05:00

The Daily News-Record | By Matthew Stoss

After a year away, Seth Hardesty is returning to the Valley.

Hardesty, who graduated from Broadway High School in 2006, is coming back to play football for Division III Bridgewater College after redshirting his freshman year at Division II Shippensburg University.

“There’s nothing bad going on,” Hardesty said by phone Wednesday night from Shippensburg, Pa. “It’s just a matter of what I want to do.”

Hardesty said he made the decision over the winter break and just finished his paperwork to become a Bridgewater student – including his admissions deposit, the Division III equivalent of a letter of intent, which he said he sent Tuesday.

Under NCAA rules, BC coach Michael Clark is prohibited from publicly commenting on Hardesty until the admissions deposit clears.

“I should be an official student there by now – at least I would hope so,” the 6-foot, 205-pound fullback said. “It should just be a matter of paperwork and ending my credits here in good standing, but that’s not going to be a problem.”

Hardesty said Bridgewater, which finished 8-2 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time in six years, recruited him out of high school along with Hampden-Sydney, Shenandoah and Elon. He said one of the reasons he chose Shippensburg, which went 5-6 last year, was its wing-T offense – an offense Hardesty was familiar with at Broadway.

But after a season, Hardesty said the Red Raiders’ wing-T didn’t fit him as well as he would have liked. If he had stayed, he expected to be switched to outside linebacker or halfback.

“I had Bridgewater on my mind,” Hardesty said. “I was pretty set on what they did at Bridgewater. I knew I would fit into their offense.”

Hardesty was the Valley District’s leading rusher in 2006, running for 1,771 yards and 17 touchdowns in his only season as the Gobblers’ starting tailback.

Former BC QB Signed by AIFA's Blackbirds

2007-04-26T12:12:00.000-05:00

Baltimore Blackbirds

by John Wolfe

The Baltimore Blackbirds announced the signing of quarterback brothers, Mike and Robbie Jenkins today providing the team with a much-needed boost. Robbie Jenkins (6’3”, 220), who in two seasons as the starting quarterback for the Richmond Bandits of the AIFL, compiled a 19-2 record, including the league championship in 2005. Last season, Jenkins led the Bandits to a 12-2 record by tossing 81 touchdowns against only 14 interceptions. The Blackbirds also signed Mike Jenkins (6’5”, 240) who has two years experience in indoor football, playing in Amarillo, Texas, as well as Richmond as the backup quarterback for Robbie.

Since his days as a little league quarterback in Culpeper, Virginia, where he became the first youth player to throw for over 1,000 yards, Robbie has racked up wins and touchdowns as a starting quarterback. As a starting quarterback he has totaled 468 touchdowns, with only 70 interceptions, while compiling a record of 99-11-2, including five championships.

As a quarterback at Bridgewater College (VA), Robbie compiled a 16-1 record, including leading the Eagles to the national title game in 2001. As a senior in 2002, he tossed 22 touchdowns and over 2,300 yards in just 12 games leading the Eagles to an 11-1 record, their only loss coming in the Division 3 playoffs.

Mike also started building his winning football reputation in Culpeper. As a senior he led Culpeper High School to a perfect 14-0 record and the state championship, and was named Most Valuable Player of the State All-Star Game.

Mike compiled a 10-4 record as a starter at Randolph-Macon College. In his career Mike has thrown for 135 touchdowns, only 18 interceptions, and has compiled a record of 62-6-2, winning three championships.

“Robbie and Mike have both proven themselves as winners time and time again. They instantly solidify our quarterback position and provide us with an extremely strong foundation, from which to finish this season and to build upon for next season,” stated Blackbirds General Manager, John Wolfe.

http://www.baltimoreblackbirdsfootball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=1

RECRUITING: It’s A Waiting Game At BC

2007-04-19T17:15:00.000-05:00

In Division III recruiting, football coaches need patience as they watch D-I or D-II schools grab the top prospects.

The Daily News-Record | By Matthew Stoss

Bridgewater College football recruits seem to fall into two categories: those who know they’re Division III and those who aren’t sure.

Phillip Carter was in the “not sure” category.

Carter – a rising senior running back – said he didn’t officially commit to Bridgewater until late June because James Madison invited the 6-foot, 190-pounder to walk on – but with one catch: He’d have to move to defensive back.

“I didn’t even know about Bridgewater College,” said Carter, who was the Eagles’ second-leading rusher last season when he ran for 716 yards and seven touchdowns on 117 carries.

Carter, a Spotsylvania High School graduate, said he chose Bridgewater because coach Michael Clark didn’t ask him to switch positions and made him feel welcome.

“Our top recruits are at least on I-AA mailing lists, and they’ll make you feel pretty wanted – even if you’re not,” Clark, a former Virginia Tech assistant, said this week at practice.

Recruiting at Division III schools, including Bridgewater, takes patience. Clark and his peers have to wait until prospects have exhausted all hopes of playing at a higher level, something that lasts deep into the spring, before penciling in their future stars.

While Division I schools filled most of their scholarships two months ago, Clark said he won’t have a solid list of newcomers for at least another 1½ weeks as potential recruits weigh their options.

Due to the uncertainty, Clark must adopt a different recruiting strategy than his D-I and D-II counterparts.

“The most important thing is volume,” the 13th-year coach said.

And he wasn’t talking about decibels.

For Clark, volume refers to the number of bodies at practice in August. While the NCAA – and, indirectly, Title IX proportionality rules -- regulate recruiting classes for Division I and II schools, Clark doesn’t have to worry about roster limits.

Last summer, for example, about 135 players took part in preseason practice. Division I-AA JMU, by contrast, usually has about 90. Unlike D-I and D-II schools, Division III programs are forbidden from offering athletic scholarships, making larger rosters both practical and necessary.

If a student is playing football for free, it’s much easier for him to quit than it would be for an athlete on a football scholarship. Attrition – because of anything from lack of interest to a better offer elsewhere – is a fact of life in D-III.

“There are too many variables,” said Clark, who has taken the Eagles to the NCAA playoffs six of the last seven seasons. “If a I-AA school offers in June, I’m going to lose them.”

In Division III, admission deposits replace letters of intent, meaning football players commit to schools as any other student would: with a non-refundable deposit (Clark said it’s $300 at BC), which says he has agreed to enroll.

As of early this week, Clark said about 30 new players had turned in deposits at BC for next fall. However, unlike with Division I signees, their decisions are non-binding and players are free to move to other schools, which Clark said was the case with Cortez Thompson.

Thompson, a cornerback, agreed to play for Bridgewater but decided to walk on at James Madison at the last minute, leaving BC and his $300 investment. It turned out to be a good move: Thompson started as a freshman and helped the Dukes win the 2004 Division I-AA national championship as a senior.

With situations like these, coaches are often forced to wait a very long time to finalize rosters.

“Division III is a marathon, not a sprint,” Clark said. “You have to be in it for the long haul… We deal in large numbers because too many elements are out or your control.”

Just ask Jeff Highfill. The Eagles’ rising senior quarterback said he received interest from I-A schools, as well as from I-AA JMU, Richmond, Harvard and Elon. But at decision time, none of those schools had made scholarship offers.

“Once signing day is done, those spots go pretty quick,” said Highfill, who completed 121 of 202 passes for 1,723 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions in 2006. “I just had to make the decision about if I wanted to do the walk-on route.”

If he had opted to join JMU’s football team as a walk-on, Highfill said, he would have been moved from quarterback to the secondary or outside linebacker – and the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder wanted to remain a QB. Also, Justin Rascati, who went on to become JMU’s winningest quarterback, had just transferred from Louisville.

“There are definitely more late guys,” Highfill said of Division III commitments. “After that signing day [in February for D-I], there are a lot of guys who thought they were going to a higher level.”

However, for Seth Little, those higher levels never were a factor.

Little, a Turner Ashby High School graduate, said he didn’t plan to play college football and thought baseball – his favorite sport growing up – might be his best chance at collegiate athletics.

“Charlie Newman got all the letters,” said Little of his star high school teammate, who now plays at JMU. “It was a very humbling experience [to see that]. I wanted to have that and that’s where Coach Clark came in. He made me feel wanted.”

The rising sophomore defensive back said he drew interest from other Old Dominion Athletic Conference schools like Hampden-Sydney and Emory & Henry, but chose Bridgewater because of his familiarity with the area.

Said Little: “The end of the year… that’s when a lot of D-III schools starting showing some interest, but Bridgewater was always the most persistent.”

And in the world of Division III recruiting, you have to be.

NOTE: For an updated list of 2007 Bridgewater College recruits publicized by news sources, click here.

Taylor Working as Web Administrator

2007-04-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

Former Bridgewater College and Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Jermaine Taylor realized before his football career was over that he needed a plan for life after the NFL.

After finding an internship through the player development office of the Bucs, Taylor is now a web administrator for Raymond James Financial.

Buccaneers.com has the complete story: click here.

Order the 2007 Team Polo and Hoodie Today!

2007-03-29T20:11:00.000-05:00

In response to requests last season by parents and fans, the Bridgewater College football office has made available to the public the team's travel polo shirt and hooded sweatshirt. The football office needs to place their order by April 30.

Both products are adidas, and are offered in sizes medium, large, x-large, xx-large, and xxx-large. The sweatshirt is a 9-ounce fleece hoodie. Cost is $36 for the polo and $45 for the hoodie. Checks need to be made out to "Bridgewater football" and sent in before the April 30 deadline. Please mail them to:

Box 180
402 East College Street
Bridgewater College
Bridgewater, Va. 22812
ATTN: Matt Barnhart

To place your order, simply email me at mbarnhar@bridgewater.edu with your first and last name, what product you like (there is no limitation on how many), what size(s), and a phone number to contact you if need be. Again, the deadline line is April 30, so order today!

You will be able to pick up your order at the annual Pigskin Preview (in August) unless other arrangements are made with Matt Barnhart.

Below are examples of both items. Please note that you will not be able to choose a number to put on the football for the hoodie. Also, the polo will have the adidas and Eagle logo like shown, but the polo itself will be a slightly different style (this photo is of last year's team polo).

RECRUITING: BC Offensive Line Gets Bigger

2007-02-22T09:01:00.000-05:00

It's still early in the recruiting process for Division III schools with the higher divisions only recently having their national signing day. But that hasn't stopped Bridgewater from receiving commitments from two - big - offensive linemen.

DCSportsFan.com and Gazette.net reports that Good Counsel's Pat Wilson will attend Bridgewater this coming fall. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder anchored an offensive line that helped roll up 4,095 yards and 45 touchdowns for an average of 30.2 points per game. Good Counsel, located in Maryland, finished the season 10-2 and runners-up in their conference playoffs.

The News Leader reports that Jeremy Fox, the starting center for Riverheads (13-1), has committed to play at Bridgewater this coming fall. The Riverheads were Virginia's Group A (Div. 1) State Champions this past fall. The 6-foot-6, 270-pound lineman earned All-State honors his junior and senior seasons, as well as being ranked as the No. 76 best player in the state of Virginia by The Roanoke Times.

NOTE: BridgewaterFootball.com will only be posting recruiting information announced through news sources

Craig Smith a GA at St. Vincent

2007-02-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

Craig Smith, a middle linebacker for the Eagles from 2002 to 2006, is currently a graduate assistant at Saint Vincent College. He finished with 204 career tackles.

The following is taken from the St. Vincent football coaching staff webpage:

Craig joins the staff after completing his career at Bridgewater College, where he was a two-time All-Conference selection (2005-06) and a two-year captain.

A linebacker, he was also named DIII Player of the Week in the fall of 2006.

The Virginia Beach, VA native holds a B.A. in Health & Exercise Science from Bridgewater.

Smith will work with head coach Bob Colbert, who served as the offensive coordinator of Bridgewater from 1998 to 2005.

2007 will mark the first year of St. Vincent football since 1962.

Young, Capriani Named to All-Region Team

2007-01-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College seniors Winston Young and Matt Capriani were named to the Football Gazette All-South Region Third Team released Saturday.

Young, a first-team All-ODAC pick at running back, gained 756 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry to lead the Eagles rushing attack. Young rushed for six touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown.

Capriani, a first-team All-ODAC selection at offensive tackle, anchored a line that helped the Eagles rank among the national leaders in rushing, scoring and total offense.

Click here for the entire team.

Young Listed on NFL Draft Sites

2007-01-17T08:32:00.000-05:00

As reported by D3football.com in their 2006 Year in Review Part 2, the Eagles' running back Winston Young is listed on ESPN.com as one of only eight Division III players as prospects for the 2007 NFL draft. They list Young's 40 time as a 4.7.

He was also listed on NFLDraftScout.com, a source used by USA Today.

Young finished his career with 246 points ranking him second, while his 2,775 rushing yards places him sixth all-time.

He is the third Bridgewater running back to get NFL looks in the last six years. Davon Cruz (2002) and Marcus Washington (2006) were also prospects. Each back holds a significant school record. Cruz is the all-time leading rusher with 3,986 yards, Washington scored the most career points with 268, while Young set a new program record this past fall with his 35th career rushing touchdown.

Bridgewater also had linebacker Jermaine Taylor make two NFL rosters - Green Bay and Tampa Bay - in 2005 and 2006.

The NFL draft will be held on April 28 and 29.

Six Named All-State by The Roanoke Times

2007-01-03T12:38:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College placed six players on the College Division All-State football team selected by The Roanoke Times.

The Eagles placed three players on the first team. Seniors Matt Capriani (offensive line), Brandon Borst (linebacker) and junior Desmond Jalloh (defensive back) received first-team honors.

Named to the second team were senior running back Winston Young, senior defensive end Tony Burt and sophomore kicker Luke Taylor.

Eight Earn VaSID All-State Honors

2006-12-15T09:34:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College placed eight players on the 2006 VaSID College Division All-State football team released Friday.

Offensive linemen Matt Capriani and Keaton Culver were named to the first-team offense. Capriani and Culver anchored a line that helped the Eagles rank among the national leaders in rushing, scoring and total offense. Both players were first-team All-ODAC selections earlier this year.

Six Eagles earned second-team honors – one of offense and five on defense.

Running back Winston Young, a first-team All-ODAC back, was selected to the second-team offensive unit. Young gained 756 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry in 2006.

Named to the second-team defense were defensive end Tony Burt, linebackers Brandon Borst and Craig Smith, safety Desmond Jalloh and cornerback Earl Chaptman.

Burt, a first-team All-ODAC pick, led the Eagles in tackles for loss with 10.5 and quarterback sacks with 5.5.

Smith, a second-team All-ODAC selection, was the leading tackler for the Eagles with 30 solos and 39 asssists. Borst, a first-team All-ODAC pick, ranked second on the team in tackles with 28 solo and 27 assists. Borst also had 7.0 tackles for loss, including 2.5 QB sacks.

Chaptman led the Eagles with four pass interceptions while Jalloh had three interceptions and ranked third on the team in tackles with 31 solo stops and 22 assists. Jalloh and Chaptman were both honored on the All-ODAC first team.

Click here for the complete team.

"Stone Station" Heading to Salem

2006-12-11T13:56:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College has a nationally renowned football tailgate called “Stone Station.” Named because the lawn it resides for home games is across the street from President Stone’s home. What started as only a couple families four years ago, “Stone Station” is now a Saturday staple that brings together hundreds of fans every fall.

Just as the coaching staff at Bridgewater is committed to providing you with the best game plan for winning, the fans are just as committed to supporting the players who wear the crimson and gold.

"Stone Station" has received national attention on D3football.com with a feature on the Bridgewater tailgate which will be setting up in Salem, Virginia, at the Stagg Bowl - the Division III football championship game.

Visit D3football.com for the story. If you can't find the story off the front page, click here.

Young and Capriani Earn All-Region Honors

2006-12-08T08:19:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater senior's Winston Young (RB) and Matt Capriani (OT) were named to D3football.com's All-South Region Team announced Friday, December 8.

Young led the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) in rushing yards per game with 84.0, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and scoring six touchdowns. He finished second in the conference in all-purpose yardage with 1176 (756 rushing, 246 kick returning, 174 receiving). He finished his career at Bridgewater with the most rushing touchdowns (35) in school history. His 246 points rank him second, while his 2,775 rushing yards place him sixth.

Capriani anchored an offensive line that helped the Eagles lead the ODAC in scoring offense (31.7 ppg), rushing offense (205.6 ypg), pass efficiency (152.0), third-down conversions (46.2%), fourth-down conversions (60%), and red zone offense (36-for-41).

Click here for the entire All-South Region Team.

Highfill Named Academic All-American

2006-11-30T13:23:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College’s Jeff Highfill was named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American College Division First Team released Thursday.

Highfill, a junior quarterback, led the Eagles to an 8-2 record this season. Highfill led the ODAC and was ranked No. 24 in the nation in passing efficiency. He threw 14 touchdown passes and just six interceptions on the season. He also ranked third in the ODAC in passing yards with 172.3 per game and second in total offense with 207.7 yards per game. Highfill led all conference quarterbacks in rushing with 354 yards and ranked No. 10 overall in the ODAC in rushing yards per game. He scored nine touchdowns on the ground to rank No. 5 in the conference in scoring.

2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American College Division First Team

QB - Jeff Highfill, Bridgewater, Jr., 3.94 in Mathematics
OL - Nicholas Zappia, Rochester, Sr., 3.96 in Economics/Statistics
OL - Mike Butterworth, Slipper Rock, Jr., 4.00 in Secondary Edu./Mathematics
OL - Rick Drushal, Wooster, Sr., 3.71 in Mathematics/Computer Science
OL - Shawn Herrmann, RPI, Sr., 3.72 in Aerospace Eng./Mechanical Eng.
OL - Steve Leppert, Capital, Sr., 3.90 in Management/Marketing
RB - Danny Woodhead, Chadron State, Jr., 3.64 in Math Education/Coaching
RB - Dante Daniels, Monmouth, Sr., 3.69 in Physical Education
WR - Weston Dressler, North Dakota, Jr., 3.79 in Banking/Financial Economics
WR - Evan Earnest, Johns Hopkins, Sr., 3.74 in Mechanical Engineering
TE - Christopher Ruggiero, MIT, Sr., 4.00 in Mechanical Engineering
P - Jovin Kroll, UW-River Falls, Sr., 3.91 in English Education

DL - Ryan Meredith, Pittsburg State, Sr., 3.93 in Management
DL - Frank Marino, Wingate, Sr., 3.96 in Finance
DL - Leon Douglas, Missouri Western State, Sr., 3.89 in Physical Education
DL - Todd Eagle, Humboldt State, Sr., 3.91 in Liberal Studies Elem. Education
LB - Michael Klobucher, Ferris State, Sr., 4.00 in Applied Biology
LB - Bryan Vivaldo, Wilkes, Sr., 3.91 in Accounting
LB - Kyle Elsasser, Nebraska Wesleyan, Jr., 3.92 in Physics
LB - Jamie Steffensmeier, St. John's, Sr., 3.84 in Accounting
DB - Aaron Lewis, Carnegie Mellon, Sr., 3.93 in Business Administration
DB - Michael Greenwood, North Dakota, Sr., 3.94 in Biology
DB - William (Jake) Weller, Illinois College, Jr., 4.00 in Biology/Chemistry
DB - Ben Bollard, Central, Sr., 3.77 in Computer Science
K - Frank Leibfarth, South Dakota, Sr., 3.93 in Chemistry/Biology

Could Bridgewater beat Virginia Tech?

2006-11-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

Well, no. But...

Bridgewater has a victory chain which traverses 20 teams connecting the Eagles to the No. 15 ranked team in the final Bowl Championship Series rankings for Division I-A:

Bridgewater beat McDaniel who beat Gettysburg who beat Ursinus who beat La Salle who beat St Peter's who beat Iona who beat Duquesne who beat Robert Morris who beat Central Connecticut State who beat Georgia Southern who beat Western Carolina who beat Eastern Kentucky who beat Western Kentucky who beat Southern Illinois who beat Indiana who beat Western Michigan who beat Virginia who beat North Carolina State who beat Boston College who beat Virginia Tech.

Thanks to Patrick Gaule's College Football Victory Chain Linker, you can try and link any two college football teams you like - no matter the division.

The Eagles even pass through 22 teams to connect to No. 4 LSU:

Bridgewater beat McDaniel who beat Gettysburg who beat Ursinus who beat La Salle who beat St Peter's who beat Iona who beat Duquesne who beat Fordham who beat Albany who beat Lehigh who beat Villanova who beat James Madison who beat New Hampshire who beat Northwestern who beat Iowa who beat Iowa State who beat Missouri who beat Mississippi who beat Vanderbilt who beat Georgia who beat Auburn who beat LSU.

So go ahead and have some fun at www.cfbanalyzer.com.

Bridgewater Lands 15 on All-ODAC Teams

2006-11-21T09:14:00.000-05:00

2006 ODAC Football All-Conference Teams & Awards

Offensive Player of the Year
Chris Barnette - Wide Receiver, Guilford

Defensive Player of the Year
Marshall Doss - Linebacker, Emory & Henry

Coach of the Year
Frank Miriello - Washington & Lee

Rookie of the Year
R.J. Varner - Quarterback, Washington & Lee

Scholar-Athlete Award
Jeff Highfill - Quarterback, Bridgewater

All-ODAC First Team
Offense
Josh Vogelbach, Quarterback, Guilford
Chris Barnette, Wide Receiver, Guilford
Micah Rushing, Wide Receiver, Guilford
Colton Ward, Wide Receiver, Washington & Lee
Charlie Omick, Running Back, Hampden-Sydney
Winston Young, Running Back, Bridgewater
Dane Williams, Tight End, Hampden-Sydney
Matt Capriani, Offensive Line, Bridgewater
Keaton Culver, Offensive Line, Bridgewater
Ben Niemaseck, Offensive Line, Hampden-Sydney
Paul Williams, Offensive Line, Hampden-Sydney
Hunter Whitfield, Offensive Line, Washington & Lee

Defense
Tony Burt, Defensive Line, Bridgewater
Matt Baldwin, Defensive Line, Emory & Henry
Gamal Alwan, Defensive Line, Randolph-Macon
Bryant Fulk, Defensive Line, Washington & Lee
Brandon Borst, Linebacker, Bridgewater
Bill Gross, Linebacker, Catholic
Marshall Doss, Linebacker, Emory & Henry
Earl Chaptman, Cornerback, Bridgewater
Mark Snoddy, Cornerback, Washington & Lee
Desmond Jalloh, Safety, Bridgewater
Nick Olivero, Safety, Catholic

Special Teams
Ben Long, Place-kicker, Washington & Lee
Travis Frazer, Punter, Guilford

All-ODAC Second Team
Offense
Todd Woods, Quarterback, Emory & Henry
Brandon Copeland, Wide Receiver, Bridgewater
Brennan Stewart, Wide Receiver, Emory & Henry
Drew Smith, Wide Receiver, Hampden-Sydney
Phillip Carter, Running Back, Bridgewater
Matt Gillespie, Running Back, Emory & Henry
Jeremy Keene, Tight End, Emory & Henry
Anthony Cotton, Offensive Line, Bridgewater
Frank Luton, Offensive Line, Emory & Henry
Blake Underwood, Offensive Line, Guilford
Chas Collins, Offensive Line, Washington & Lee
Robert Hetherington, Offensive Line, Washington & Lee

Defense
Michael Jackson, Defensive Line, Bridgewater
Mike Six, Defensive Line, Guilford
Jordan Sprouse, Defensive Line, Hampden-Sydney
Tom Matteo, Defensive Line, Washington & Lee
Craig Smith, Linebacker, Bridgewater
Nick Jones, Linebacker, Randolph-Macon
Kyle Harvey, Linebacker, Washington & Lee
Jamie Edlow, Cornerback, Hampden-Sydney
Jimmy Gift, Corner Back, Washington & Lee
Eric Dardozzi, Safety, Randolph-Macon
Kyle Luby, Safety, Washington & Lee

Special Teams
Luke Taylor, Place-kicker, Bridgewater
T.C. Stevens, Punter, Hampden-Sydney

All-ODAC Honorable Mention
Offense
Jeff Highfill, Quarterback, Bridgewater
Keith Ricca, Quarterback, Catholic
Jared Jackson, Wide Receiver, Emory & Henry
Joe Joyner, Wide Receiver, Guilford
Josh Simpson, Running Back, Hampden-Sydney
Ryan Neff, Tight End, Washington & Lee

Defense
Sean Green, Defensive Line, Catholic
Nate Shook, Defensive Line, Randolph-Macon
Walker Williams, Defensive Line, Washington & Lee
Kevin O’Sullivan, Linebacker, Emory & Henry
Jason Smith, Linebacker, Hampden-Sydney
Brian Cook, Defensive Back, Guilford

Special Teams
Reggie Moore, Place-kicker, Randolph-Macon
Scott Roebush, Punter, Bridgewater

Stars Fading At BC (Daily News-Record)

2006-11-20T08:49:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Chris Simmons

Remember those superstars Mike Clark consistently lured to Bridgewater College?

Don’t exist anymore – at least not in Clark’s vocabulary.

After failing to reach the Division III playoffs for the first time in seven years, the BC football coach says he plans to emphasize the team concept above all else next season, a nod to two factors: 1) the Eagles don’t have the wealth of speedy talent they once had, and 2) the rest of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference is no longer filled with chumps.

"A year ago, I said you had program players, you had franchise players, you had development players," Clark said recently, "and from my perspective, from a head coaching perspective, I regret using that word – ‘franchise’ players."

Of course, franchise players are what turned Bridgewater from puny to powerful during Clark’s 12-year reign. Studs like Davon Cruz, Jason Lutz, P.J. Berry and Marcus Washington fueled a Formula 1 offense that simply sped past opponents. The Jermaine Taylors, meanwhile, gobbled up foes on defense.

The Eagles still have quality players, just not as many.

Clark pointed to one position -- wide receiver -- as an example. Brandon Copeland was BC’s deep-threat receiver, it’s only deep-threat receiver. Obviously, as the season progressed, other teams discerned they could cripple the Eagles’ defense if they stifled Copeland.

It had Clark longing for the good old days – aka, 2001, when Bridgewater played for the national championship in the Stagg Bowl.

"I’ve got a picture in my office," Clark said. "We’re lined up in a formation where we have five wide receivers on the field – it’s in the national-championship game – and any one of the those five wide receivers individually can beat you."

Why BC hasn’t attracted as many skilled speedsters is anybody’s guess. Maybe the fairy dust from the Eagles’ miracle run to Salem has finally worn off. Maybe the region’s other D-III schools have bolstered their programs (think: Christopher Newport) enough to siphon off players who might otherwise have chosen Bridgewater. Or maybe it’s just cyclical.

Regardless of the reason, Clark is changing his outlook for 2007. It’s the year of the Everyman, or more accurately, the Everyplayer. Rather than a morality play, though, consider this an action-adventure film.

Which is where guys like Andy Ropp come in.

Ropp, a former Broadway High School standout who tried his luck at Division II Catawba before transferring to BC this year, may be the embodiment of the type of player Clark intends to emphasize next fall.

He’s definitely not the border-line Division I-AA player Clark sometimes lures to Bridgewater. But he is a very good D-III athlete, meaning he’s probably a bit too slow and way too little for the big time.

Ropp remembers being 58 pounds as a third-grade Pee Wee football player and 95 pounds as a 10th-grader on Broadway’s varsity squad.

Now? Well, he still won’t be mistaken for Howie Long. But he’s grown to 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds – perfect for a scrappy D-III dude.

"I’ve always been small, so you know I’m just fighting every day, go out there and fight with guys that are bigger than me, you know, and get knocked down," Ropp, a sophomore, said after the Hampden-Sydney game in late September. "I told the guys on the team I’ll get knocked down a million times. I mean, it’s happened to me all my life. Just get up and keep going. That’s what I do."

That’s what he’s going to have to do if Clark is right – if the Eagles indeed will need to rely on their foundation rather than their flashy skyscrapers in 2007. Spooked by BC’s problems in the ODAC this year – and, sadly, with extra time to ruminate – Clark appears to be serious about de-emphasizing the star system.

"Next year, in the recovery, as we chase and try to reclaim the ODAC championship, it’s going to be about the team, not the individuals within the team," Clark said. "With that as kind of an overview, the Andy Ropps of the world are not only going to be key players, but they’ve got to get better, too."

One reason, he said, is that the gap between the ODAC and BC has significantly narrowed.

"In the past, at least particularly in the conference, we could identify the two games where you had to be ready, you had to be ready for those two. Bluntly, the other five, you’d have to work real hard to screw up two of them. Now, the mode of operation is I’ve got to play every week." Clark said.

How bad did it get this season? BC had trouble defeating even mediocre teams.

"We had to fight our butts off the last two games to beat the sixth- and seventh-place teams in the ODAC," Clark noted.

Not that next year figures to be much different, not unless the Ropps step up.

Even if Clark eventually stockpiles the speed-burners who defined his program in the first half of this decade, he won’t have enough of them in 2007 to build a season around. So, it’ll be foundation kids – like Ropp and a 30-plus senior class – who’ll get at least equal billing to the Copelands.

One more point: Despite everything, it’s not panic time at Bridgewater. As Clark noted, the Eagles have won 85 percent of their games since the beginning of the 2000 season. Even this year, they finished 8-2.

But sitting home at Thanksgiving with nothing to worry about except dinner isn’t exactly how Clark likes spending late November.

"When the season ends on Nov. 12," he said, "it’s a long offseason."

Long and thoughtful, it seems.

BC Ranked No. 38 in Football Gazette Poll

2006-11-19T22:20:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater moved up to No. 38 in Don Hansen's Football Gazette top 40 this week.

Click here for the entire poll.

Eagles Not Heading to 2006 NCAA Playoffs

2006-11-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

Once the bracket was released by ESPNews on Sunday, Bridgewater (8-2) received final word that they in fact where not earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Their six-year streak of playing in the NCAA postseason comes to an end, as did a couple of other national powers.

Linfield (6-3), the 2004 National Champion, had their four-year run come to an end, while Trinity (8-2) had been in the playoffs every year since 1997 (nine years).

Bridgewater, Linfield and Trinity lost their de facto conference championship games to Washington & Lee (7-3), Whitworth (10-0) and Millsaps (7-3), respectively.

To view the 32-team Division III playoff field, click here.

Bridgewater, along with Linfield and Trinity, were among a group of seven or eight teams with two regional losses being considered for at-large bids. The only problem was that there were 13 teams with one or no regional losses also bidding for the 11 at-large berths. Cortland State (9-1) and Franklin (9-1) were the two one-loss teams that didn't get an invite, and obviously no two-loss schools received one either.

BC Still Ranked No. 39 by Football Gazette

2006-11-12T12:37:00.000-05:00

Following Bridgewater's 20-13 win over Catholic to finish the regular season, Don Hansen's Football Gazette kept the Eagles at No. 39 in their top 40 poll.

Click here to view the entire poll.

BC Wins, Awaits NCAA Verdict (Daily News-Record)

2006-11-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

WASHINGTON – Now, all the Eagles can do is wait.

And cross their fingers.

Bridgewater College, its playoff hopes barely flickering, took care of business on its end with a gut-wrenching 20-13 victory over Catholic at DuFour Field in the nation’s capital and got the help it needed from one of its South Division rivals.

Senior tailback Winston Young scored on an 8-yard run with 15 seconds remaining to deliver the victory. But was it the last carry ever for the talented Eagles back?

To even be considered for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs, BC needed Millsaps to upset Trinity (Texas) in Clinton, Miss., which it did 34-12.

The progress of that game was the topic of choice among the Eagles as they tucked into plates of ribs after the game. Many planned to gather together to watch the D-III selection show on ESPNews today at 2 p.m.

Not that Bridgewater (8-2 overall, 4-2 in the ODAC) is thrilled to be relying on outside help and an NCAA committee.

“I definitely don’t want to be in this situation again,” BC coach Michael Clark said. “I never believed in buying lottery tickets.”

Back-to-back losses in mid-season to Guilford and Emory & Henry killed BC’s bid for a sixth straight ODAC championship.

“We lose two games by nine points,” Clark said. “If you change a few plays, then this is a great celebration.”

On Saturday, Catholic (3-7, 1-5) wanted no part of playing the role of walkover opponent, designing a defensive game plan that frustrated the Eagles’ offense and notching just enough big plays on offense to have fans at DuFour Field whispering upset.

The Eagles were almost undone by 10 penalties, many of the costly variety that wiped out first-down plays.

After an early field goal by BC sophomore Luke Taylor, the Cardinals responded early in the third quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run by tailback Reuben Simmons to go up 7-3. The drive was set up after junior quarterback Jeff Highfill was intercepted in the flat by CU linebacker Bill Gross, who almost scored on his own but was ruled out at the BC 8-yard line. Simmons punched it in one play later.

Highfill was 11-for-17 for 122 yards, the one interception a black mark on an otherwise effective outing. He had two touchdown passes to wide receiver Brandon Copeland called back because of penalties and an out-of-bounds call by the referee.

The Eagles rebounded two minutes after Catholic’s score to make it 10-7 with an efficient three-play, 45-yard drive, capped by a 23-yard touchdown scamper by Young. The senior performed another one of his now trademark leaps, diving over defensive back Kolla Achille and into the end zone.

Afterward, Young vented about the Cardinals’ trash-talking.

“They didn’t want anything to do with us,” Young said. “They were talking the talk, but couldn’t walk the walk.”

Eagles freshman cornerback Seth Little said he was also the target of some verbal abuse, and responded with his best-ever game.

“They kept saying to me from the sideline, ‘We’re coming for you 14. We’re coming from you,’” Little said. “I didn’t give [Catholic receiver Ryan Bowman] nothing.”

The former Turner Ashby High School star led Bridgewater with seven tackles – including one for a loss – and two pass breakups. Senior defensive tackle Tony Burt made his presence felt on the defensive line with two sacks.

CU swung back ahead 13-10 with a 5-yard scoring burst by Simmons (23 carries, 82 yards) at 14:57 in the fourth quarter. The 14-play drive featured several clutch third-down conversions, but the Cardinals missed the extra point as it sailed wide right.

Taylor punched through a 41-yard field goal with 7:41 to tie the game at 13. The Eagles’ defense forced the Cardinals into a three-and-out, giving BC the ball at its own 44 following a punt. BC methodically marched down the field, taking advantage of a tired CU defense with six straight running plays, capped by Young’s 8-yard score.

“We didn’t make tackles,” Cardinals coach Dave Dunn said. “We played as hard as we could.”

After the game, Highfill reminisced about his backfield work horse, hoping his last run wasn’t his final one.

“We talked a lot before the game,” the junior from Roanoke said, choking up at times. “He kept talking to us throughout the day. Keeping everybody calm. He’s just a great senior leader. I don’t know, it’s so tough…”

Highfill Named to Academic First Team

2006-11-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College junior quarterback Jeff Highfill has been selected to the ESPN The Magazine District III Academic College Division Football Team first team released Thursday.

Highfill currently leads the ODAC and is ranked No. 19 in the nation in passing efficiency. With Highfill running the offense, the 7-2 Eagles are ranked in the Top 25 in Division III in scoring offense, total offense and rushing offense. He has passed for 14 touchdowns and ran for nine TDs. He has throw just five interceptions this season. Highfill is a Mathematics major from Roanoke, Va.

The District 3 college division includes Division II, Division III and NAIA colleges and universities in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

BC Ranked No. 9 in NCAA South Region

2006-11-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

The NCAA released their final public regional rankings this evening, with Bridgewater at No. 9 in the south region.

The NCAA selection committee will have one more set of regional rankings after the final weekend of regular season games, but will not release it to the public. They will use it in their determination of who receives the 11 at-large bids, as well as seedings.

Here are the NCAA regional rankings for the south;

1. Wesley (5-0 regional record, 9-0 overall record)
2. Trinity, Texas (8-1, 8-1)
3. Mary Hardin-Baylor (7-2, 7-2)
4. Hardin-Simmons (7-1, 7-1)
5. Carnegie Mellon (8-0, 9-0)
6. Dickinson (8-1, 8-1)
7. Washington and Jefferson (7-1, 8-1)
8. Christopher Newport (7-1, 7-2)
9. Bridgewater, Va. (6-2, 7-2)
10. Washington and Lee (7-2, 7-2)

Click here to view the other three regions.

Copeland Named to D3football.com Team of the Week

2006-11-07T00:14:00.000-05:00

Brandon Copeland hauled in seven catches for 217 yards and two scores in a 35-24 win against Randolph-Macon this past Saturday. He set a school record for receiving yards in a game, previously held by Marcus Richardson who recorded 183 against McDaniel in 2000.

He was named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week for his efforts. Click here to view the entire team.

Copeland now has 1,209 receiving yards for his career, No. 7 on the all-time receiving list.

Statistically Speaking - Week Ten

2006-11-06T09:35:00.000-05:00

* Junior Brandon Copeland's 217 receiving yards this past weekend against Randolph-Macon set a school record. The previous record was 183 yards by Marcus Richardson on September 2, 2000, against McDaniel. Copeland's 217 yards vaults him to No. 7 on the all-time receiving list with 1,209 for his career.

* Senior linebacker Craig Smith tallied a team-high eight tackles last week, giving him 202 for his career. He becomes the 22nd player in school history with 200 or more tackles.

* Since people are still inquiring about Bridgewater's postseason chances, let me take a quick look at where we stand...

Assuming the current front-runners of the 21 conferences who earn automatic bids end up winning out, there is the list of the 31 schools with two or less regional losses that would be considered for the remaining 11 playoffs spots (listed to the right of each school is what group they are in (B or C), their quality of wins index (QoWi), their regional record, their overall record, and the game they have remaining). I have them listed in order of their QoWi:

Wesley (B/C, 11.800, 5-0, 9-0) vs 1-7 Morrisville State
Wheaton (C, 11.444, 8-1, 8-1) vs 3-6 Illinois Wesleyan
Hobart (C, 11.125, 7-1, 7-1) vs 7-2 Rochester
St. John Fisher (C, 11.111, 8-1, 8-1) at 7-2 Alfred
Hardin-Simmons (C, 10.875, 7-1, 7-1) vs 3-6 McMurry
Capital (C, 10.667, 8-1, 8-1) at 7-2 Baldwin-Wallace
Franklin (C, 10.444, 8-1, 8-1) vs 4-5 Hanover
Whitworth (B/C, 10.375, 8-0, 9-0) vs 7-2 Puget Sound
Alfred (C, 10.333, 7-2, 7-2) vs 8-1 St. John Fisher
Wabash (C, 10.333, 7-2, 7-2) vs 6-3 DePauw
Wartburg (C, 10.333, 8-1, 8-1) vs 5-4 Dubuque
Carnegie Mellon (B/C, 10.250, 8-0, 9-0) at 5-4 Thiel
Bethel (C, 10.222, 8-1, 8-1) at 9-0 St. John's
Coast Guard (C, 10.111, 8-1, 8-1) vs 10-0 Curry
Wash. & Jeff. (B/C, 10.000, 7-1, 8-1) at 4-5 Bethany
Wooster (C, 10.000, 7-2, 7-2) at 4-5 Kenyon
Baldwin-Wallace (C, 9.889, 7-2, 7-2) vs 8-1 Capital
Cortland State (C, 9.500, 7-1, 8-1) vs 7-2 Ithaca
Linfield (B/C, 9.500, 4-2, 5-3) at 0-8 Lewis and Clark
UW-La Crosse (C, 9.500, 5-1, 7-1) at 5-4 UW-Oshkosh
Rochester (C, 9.375, 6-2, 7-2) at 7-1 Hobart
Ithaca (C, 9.250, 6-2, 7-2) at 8-1 Cortland State
Bridgewater (C, 9.111, 7-2, 7-2) at 3-6 Catholic
Bridgewater State (C, 9.000, 7-2, 7-2) ---
Delaware Valley (C, 9.000, 7-2, 7-2) at 6-3 Widener
Puget Sound (B/C, 8.889, 7-2, 7-2) at 9-0 Whitworth
St. Olaf (C, 8.875, 6-2, 7-2) at 6-3 St. Thomas
Greenville (C, 8.500, 6-2, 6-3) at 5-4 Washington U.
Ursinus (C, 8.286, 5-2, 7-2) vs 8-1 Dickinson
Cal Lutheran (C, 8.125, 6-2, 6-2) at 3-5 Redlands
Minn.-Morris (B/C, 8.000, 3-2, 7-2) vs 3-6 Con.-Moorhead

Good news is that last week, Bridgewater was one of 39 schools with two or less regional losses being considered for the 11 at-large playoff bids. This week, that list shrunk to 31. Another good thing is that last week, there were 33 schools with a better QoWi than the Eagles - this week, only 22. So the list is getting shorter.

If you aren't familiar with how the Division III playoffs are set up or how the NCAA committee chooses the 11 at-large teams, go to D3football.com's FAQs before you read any further.

If the regular season ended after this past weekend, Wesley, Whitworth, Carnegie Mellon and Washington & Jefferson would likely get the four Pool B bids. That would place the remaining Pool B teams (Linfield, Puget Sound and Minn.-Morris) into Pool C.

Of the remaining teams, 11 have only one regional loss. Since all 11 have a better QoWi than the Eagles, that would pretty much guarantee that Bridgewater (or any two-loss team) would not even be considered.

But since there is one week remaining, eight of the one-loss schools have their regular season finale against a team with a winning record - and some even play one another.

If Bridgewater wins their final game against Catholic, and all the favored teams win their respective games, the Eagles will be one of about 20 schools being considered for the seven Pool C playoff berths. That sounds like our chances aren't that good, but with a win over a playoff-bound team (Washington & Lee), the committee might seriously consider the Eagles if they need to choose a two-loss team.

JV Defeats Gallaudet, 20-19

2006-11-05T18:40:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater's JV team defeated visiting Gallaudet by a final of 20-19 on Sunday afternoon.

On the Bison's first offensive possession, Eagles' defensive back Kyan Johnson intercepted a pass which would lead to a three-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Brad Jones to make it 6-0.

A 22-yard field goal by the Bison cut the lead in half with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.

Gallaudet would take a 10-6 lead when their quarterback found a wide receiver down the sideline for a 51-yard touchdown with 7:44 left in the first half.

Bridgewater would answer when freshman quarterback Patrick Smoot connected with freshman wide receiver Dave Hewitt on a 41-yard score, sending the Eagles into the half with a 13-10 lead.

In the second half, Smoot made it 20-10 on a four-yard scamper at the 9:33 mark of the fourth quarter. Then to the delight of the his teammates, wide receiver Michael Colaw was put in on defense at safety, only to intercept a pass at the Eagles' one-yard line.

The Bison made it 20-13 by hitting a 27-yard field goal with 4:02 left in the game. On the Eagles' next possession, the Bison ripped the ball away from the ball carrier and took over with a little under two minutes to go. Their quarterback would run in a 19-yard score with 17 seconds left - but failed to connect on the two-point conversion, giving Bridgewater the 20-19 win.

With the win, the Eagles JV team finishes the season with a 3-1 record.

BC Ranked No. 39 by Football Gazette

2006-11-05T18:36:00.000-05:00

Following Bridgewater's 35-24 defeat of Randolph-Macon, the Eagles found themselves back in a Division III national ranking as Don Hansen's Football Gazette brought the Eagles back in at No. 39.

To view the complete Top 40, click here.

BC Wins Without Suspended Ex-HHS Star (Daily News-Record)

2006-11-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - by Jeremy Cothran

ASHLAND – The prevailing question swirling around Day Field was not the breakout performance of Bridgewater College’s aerial attack in its 35-24 comeback victory over Randolph-Macon, or the sudden disappearance of its star cornerback.

Instead, attention was focused on the Washington & Lee game against Emory & Henry in Lexington, a game the Generals won 24-6 to clinch their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference title since 1985, denying the Eagles a sixth straight championship.

For weeks, BC’s players and coaches had seemed resigned to their ODAC streak ending, so they accepted news of W&L’s victory without much sorrow.

“Well, you enjoy what we all accomplished in the past,” Eagles coach Michael Clark said. “Congratulations to Washington & Lee. It’s a great accomplishment. But I want them to know that I’m chasing them.”

Normally, it’s been the Eagles being chased, but two straight losses in mid-October effectively put the skids on any thoughts of a league championship. BC (7-2 overall, 3-2 in the league) still has a slim chance at an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs, but it would need to rely on several higher-ranked teams in the South Region losing this weekend.

Another question Eagles players and coaches had to answer was the absence of senior All-American cornerback Josh Knight, who did not make the trip to suburban Richmond.

According to Clark, the former Harrisonburg High School star’s collegiate career is over.

“Josh was suspended for a rules violation,” Clark said, refusing to elaborate. “It will be for the remainder of the season. We’ve appreciated the energy that he’s given us.”

Ex-Turner Ashby player Seth Little started in place of Knight, finishing with five tackles, including one for a loss.

Players said they were not given details of Knight’s booting, but said it wasn’t a distraction.

“It wasn’t necessarily during the game,” senior linebacker Brandon Borst said. “[Knight’s] one of the best who ever walked in here. He’s a stud, an absolute stud.”

Clark said Knight was suspended Friday, but he refused to elaborate.

As for Saturday’s game, the Eagles got off to a slow start. Senior tailback Winston Young (66 yards, one touchdown rushing, one receiving) fumbled the opening kickoff at the BC 25 and the Yellow Jackets (2-7, 0-5) quickly capitalized with a 1-yard TD run by tailback Steven Ahonen.

Bridgewater countered on the arm of junior quarterback Jeff Highfill, who had his best game of the season through the air. The Roanoke native zipped a 35-yard pass to receiver Brandon Copeland on a skinny post to even the score.

Highfill finished 15-of-21 for 319 yards and four TDs. Copeland had a career-high 217 yards and two touchdowns,

Still, the Eagles trailed 10-7 at halftime, thanks to a 36-yard field goal by Reggie Moore. BC wasn’t concerned with the deficit, or some of the first-half struggles in the running game.

“Nothing, no worries at all,” Borst said. “They got nothing on our defense. We knew we were going to make up for it.”

The Eagles’ offense heated up in the second half following another R-MC field goal, with Highfill hooking up with Copeland for a 69-yard pass to put BC ahead for good at 14-13.

The duo continued to connect, thanks to Randolph-Macon’s insistence on playing nine-man fronts and positioning the free safety just yards off the line of scrimmage, leaving Copeland in single coverage for most of the game. The problem with R-MC’s coverage philosophy was an ineffective pass rush, which gave Highfill ample time to pick out receivers.

“Well, I think stopping the run is our No. 1 priority,” Yellow Jackets coach Pedro Arruza said. “But on that thought, we did let the quarterback hold the football too long.”

Copeland, naturally, was a big fan of the single coverage he received.

“Oh, I loved it,” the junior from Greensboro, N.C., said.

Young pushed the score to 21-13 with an 18-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown reception. Last year, he burned R-MC for 198 yards rushing and five touchdowns (four rushing), and while he didn’t come close to equaling those stats, he said Randolph-Macon is just one of those team’s he feels comfortable against.

“Everyone said they had a good defense,” Young said. “We just wanted to show them what we were made of.”

Young followed with a 2-yard rushing touchdown after R-MC quarterback Bradon Braner gave the Eagles great field position after he was intercepted by BC safety Desmond Jalloh. The Eagles capped the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Highfill to backup tailback Phillip Carter.

With just one game remaining – a trip to Washington to face Catholic this week -- the Eagles know they may be playing out the string. Still, there’s hope.

“Obviously, we want to win,” Copeland said. “And then we’ll just have to see how the other teams do. It depends on the other guys. It’s not in our hands anymore.”

Statistically Speaking - Week Nine

2006-11-01T08:42:00.000-05:00

Our 27-8 win over Washington & Lee last week certainly helped our cause - even if it was just to vindicate that we're still a dominant force in the ODAC and the country.

Let me once again breakdown our chances for an ODAC title and the postseason.

With Emory & Henry squeaking by Catholic last week 31-27, that eliminated the chance for the Eagles to be the outright champion and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. But there is a very realistic scenario remaining that would force a five-way tie in the conference standings in which Bridgewater would share the ODAC crown...

If the following happens over the next two weeks;

November 4, 2006
Bridgewater defeats Randolph-Macon
Guilford defeats Catholic
Emory & Henry defeats Washington & Lee

November 11, 2006
Bridgewater defeats Catholic
Guilford defeats Emory & Henry
Hampden-Sydney defeats Randolph-Macon

Then these would be the final standings:

1) BC 4-2
1) E&H 4-2
1) GC 4-2
1) H-SC 4-2
1) W&L 4-2
6) CUA 1-5
7) R-MC 0-6

To determine the conference champion, the league then takes a look at the head-to-head records of the tied teams at the top. All five 4-2 teams would have a 2-2 record:

BC beat H-SC and W&L
E&H beat BC and W&L
GC beat BC and E&H
H-SC beat E&H and GC
W&L beat GC and H-SC

Thus, all five schools - including Bridgewater - would be named ODAC champions.

To determine who earns the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs, the conference manual says they would then go to a five-point tiebreaker, which I won't explain because it ends up leaving all five schools still tied. So then the ODAC goes to the "Rose Bowl" rule which awards the automatic bid to the team who has not appeared in the NCAA Division III playoffs most recently. Both Guilford and Washington & Lee have never been, and because W&L defeated Guilford a couple weeks ago, the Generals would get the ODAC's automatic bid.

Now as far as the Eagles' chances of an at-large bid to the postseason - that's a lot less likely, unless a lot of unlikely things occur across the country. Let me try to explain...

Assuming the current front-runners of the 21 conferences who earn automatic bids end up winning out, then here is the list of the 39 schools with two or less regional losses that would be considered for the remaining 11 playoffs spots(listed to the right of each school is their quality of wins index (QoWi), their regional record, their overall record, and the games they have remaining):

Alfred 9.625 6-2, 6-2 (vs 7-1 Ithaca, vs 8-1 St. John Fisher)
Baldwin-Wallace 9.500 6-2, 6-2 (at 4-4 Otterbein, vs 7-1 Capital)
Bethel 10.500 7-1, 7-1 (vs 0-8 Augsburg, at 9-0 St. John's)
Bridgewater St. 8.875 6-2, 6-2 (vs 3-5 Mass.-Maritime)
Bridgewater 8.625 6-2, 6-2 (at 2-6 Randolph-Macon, at 3-5 Catholic)
Cal Lutheran 8.143 5-2, 5-2 (vs 2-5 Pomona-Pitzer, at 3-4 Redlands)
Capital 11.250 7-1, 7-1 (vs 1-7 Muskingum, at 6-2 Baldwin-Wallace)
Carnegie Mellon 10.286 7-0, 8-0 (vs 4-4 Bethany, at 4-4 Thiel)
Carthage 8.500 6-2, 6-2 (vs 7-1 Wheaton, at 6-2 North Central)
Christopher Newport 9.429 6-1, 6-2 (vs 6-2 Averett, vs 2-5 Ferrum)
Coast Guard 10.125 7-1, 7-1 (vs 1-7 Framingham State, vs 9-0 Curry)
Coe 9.250 6-2, 6-2 (vs 8-0 Central, at 2-6 Cornell)
Defiance 9.250 6-2, 6-2 (vs 7-1 Franklin, at 3-5 Bluffton)
Delaware Valley 9.125 6-2, 6-2 (vs 1-7 Juniata, at 6-2 Widener)
Franklin 9.625 7-1, 7-1 (at 6-2 Defiance, vs 3-5 Hanover)
Greenville 8.571 5-2, 5-3 (vs 2-7 Concordia (Ill.), at 5-4 Washington U.)
Hardin-Simmons 11.143 6-1, 6-1 (at 5-3 Texas Lutheran, vs 3-6 McMurry)
Ithaca 9.286 6-1, 7-1 (at 6-2 Alfred, at 8-0 Cortland State)
Linfield 10.200 4-1, 5-2 (vs 8-0 Whitworth, at 0-7 Lewis and Clark)
Puget Sound 8.500 6-2, 6-2 (vs 3-5 Menlo, at 8-0 Whitworth)
Rochester 8.714 5-2, 6-2 (vs 5-2 RPI, at 7-0 Hobart)
Rockford 9.625 7-1, 7-2 (at 3-5 Colorado College)
Rowan 9.000 4-1, 5-2 (vs 8-0 Cortland State, vs 1-7 William Paterson)
RPI 8.286 5-2, 5-2 (at 6-2 Rochester, vs 6-1 Union)
Springfield 11.375 7-1, 7-1 (vs 3-5 Hartwick, at 2-6 Norwich)
St. Olaf 8.714 5-2, 6-2 (vs 4-4 Carleton, at 5-3 St. Thomas)
Sul Ross St. 9.500 4-2, 5-2 (vs 3-4 Louisiana Col., at 4-4 Mississippi Col.)
Union 10.286 6-1, 6-1 (at 7-0 Hobart, at 5-2 RPI)
Ursinus 7.833 4-2, 6-2 (at 3-5 Frankling & Marshall, vs 7-1 Dickinson)
UW-La Crosse 9.800 4-1, 6-1 (vs 3-5 UW-River Falls, at 4-4 UW-Oshkosh)
UW-Platteville 9.857 5-2, 5-3 (at 4-4 UW-Stevens Point, vs 2-6 UW-Eau Claire)
Wartburg 10.625 7-1, 7-1 (vs 2-6 Cornell, vs 4-4 Dubuque)
Washington and Jefferson 9.429 6-1, 7-1 (vs 5-3 Thomas More, at 4-4 Bethany)
Wesley 11.400 5-0, 8-0 (vs Chowan, vs 1-7 Morrisville State)
Wheaton 10.750 7-1, 7-1 (at 6-2 Carthage, vs 3-5 Illinois Wesleyan)
Whitworth 9.429 7-0, 8-0 (at 5-2 Linfield, vs 6-2 Puget Sound)
Widener 9.000 6-2, 6-2 (vs 3-5 Salisbury, vs 6-2 Delaware Valley)
Wittenberg 10.286 5-2, 5-3 (vs 5-3 Allegheny, at 0-8 Hiram)
Wooster 10.000 6-2, 6-2 (vs 3-5 Earlham, at 4-4 Kenyon)

The QoWi and regional record are two of the most important pieces of criteria the NCAA selection committee considers. And as you can see, there are 33 teams with a better QoWi and 19 with a better regional record than Bridgewater. So with two weeks remaining, things aren't looking good. But, there are two weeks remaining, which means those teams listed above could lose. And as you can also see, many of those teams play each other.

So in summary, for the Eagles to have any shot at the postseason, they would need to (1) win out and (2) have a lot of those teams listed above lose.

ODAC Won’t Make Guilford Forfeit BC Win (Daily News-Record)

2006-10-31T08:21:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - by Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — Guilford College used an ineligible player in its victory over Bridgewater on Oct. 14, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference said Monday, but Eagles fans shouldn’t get too excited: ODAC Commissioner Brad Bankston said the league has decided not to penalize the Quakers, meaning they won’t have to forfeit any wins unless the NCAA decides otherwise.

Had BC been awarded the victory, the Eagles would have been back in the championship race.

"The [ODAC] committee reviewed all the materials," Bankston said from Salem. "We will take no action against Guilford. We are proceeding with a secondary violation process and we’ll submit papers with Guilford to a representative with the NCAA."

An NCAA decision, however, is not expected to be handed down until after the regular season ends.

Last week, Emory & Henry football coach Don Montgomery said, he informed the ODAC that the Quakers were using a transfer, cornerback Dion Rich, who had been declared academically ineligible after the 2005 season at E&H.

Montgomery said Rich flunked out of Emory & Henry in the middle of October, and then enrolled at Guilford this fall. Bankston said because Rich was ineligible when he left E&H, he also was ineligible when he enrolled at Guilford.

The league decided against disciplining Guilford, Bankston said, because it determined that the Greensboro, N.C., school did not know Rich was ineligible. But, he said, the ODAC plans to report the incident to the NCAA’s enforcement committee, which could opt to punish the Quakers.

That process, however, would probably take about a month – which would be too late for Bridgewater to be considered for the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Fifth-place Bridgewater (6-2 overall, 2-2 in the league) lost to Guilford 33-28, the first of two consecutive defeats that likely cost the five-time defending champion a realistic shot at the ODAC title. Rich had six tackles in the Quakers’ win.

"I had a pep talk with my players and I told them that you learn lessons," Clark said. "We talk all the time, and you can’t count on committees. It’s all about managing your business. We didn’t, so it doesn’t matter who was on the field. That’s kind of where it stands."

Bankston said the ODAC considered three options: 1) forfeiture for all the games Rich participated in this fall, 2) vacating the games – meaning they would be stricken from Guilford’s record but would not affect the records of any teams the Quakers played, and 3) doing nothing.

In the end, the ODAC decided Guilford was not at fault for Rich’s enrollment and participation in football games.

Clark said his players were disappointed when he informed them that the Quakers would not be forced to forfeit.

"That was another pin I put in their balloons," he said.

Montgomery said he agreed with the league’s ruling, but he said coaches need to be more aware of the eligibility issues concerning incoming players.

"It’s the first time in my 30 years of coaching that I’ve seen something like this," Montgomery said, referring to Rich’s ability to re-enroll at a competitor’s school after flunking. "I think it’s all of our responsibilities. You have got to be eligible from the school that you’re leaving from. Got to find out."

Montgomery said he learned of Rich’s participation in games this year while viewing tape in preparation for the Wasps’ game against Bridgewater on Oct. 21. Rich, a sophomore from Martinsville, played in four games this season for the Quakers.

"Somebody on our staff pointed it out," Montgomery said. "I saw his name when he made a tackle on [Eagles tailback] Winston Young. He’s on their roster. That’s against NCAA and ODAC rules. If you’re going to have rules, then people have to abide by them."

Emory & Henry plays Guilford on Nov. 11.

Guilford officials could not be reached for comment.

BC Beats First-Place W&L

2006-10-29T18:02:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - by Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — The opening salvo came just seven seconds after kickoff.

Setting the tone for a game that restored a sense of normalcy after two unsettling losses, Bridgewater College freshman David Argaud plastered Washington & Lee receiver Colton Ward on the initial kickoff Saturday, and the Eagles went on to manhandle the first-place Generals 27-8 at Jopson Field.

Only several ill-timed penalties in the red zone kept the Old Dominion Athletic Conference contest from turning into a laugher.

“We should have won this game, like, 60-8,” BC senior tailback Winston Young said. “We blew them out. That’s how badly we outplayed them.”

The Eagles (6-2 overall, 2-2 in the league) piled up 266 yards rushing, including a game-high 94 by Young in his final home game. Junior quarterback Jeff Highfill added 90 rushing yards, and his ability to read defenses out of the spread option sparked the running game.

“We talked all week about how we would attack them like that,” Highfill said. “It helped to space them out, and it gave me opportunities to run with a lead blocker. It worked out real well.”

In a symbolic nod to prolific ex-offensive coordinator Bob Colbert – who was in attendance – the Eagles had no problems moving the ball against the ODAC’s No. 1 defense, gaining 367 yards. Afterward, the Generals sounded like they’d been run over by a Mack truck.

“It’s a different type of offense than what we’re used to seeing,” W&L coach Frank Miriello said. “It’s a two-back, in-your-face type of offense. We did a nice job on [Hampden-Sydney’s] Josh Simpson, that’s an example of the running backs we’ve shut out. This is power, in-your-face.”

Junior tailback Phillip Carter added 77 yards rushing for BC.

The Eagles’ decision to run the football – they carried a season-high 60 times – was based on strong wind gusts Saturday afternoon that limited both teams’ ability to move the ball through the air.

“It was definitely a factor,” Generals quarterback R.J. Varner said, adding that he’s never before played in such conditions.

The 40 mph gusts also wreaked havoc on special teams, most notably when Eagles place-kicker Luke Taylor – who missed two field goals – tried to convert an extra point in the second quarter, and the ball landed on the right side of the end zone.

BC received a stellar performance from its defense, holding the Generals (6-2, 4-1) to 148 yards of offense, intercepting two passes and sacking Varner four times. Senior defensive lineman Tony Burt called it the most complete effort he’s seen this season.

“It was just dominating,” said Burt, who finished with four tackles, a forced fumble and a half sack.

The Eagles opened the game with a nine-play, 52-yard drive for a touchdown, capped by a 5-yard run by Young, who leaped over a diving linebacker for the score. Young said the leap was intended to combat the W&L players who were diving at his ankles.

“I told Phil on the sideline to watch his legs,” the 218-pound back said. “They were just going at them blindly. That’s why I kept jumping. Nobody wants to hit me square up. You hit me square up, I can bet that I’m going forward.”

BC pushed the lead to 14-0 on a 7-yard dash by Highfill in the second quarter, his ninth rushing TD of the season. Following a three-and-out by W&L, Carter made it 20-0 with a 5-yard run just before halftime.

Clark said earlier in the week that his game plan was to force the Generals and Varner to play from behind, something he had yet to do this year after taking command in W&L’s second game.

Miriello agreed that the early deficit was a hindrance to his rookie.

“He’s a freshman, a work in progress,” Miriello said.

Varner cut the lead after halftime with an 8-yard pass to receiver Jack Martin, a touchdown set up by a 63-yard bomb to Martin just two plays earlier. The Generals botched the extra point with a low snap, but holder Garret LeRose ran the ball over the right side for the conversion.

BC added the coup de grace with an Austin Icaza fumble recovery in the end zone late in the fourth period.

The Generals tried to motivate themselves after reading comments made by Eagles cornerback Josh Knight, who questioned the talent level at W&L.

“Well, I think everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Ward said.

“Whatever gets you ready for the game. Coach used that as a little bit of fire to get us ready to play our game.”

Knight, a former Harrisonburg High School star, said afterward that he stands by his comments, and added he never really worries about providing bulletin-board material.

“Nah, man,” Knight said, gold caps gleaming in his mouth. “I was just telling the truth. Three [players] can’t beat 11. [Ward] was a little salty about it. He had a few words for me after the game.”

But Knight said he couldn’t elaborate on their post-game chat.

“I don’t think you can print that.”

Washington & Lee still controls its ODAC destiny and can clinch the conference title with a win next week against Emory & Henry. Bridgewater’s stunning back-to-back losses to Guildford and Emory & Henry all but destroyed the Eagles’ hopes for a sixth straight league championship.

Jackson Named ODAC Defensive POTW

2006-10-29T15:43:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater's Michael Jackson, a defensive tackle from Ashland, Va., was named the ODAC's defensive player of the week for his performance against Washington and Lee.

The sophmore made his presence felt in the W&L backfield as the Eagles unseated the Generals from sole possession of the league’s top position. Jackson finished with eight total tackles for the game, three of which came behind the line of scrimmage that sent W&L’s offense back a total of 22 yards. He made the going difficult for W&L freshman quarterback R.J. Varner, sacking the speedy signal-caller twice for a total loss of 18 yards.

Jackson is only the second Eagle to be named conference player of the week. Senior defensive back Desmond Jalloh earned the honor on September 17.

Statistically Speaking - Week Eight

2006-10-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

Forget the statistics for this week. One thing and one thing only is on the minds of coaches, players and fans; our two-game skid. But I'm a glass-is-half-full type of guy, so let me attempt to lift the spirits and shed some hope on the remainder of the season.

Believe it or not, we can still be ODAC champions and/or play in the NCAA playoffs.

Let me examine the ODAC champs part first.

To be the outright ODAC champions, we would of course have to win our three remaining games to finish 4-2 in the conference. That would include a win over current undefeated and ODAC front-runner Washington & Lee. We would then need Emory & Henry to beat W&L on November 4 to give the Generals a 4-2 ODAC record as well. Then we need E&H to lose to both Catholic (Oct. 28) and Guilford (Nov. 11) to give the Wasps a 3-3 ODAC record. And finally, Guilford would need to lose to either Randolph-Macon (Oct. 28) or Catholic (Nov. 4) which would leave them at 3-3 in the ODAC. So for us to be the outright ODAC champs, a ton of things have to happen.

We can also share the ODAC title any number of ways. Again, we would have to win the rest of our games to finish 4-2. After that, E&H would still have to defeat W&L to force them to 4-2. And then if one or more of H-SC, E&H, Guilford and Catholic finish 4-2, there is a chance there will be a three- (or four-) way tie for the conference championship.

Now let's take a look at the playoff possibilities.

Slim, yes, but as shown above, if we win the ODAC title outright, that will be our ticket to the postseason. If we share the conference championship with two or more teams, then one of the other teams would most likely get the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs as the ODAC representative seeing that this conference uses what is called the "Rose Bowl" rule. If the tie-breaking goes all the way to the so-called Rose Bowl rule, then the automatic bid is awarded to the team who has not appeared in the NCAA Division III playoffs most recently. Which means Bridgewater would be at the end of the list;

W&L - has never gone to D3 playoffs
Guilford - has never gone to D3 playoffs
HSC - last went in 1977
RMC - last went in 1984
Catholic - last went in 1999
E&H - last went in 2000
Bridgewater - last went in 2005

Don't worry. Our only chance at the NCAA playoffs isn't through winning the conference, seeing a lot has to happen for that to occur.

We can also get in by what's called an at-large bid. Using D3football.com's FAQs, let me briefly explain the Division III playoff selection criteria;

There are 32 spots in the tournament field. Automatic bids (known as "Pool A" bids) go to the champions of 21 conferences. There are four bids set aside solely for "Pool B" teams, that is, teams who are independents or in conferences without automatic bids. The leftover "Pool B" teams get dumped into "Pool C," and those teams get considered for the remaining seven bids.

In other words, if Bridgewater were to finish 8-2 and not win the ODAC, then they will be considered for one of the seven "Pool C" bids.

Even though it seems like a long shot to earn an at-large "Pool C" bid to the playoffs with an 8-2 record, keep in mind that last year there were two teams (Wilkes at 8-2 and Cortland State at 7-2) that earned "Pool C" bids with two losses.

Sure, we've made it much harder on ourselves than in years past with our two losses the last two weeks. But one thing we can't do is think this season is all for not at this point. Forget for a moment at there even being a chance at being ODAC champs and/or making the playoffs. How about the chance to say (if W&L ends up winning the ODAC outright) that we were the only team to defeat the ODAC champs in 2006? What about sending our 19 seniors out on a three-game winning streak and a 39-7 career record? How about reinstating our ODAC dominance we've shown the last five years into next season?

If we can do all that, then we might have an opportunity to play deep into November. Sure, the chances are close to none. But close to none is better than none. And if we don't win the next three games, then we don't allow for the chance at all.

Eagles' Hopes Take Near-Fatal Hit

2006-10-23T12:07:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — It was nearly impossible for Emory & Henry coach Don Montgomery to field a questions from a reporter as Wasps fans streamed onto the field, offering congratulations, back slaps and jubilant hand shakes, just minutes after E&H had sealed a 21-17 upset of Bridgewater College.

"I’ll tell you what," Montgomery said, trying to raise his voice over the crowd, "this is as big a win as they come. Last year at this point, we’re 0-7. Now we’re 4-3 and we just beat Bridgewater."

Emory & Henry not only notched the most significant win of the Montgomery era but also likely buried any chance the Eagles (5-2 overall, 2-2 in the league) had of an Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship and a seventh straight NCAA Division III playoff berth.

Although BC is not mathematically eliminated from the ODAC crown, it must depend on a long, improbable list of variables to secure the title.

Washington & Lee added salt to the wound by beating Guilford 34-13 in Lexington, which meant the Eagles would have regained control of their ODAC and playoff destinies had they won Saturday at Jopson Field.

Sophomore tailback Caleb Moore dived over the pile on fourth-and-one with just 1:36 remaining in the fourth quarter to seal the win, which also capped an impressive 14-point second-half rally by the Wasps – whose defense shut out the Eagles in the second half.

On the ensuing drive, BC marched to the E&H 32, but Highfill’s fourth-down pass was tipped and fell just short of the diving hands of senior receiver Michael Oakes.

After the game, the Eagles couldn’t explain why the conference’s most potent offense failed to muster a single point in the second half.

"It’s still a question to me," junior receiver Brandon Copeland said. "I thought we were prepared. We just lost our focus."

The loss was the second consecutive game in which the Eagles failed to display their trademark big-play offense, a staple during the five-year conference championship streak. BC scored only one offensive touchdown, a beautiful 57-yard rainbow from Highfill to Copeland.

In the second half, the Eagles mustered only four first downs.

"They made great adjustments at halftime," Highfill said, sporting a bruise on his lower lip. "They changed up their fronts, which made the running game hard. It gave us different looks."

Highfill struggled, completing just 11 of 23 passes for 145 yards. He was also hit repeatedly and pressured by a Wasps defense that teed off on him in the second half.

Bridgewater tailback Winston Young said E&H’s 10-man fronts made it impossible to find running space.

"There was always two safeties flying down," the senior said. "You try to break one tackle and they were on you. They played 6 yards off the ball, just like linebackers."

Bridgewater opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 25-yard field goal by Luke Taylor. Emory & Henry answered in the second quarter with a 37-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Brennan Stewart, who beat Eagles cornerback Earl Chaptman with a shifty double move to free space.

BC responded with a 14-point outburst, starting with the 57-yard play-action TD pass to Copeland. On Emory & Henry’s next drive, senior quarterback Todd Woods was picked off by Chaptman, who raced 35 yards untouched to the end zone to push the lead to 17-7.

From that moment, it looked like a typical BC rout was on, but the Eagles’ offense fell completely out of sync, which allowed the Wasps to hang around within a two-score range.

"I don’t like to analyze it too much after a game," Eagles coach Michael Clark said. "I can’t point at just one individual. Bluntly, we used a watered-down game plan. And it seemed to me, Emory was able to get control."

The Wasps cut the deficit to three in the third quarter with a 65-yard scamper by Moore, who took the handoff on a designed draw and outraced every BC defender to the end zone. The combined tandem of Moore and Matt Gillespie gashed the Eagles for a combined 171 yards.

E&H would put the finishing touches on the comeback with a 10-play, 70-yard drive late in the fourth. BC had a chance to seal the win, but the Wasps converted on a fourth-and-14 with Woods floating a long fade pass to Brennan Stewart, who beat senior cornerback Josh Knight on the play. Knight was also tagged with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for arguing with the referee.

Emory & Henry scored the game-winning TD four plays later with Moore’s 1-yard dive.

Clark said he’s going to view the rest of the regular season as a character litmus test for the team’s players.

"I told the kids in the locker room," he said, "championships are not necessarily about rings, playoffs and banners. It can be about the energy, effort and character you show in difficult situations.

"We’re at point B right now."

Statistically Speaking - Week Seven

2006-10-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

Still Streaking...
As we all know, the 33-28 loss to the Guilford Quakers this past Saturday ended an ODAC record and Division III leading conference winning streak of 36 games. The streak began after the Eagles lost to Emory & Henry on Sept. 16, 2000, by two points. Last season, we had a 24-game regular season home winning streak snapped when McDaniel defeated us by one point. But we still have one impressive streak going, which is an 18-game conference home winning streak. Our last ODAC loss at Jopson was against Catholic on Nov. 13, 1999, when we lost 35-14.

Home Dominance...
Since 2000, the Eagles are 37-2 on their home soil, which includes a 6-1 record in the NCAA playoffs. The only two losses at Jopson Field the last seven years are the aforementioned McDaniel game in 2005, and a 38-32 defeat to Trinity (Texas) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA playoffs.

ODAC Winning Stretch (Still) Impressive...
After our 36-game ODAC win streak came to a halt, I was interested in finding out how impressive our winning stretch of 36 wins out of 37 conference games is when compared to all of Division III. So yes, I researched the current active top 10 conference winning stretches in Division III with only one loss. Keep in mind there are 26 D3 conferences.

1. Mount Union, 108 OAC games since 1994
2. Bridgewater, 37 ODAC games since 2000
3. Trinity (Conn.), 34 NESCAC games since 2002
4. St. Norbert, 33 MWC games since 2003
5. Trinity (Texas), 31 SCAC games since 2001
5. Linfield, 31 NWC games since 2000
7. Delaware Valley, 26 MAC games since 2003
8. Curry, 24 NEFC games since 2002
9. Lakeland, 22 IBC games since 2003
10. Occidental, 19 SCIAC games since 2003

So as you can see, still very impressive - especially if we continue our winning ways.

Back-to-back Losses Not an Option...
Since 1999, Bridgewater is 8-0 following a regular season loss. Oddly enough, Emory & Henry - the school we face this weekend - was the last team to give us a two-game regular season skid when they beat us 24-21 at Jopson Field on Sept. 18, 1999.

Impressive All-Purpose Performances Leads to Losing...
It's tough to celebrate senior running back Winston Young's 294 all-purpose yards against Guilford, seeing we lost. But this is nothing new. The last time an Eagle had more all-purpose yards was All-American Marcus Washington in 2005 when he had 304 yards against McDaniel. We lost that game. The Bridgewater record for all-purpose yards is held by All-American Ronnie Howard who tallied 345 yards against Davidson on Nov. 13, 1993. We lost that game too. Young's 294-yard performance is the second-most all-purpose yardage gained in Division III, while Washington's 304 yards was 11th most last season.

Climbing the Charts...
A handful of Eagles continue to climb the statistical charts here at Bridgewater. To view the career top 10 lists in eight different categories, click here.

BC Remains in Top 25 After Loss

2006-10-15T19:38:00.000-05:00

Following a 33-28 loss at the hands of Guilford this past weekend, which ended Bridgewater's ODAC record 36 consecutive conference wins, the Eagles are still ranked in the national polls.

Don Hansen's Football Gazette dropped BC from No. 6 to No. 21, while the Eagles fell from No. 8 to No. 21 in the D3football.com Top 25.

The Eagles are ranked the highest in the AFCA Coaches' Poll, dropping to No. 19 after being No. 7 a week ago.

Statistically Speaking - Week Six

2006-10-12T12:31:00.000-05:00

I know, we were off this week.

But after looking through the ODAC statistical team rankings, I compared them to the nation by looking through all 26 Division III conference stat sheets. Yes, it took awhile - but I found some cool stuff.

* Bridgewater and Catholic opponents have yet to hit a field goal. There are only 16 Division III teams who can say that.

* The Eagles' secondary has held their first five opponents to only 7.6 pass completions a game, and a pass completion percentage of 39.6 (38-for-96 passing). Only North Park and Western New England have held their opponents to less pass completions per game (7.2), while only Texas Lutheran has held their opponents to a lower pass percentage (37.9%).

* No one in the ODAC has returned a punt or kick return for a touchdown. Of the 25 other D-III conferences, only the SCIAC can say the same.

* Bridgewater is averaging 5.9 yards per rush attempt. Only five schools have a better average; Mount Union (7.6), Springfield (6.9), Ferrum (6.5), St. John Fisher (6.2) and Millsaps (6.0).

* The Eagles have 16 rushing touchdowns compared to only two fumbles on 197 rushing attempts. Only three schools have a better rushing touchdown to fumble ratio on more attempts; Central (9-to-0), Mary Hardin-Baylor (15-to-1) and Worchester Poly (11-to-1).

* Guilford has only returned two punts this year. They are one of only two D-III schools in the country to return two or less through at least five games - the other being Heidelberg who is 0-5.

* Bridgewater has held opponents to 3-for-12 (25%) on 4th down conversions. Only four D-III schools have held their opponents to a lower percentage on at least 12 attempts; Wesley (3-for-15, 20%), UW-Oshkosh (4-for-18, 22.2%), King's (3-for-13, 23.1%) and UW-Eau Claire (3-for-13, 23.1%).

* The Eagles, as mentioned last week, are a perfect 23-for-23 in the red zone this season. Both Anderson (Ind.) and Hobart are 13-for-13, the closest to the Eagles perfection. Capital has the best red zone production with one hiccup (26-for-27), while both Wesley and Springfield have the best with two misses (18-for-20).

Football Team Donates Blood

2006-10-12T11:58:00.000-05:00

The Bridgewater football team held its annual blood drive last Tuesday, Oct. 3, in Nininger Hall.

Virginia Blood Services was able to get 81 units (pints) of blood from over 90 football players, as well as a handful of women's basketball players and trainers.

BlooderCenters.org reports that just one pint of donated blood can help save as many as three people’s lives. So because of the blood drive, as many as 243 lives could be saved.

Eagles Ranked Consensus Top 8

2006-10-10T11:28:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater - who was idle last week - stayed No. 6 in the Football Gazette Top 40, moved up to No. 7 in AFCA's Coaches' Poll and jumped one spot to No. 8 in D3football's poll.

The Eagles join Mount Union, UW-Whitewater, St. John's, Capital, Wesley and UW-La Crosse, ranked as a consensus top eight team.

JV Defeats Shenandoah, 7-6

2006-10-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

The Bridgewater JV team traveled to Winchester on Thursday night and defeated Shenandoah's JV, 7-6. It was a cool 55 degrees with rain falling throughout most of the evening.

The first half was dominated by the Eagles, as the offense totaled 128 yards on 17 plays. BC gained 75 yards on 4-of-5 passing, while adding 53 yards on 12 carries. The Eagles defense held the Hornets to only 13 yards on 14 plays. Shenandoah was 0-for-3 passing, with the 13 yards being gained on 11 runs.

On the first possession of the game, Bridgewater took the ball 60 yards on nine plays before sophomore Jared Miller missed a 28-yard field goal attempt. The Eagles defense forced a Hornet punt on their first possession after a total of negative three yards on three rushes.

After getting the ball back near the 50-yard line, the Eagles offense would find the end zone in only four plays. On the first play, freshman quarterback Patrick Smoot handed off to wide receiver Chet Landes - a QB in high school - who then threw it 36 yards to freshman WR Corey Johnson. After an offsides penalty that backed them up five yards and a sack for another eight, Smoot found Johnson who ran it in for the 30-yard score. Miller's extra point made it 7-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

On Shenandoah's next possession, Eagles sophomore defensive linemen Patrick Lowery and freshman Willis Vann tackled the Shenandoah QB for a loss of two yards on first down. On second-and-12, Lowery hurried the QB which led to an incomplete pass. On third-and-12, a deep pass was broken up by sophomore defensive back Mark Brenneman.

The rest of the first half would be a game of field position as the Eagles took their 7-0 lead into the break.

The Hornets scored on their first possession of the second half thanks to a 48-yard touchdown run by freshman running back BJ Smoot. A missed extra point would be the difference in the game, with the Eagles still leading 7-6.

After the Eagles were forced to punt, the Hornets look poised to score again. They rushed four times for 21 yards, but on a third-and-nine from Bridgewater's two-yard line, freshman quarterback Ernest Brown fumbled the ball which was recovered by BC's freshman defensive back Tee Anderson.

With eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Hornets were on the move again. Starting on their own 40-yard line, they would move it to Bridgewater's 43-yard line on five runs. On fourth-and-five with just under four minutes to go, Brown dropped back to pass only to be hurried by freshman defensive lineman Emanuel Hoffman, leading to an incomplete pass.

After BC ran three minutes off the clock, sophomore Matt Husbands punted the ball out at Shenandoah's four-yard line. With only 10 seconds remaining, the Hornets were forced to heave it. Anderson broke up the pass to secure the Eagle victory.

Smoot played the whole first half and much of the third quarter, finishing 3-of-5 passing for 39 yards. He also ran 10 times for 16 yards. Freshman Robbie Lawrence came in and completed one pass for eight yards.

Freshman tailback Warner Williams led the ground attack with five carries for 49 yards. Freshman Brad Jones rushed for nine yards on five attempts, while freshman Will Osborne carried it three times for nine yards.

Sophomore fullback Bret Mottice gained four yards on one carry while freshman Darryl Forbes had three yards on one rush.

Johnson tallied 66 yards on two receptions, while Mottice caught two passes for 11 yards and freshman wide out Dave Hewitt hauled in a pass for six yards.

Freshman linebacker Jason Jones led the Bridgewater defense with five tackles, while Anderson added four. Junior linebacker Nolan Chase, freshman defensive lineman Layne Sheppard and freshman defensive back Jerome Butler each added three tackles.

JV (2-1) will play their final game on Nov. 5 when they host Gallaudet University at Jopson Field. Kickoff is set for 1 pm.

Statistically Speaking - Week Five

2006-10-03T08:06:00.000-05:00

Perfectly spreading the wealth while in the zone
As pointed out in my D3football.com's Around the Region this week, the Eagles' offense is a perfect 23-for-23 in the red zone so far this season, scoring 19 touchdowns and hitting on field goals of 19, 22, 22 and 41 yards. What's even more impressive is that 11 different players have either rushed for or caught the 19 touchdowns.

The next most perfect while in the red zone is No. 1 Mount Union who is 16-for-16. The team having the most with converting all but one is No. 3 Capital at 19-for-20. St. Olaf is the closest to the Eagles with conversions having 21, but did so on 24 attempts.

Movin' on up
Following his 105-yard performance against Hampden-Sydney last Saturday, Winston Young is now only 80 rushing yards from tying all-american Jason Lutz (1998-01) for No. 7 on Bridgewater's all-time rushing list.

Jeff Highfill's 168 passing yards against the Tigers moved him to No. 9 on the career passing list past Mike Arnette (1970-73). He's now only 61 yards from passing Jacob Lewis (2004-05) for No. 8.

Josh Knight recorded another pass deflection this past Saturday, moving him into a tie for sixth all-time with 15 for his career.

David Clements tallied the lone sack of the day for the Eagles against H-SC, giving him 11.5 for his career and moving him into a tie for No. 9 all-time.

To view all the career top 10 lists, visit BridgewaterFootball.com's record book.

NCAA statistical rankings
At the mid-way point of the regular season for Bridgewater, they find themselves in 14 NCAA top 50 rankings;

-Team, Total Offense (421.4) - 21st
-Team, Rushing Offense (234.0) - 12th
-Team, Pass Efficiency Defense (92.0) - 46th
-Team, Scoring Offense (38.0) - 13th
-Team, Scoring Defense (12.2) - 40th
-Team, Turnover Margin (+1.0) - 40th
-Team, Kickoff Returns (22.9) - 41st
-Team, Punt Returns (13.9) - 29th
-Team, Net Punting (33.1) - 46th
-Jeff Highfill, Passing Efficiency (147.9) - 31st
-Jeff Highfill, Scoring (8.4) - 48th
-Brandon Copeland, Punt Returns (14.9) - 19th
-David Argaud, Kickoff Returns (24.9) - 39th
-Luke Taylor, Field Goals Per Game (1.0) - 21st

BC Remains Consensus Top 10 Team

2006-10-01T19:52:00.000-05:00

Following the Eagles' 31-13 win over Hampden-Sydney on Saturday, Bridgewater remained No. 9 in the D3football.com top 25 poll. The Football Gazette still ranks the Eagles No. 6, while the AFCA kept Bridgewater No. 8.

No TD No Prob For BC's Young (Daily News-Record)

2006-10-01T09:19:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Dustin Dopirak

BRIDGEWATER — It was the perfect set-up for a workhorse-back appreciation play. Second-and-four from the Hampden-Sydney 5-yard line with Bridgewater College already leading 24-13 and preparing to put the game away.

Senior tailback Winston Young had taken a beating on each of his 20 carries and still managed to bang his way to 105 yards. He also hauled in two swing passes for 22 more yards, and was a crucial part of all of the Eagles’ scoring drives.

He hadn’t scored yet, though, so this seemed to be an opportunity to call a play that would finally end with the battle-scarred Young celebrating in the end zone instead of taking another hit or ending up under another pile of Tigers.

And that’s what BC coach Michael Clark called for. Sort of.

Quarterback Jeff Highfill had the choice of handing the ball to Young or keeping it himself, with the option based on his read of Hampden Sydney’s left defensive end.

Highfill misread it and kept the ball -- even though Young had a wide-open path to the end zone -- and scored on what had to be the most guilt-ridden touchdown run of his career.

“I apologized to [Young] so many times,” Highfill said after the Eagles’ 31-13 victory over H-SC on a homecoming Saturday at Jopson Field. “… I was reading the backside end and he gave me a slow read. He was just standing there and I thought he was going to take Winston, so I pulled, and he just came right at me, so I followed Winston. And I apologized over and over again to him.”

Not to worry, Young told Highfill.

“He grabbed me during the game and said, ‘Jeff, don’t worry about it. As long as we win, I’m happy.’ That’s the type of guy we need,” Highfill said.

Said Young, who has 335 yards but just one touchdown this season: “It doesn’t matter. We won and that’s all I really care about. Stats are just figurative things. To me it’s the win that matters.”

That’s as cliché as it gets, but the soft-spoken Young sounded honest-to-God sincere -- and if you ask his teammates, that’s because he is.

“He’s a true team guy,” fullback Tyler Thomas said. “He’s a captain, and that’s what a captain has to be. That’s one of his best characteristics.”

Of course, his size, strength, speed and ability to keep his legs moving after contact aren’t bad characteristics either.

Young is 5-foot-10 and a very thick 205 pounds. He’s got a low center of gravity, and that makes him extremely tough on Division III defenders.

The Tigers loaded up the box against the run Saturday, determined that Young wasn’t going to beat them. But Young continued to make something out of nothing.

His longest run of the day was just 17 yards, but he continually picked up chunks of 5 and 6 yards to better the Eagles’ field position.

“He was definitely a hard runner,” Hampden-Sydney linebacker Jason Smith said. “He definitely earned the yards he got.”

And that opened up things for the Eagles’ passing game. BC ran lots of play action and found receivers open across the middle of the field because the Tigers’ linebackers and safeties were coming up to try to stop Young.

“When you got that running game, those linebackers come flying on play action,” Highfill said. “That opens the middle wide open for our tight ends and crossing routes. It’s great to have him and [backup Phillip Carter] because both of them can wear you down. He’s solid muscle, and a lot of people don’t realize it, he’s got amazing moves.”

Even so, Young certainly felt like he earned his yards Saturday. He’s still feeling the effects of a rib injury he suffered just before the season that kept him out of the Eagles’ second game. He also has a minor groin injury and what he calls “a lot of nicks and nacks.” After a 20-carry afternoon, all of those start to hurt just a bit more.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Young said. “OK, a lot of everything.”

But that’s the life of a running back.

“It’s the nature of the game,” he said. “Something’s going to hurt.”

Touchdown or no touchdown.

H-SC Gets Its Fill Of Highfill In 31-13 Loss (Daily News-Record)

2006-10-01T09:17:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — Marty Favret has pulled the puppet strings as the Hampden-Sydney College football coach for eight seasons against Bridgewater, so he’s no stranger to seeing a fleet-footed Eagles quarterback turn his stomach inside-out with scoring scrambles.

On Saturday, Jeff Highfill did the honors in the Eagles’ 31-13 victory over the Tigers in front of 3,420 fans at Jopson Field.

“In the red zone,” Favret said, “they run the quarterback. They’ve been doing it since [Jason] Lutz and [Robbie] Jenkins. That’s just what they do. We got hurt on the boot. We have young guys out there, freshmen on defense, and they just got fooled.”

Highfill rushed for three touchdowns – including two game-clinching fourth-quarter dashes – to lead the Eagles to their eighth straight win over their chief Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival and to their 36th consecutive ODAC victory.

Senior tailback Winston Young had his second straight 100-yard game (20 carries, 107 yards) as he continues to recover from the bruised ribs he suffered in the season opener.

Highfill completed 12 of 16 passes for 168 yards on a mild Saturday afternoon, but his feet have been just as effective as his arm. The junior from Roanoke has rushed for seven touchdowns, including at least one in every game, to help the ninth-ranked Eagles improve to 5-0 overall, 1-0 in the ODAC.

Michael Clark said Highfill has the talent to match the all-time greats at BC.

“I really do believe that as [Highfill] gets better, as he matures as a player, he will have all the qualities of our [past] quarterbacks combined …” the 11th-year Eagles coach said. “We’ve got to get him more involved in the option game, because with him on the edge, that’s a big body running.”

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Highfill tied the game Saturday after Hampden-Sydney stormed to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. Two BC series later, Highfill capped a quick, four-play drive with a play-action QB boot, scurrying down the right side for the equalizer.

The Eagles pulled ahead 17-7 in the second quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Luke Taylor and a 3-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Phillip Carter, who was relegated to reserve duties – only nine carries, 33 yards – with Young starting to return to form.

Hampden-Sydney (1-3, 1-1) cut the lead to 17-13 in the third after senior receiver Drew Smith caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from freshman Craig Warnement, but it was the closest the Tigers would get as two Highfill scrambles in the fourth quarter (8 yards, 5 yards) iced the victory.

Just the sort of plays the BC coaching staff has been accustomed to seeing.

It might be too soon to break out a “Vanilla Vick” tag for the ex-William Byrd High School star, but Highfill succeeds with his scrambling because 1) he’s fast – timed around 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash – and 2) he’s absolutely fearless about taking a pounding.

“You’ll see,” Highfill said. “The faster I get up, that means the harder I was hit. But I’ve also been really lucky. I’ve never had a concussion. I mean, I do spend a lot of time in the weight room, as well.”

That much is evident.

With a prototype physique, Highfill certainly passes the eye-test when evaluating athletic quarterbacks. But he can also give an opposing defensive back or linebacker the slightest of shimmies — no ankle breaking stuff here — that allows him to pick up critical extra yardage.

“Oh, he’s got moves,” said junior wide receiver Brandon Copeland. “He’s got speed. Deceptive speed. He knows how to get guys to take bad angles on him. Plus he’s a big guy, you know, and nine times out of 10 he’ll just run you over.”

Hampden-Sydney had success with its own mobile quarterback Saturday, with freshman Bobby Owens (12 carries, 64 yards) spelling Warnement for certain series, giving the Tigers a tough fastball-changeup combination.

He certainly caused headaches for BC defenders.

“Oh man, No. 13,” senior defensive end Tony Burt said. “I don’t know his name, but he was tough. He was more mobile, while [Warnement] liked to drop back and throw.”

The Tigers never had a set rotation for the two QBs, with Favret calling his decision on when to alternate the pair a “feel thing.”

This game traditionally decides the league pecking order, and the Hampden-Sydney coach conceded that Bridgewater now had the inside track at an ODAC championship, but he suggested the road may be bumpier than usual.

“I think [Washington & Lee] and Guilford can play with the big boys now,” Favret said. “And, you know, those other teams got great defenses, so it’s not over. They’re going to have to play a great stretch of football.”

Statistically Speaking - Week Four

2006-09-27T20:33:00.000-05:00

Apologies for not doing a 'statistically speaking' last week. Busy week for me, coupled with the fact that I needed time to recover from the Ferrum win - phew.

*With Jeff Highfill passing for 196 yards this past Saturday against LaGrange, he can now find his name in the top 10 passers all-time at Bridgewater - and he's not even halfway through his junior season. He's now No. 10 with 1,485 passing yards.

*You defensive guys listen up. I was finally able to compile the defensive statistics in Bridgewater football history as far back as the records would allow. Come to find out during my research, defensive stats were really only seriously kept starting in 1985. I was able to track interceptions back as early as 1971. I've posted the career top 10 lists for tackles, sacks, pass deflections and interceptions on the record book page of BridgewaterFootball.com. Here the active players who are closest to cracking the top 10 before their careers are over;

-Craig Smith (LB) has 165 tackles, good for 26th all-time
-David Clements (DL) has 10.5 sacks, good for 11th all-time
-Jeff Jones (now a TE) has 7.0 sacks, good for 21st all-time
-Tony Burt (DL) has 6.5 sacks, good for 22nd all-time
-Brandon Orndorff (DL) has 5.5 sacks, good for 28th all-time
-Josh Knight (DB) has 8 interceptions, good for 15th all-time

*Let's take a look at what NCAA statistical rankings the team and individuals find themselves in after four weeks;

-Team, Total Offense (440.5) - 17th
-Team, Rushing Offense (248.3) - 10th
-Team, Scoring Offense (39.8) - 6th
-Team, Scoring Defense (12.0) - 42nd
-Team, Turnover Margin (+1.0) - 46th
-Team, Team Kickoff Returns (23.9) - 39th
-Team, Team Punt Returns (14.4) - 26th
-Team, Team Net Punting (33.0) - 46th
-Phillip Carter, Rushing (99.5) - 41st
-Jeff Highfill, Passing Efficiency (147.4) - 34th
-Brandon Copeland, Punt Returns (15.6) - 19th
-David Argaud, Kickoff Returns (24.5) - 48th
-Luke Taylor, Field Goals Per Game (1.0) - 15th

Several of the players listed above lead the ODAC in their respective categories, like Carter's rushing yards per game, Highfill's pass efficiency, Copeland's yards per punt return and Taylor's field goals per game. David Clements (DL) is tied for the conference lead in sacks per game at 0.75.

*Now for the most interesting statistic, IMHO. The Eagles are a perfect 18-for-18 on red zone chances, 15 of which were touchdowns. It's by far the best red zone offensive production. So much so that Bridgewater is only one of four teams (out of the 234 in Division III) that have been perfect within the 20-yard line with 10 or more tries. There are two schools 11-for-11, and Mount Union is 10-for-10. Maybe this is one good way of looking at Highfill's fourth quarter interception in the Ferrum game. He was on the Panthers' 21-yard line.

Mangled Finger Or Not, BC’s Kelly Wants Shot At H-SC (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-27T07:22:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — As football practice wound down on a crisp, placid autumn afternoon, Bridgewater College linebacker Brandon Kelly joined the rest of his teammates for the weekly "up-down" drills, a ritual that spares no one.

Kelly, who’s still recovering from a crushed finger, could have skipped the drills and instead practiced with the other injured players performing run-of-the-mill pushups.

But there was no chance of that happening. It’s Hampden-Sydney week.

Kelly is slated to make his return at the weakside linebacker position Saturday, almost six weeks after he mangled his right hand performing a drill in practice. The injury itself was visually gruesome – imagine a finger positioned in ways it shouldn’t be – but it was harder for Kelly to swallow the notion he would have to miss almost half of his senior year.

"We were going through blitz drills," Kelly said. "It was the fifth day of camp. I came back to the huddle and saw it bent completely out of place. Turned out I had a crushed knuckle. Didn’t think it was going to be so bad until I got to the doctor. They said I had to have surgery, and I was worried I wasn’t going to come back this year."

Most of his teammates initially did not consider the injury to be so debilitating. Kelly’s roommate, Brandon Orndorff, called his friend after practice, ready to rag on him and question his manhood.

"I called him and asked him if he was done being a wuss," the Eagles’ nose guard said, "and he was like, ‘Actually, I’m going to be out for a while.’"

The prognosis was six weeks. The Eagles’ coaching staff targeted BC’s game against Guilford on Oct. 14 for his return, but Kelly had other ideas.

"This is the game I had marked down," the Bland native said. "I’ve been thinking about this one for a while."

Orndorff, in particular, is thrilled with Kelly’s anticipated return, noting the senior had "worked his butt off" to get ready for the 2006 season. He would just like to see Kelly change some of his nightly habits, which have earned him the nickname, "Verizon."

"He’s always on the phone," Orndorff said. "He’s got a girlfriend now, and they talk about an hour every night. He’s the same good ol’ guy, though."

Having Kelly back in the fold gives defensive coordinator Grant Higgison an interesting dynamic. Kelly is fast, athletic and has game experience at the position. The only two negatives is that he’s still rusty coming off of the injury, and he’ll have to play with a soft cast on his hand.

"It’s hard to say," Higgison said regarding Kelly’s defensive impact. "He hasn’t put on any pads yet, but he’s got speed and he’s been around the block. It’s a huge help, especially at that position."

The Eagles (4-0) started the season with senior Venancio Biela, who was benched after BC’s 30-27 overtime win against Ferrum. Junior safety Tony Gilliam ascended to the role for Bridgewater’s 58-21 romp over LaGrange (three tackles) last weekend and will see a majority of the snaps against the Tigers (1-2), who were picked to finish second in the ODAC behind BC.

"We just needed more production out of the position," Higgison said. "We needed someone who could match what [linebackers] Craig [Smith] and Brandon [Borst] were giving us."

If healthy, Kelly shouldn’t have any problems filling those shoes. He played in nine games last year, finishing with 20 tackles and was projected to be the starter at weakside this year. He’ll likely only see about 10 to 15 snaps against HS-C, according to Higgison, to spell Gilliam and get his legs back under him.

"We’ve got to make sure that he’s 100 percent physically ready," Higgison said. "He’s basically a one-armed guy out there, and that’s a liability. It would be like having a [defensive back] with a bum ankle."

There also were certain risks involved. Because Kelly is making his return this season, he’s effectively ruining his shot at a medical redshirt, which he could have applied for after his injury. It’s a tough decision to make in Division III, because of the costs involved in private education – BC’s pricetag hovers around $27,000.

"I’m not real sure," Kelly said of his decision process. "I didn’t think about taking a year off. I would have probably done it if [the doctors] said I couldn’t make it back for the Guilford game. But I’m hoping we’ll go a long way in the playoffs and it feels like a full season."

Clark, Football Program, Featured in VSR

2006-09-25T15:20:00.000-05:00

Head Coach Mike Clark and the Bridgewater football program will be the featured story in the upcoming issue of the Virginia Sports Report (VSR).

VSR Editor Sammy Eanes has worked it out with the Bridgewater bookstore to have at least 100 copies available for Homecoming this Saturday. The cover price is $5.95.

The VSR is a new publication which calls itself Virginia's sports source. It covers all sports in the state of Virginia, from the high school level to college to the pros. The October issue, featuring the Eagles' football program, is only the second edition of the VSR.

You can go on their web site and subscribe to the VSR for 10 monthly issues (no issue June/July) for only $39.95. A subscription also buys you an exclusive membership to their web site which gives you more interviews, more stats, more sports, and videos.

To subscribe or simply find out more information about the VSR, visit their web site at VirginiaSportsReport.com.

BC Ranked No. 6 by Football Gazette

2006-09-24T15:31:00.000-05:00

Following the Eagles 58-21 win over LaGrange, Don Hansen moved Bridgewater up to No. 6 in his Football Gazette Division III poll.

D3football.com dropped the Eagles to No. 9, with UW-La Crosse jumping Bridgewater after a 17-point win over a nationally ranked NAIA school. Click here for their new top 25.

Bridgewater moved up two spots in the AFCA poll to No. 8.

Eagles Pick On LaGrange (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — When Josh Knight gets hungry on Saturdays, there’s little chance of finding him devouring a large pizza with the works or gorging himself on gas station subs.

He’d rather get his hands on a little pigskin, delivered made-to-order from rookie quarterbacks.

Bridgewater College’s senior cornerback intercepted two passes Saturday as the Eagles beat LaGrange 58-21 at Jopson Field in their final tune-up for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference football season.

Senior linebacker Craig Smith and junior corner Earl Chaptman also snatched passes for the Eagles’ defense, whose aggressive style created turnovers but also gave up big plays to the Panthers (0-4), a first-year varsity program.

Knight was particularly ferocious, dishing out plenty of trash-talk to LaGrange’s wide receivers and picking up a personal-foul penalty for arguing with a referee.

“The receivers were jawing all day, and I was just going to let them know they was going to catch no balls,” Knight, a former Harrisonburg High School star, said of his on-field chats. “I also told their quarterback to stop throwing to my side. ‘Quit throwing to me, or you’re going to pay for it.’

“And he did.”

After three weeks of seeing primarily run-oriented offenses, the Eagles’ secondary was salivating at the chance to face a passing offense. But its aggressiveness allowed the Panthers to hook up for two long scoring plays.

“If you look at it,” Smith said, “[the cornerbacks] were coming at passes with their hands out, trying to intercept it. They were getting a little pick-happy.”

It was evident on LaGrange’s first offensive series, in fact its very first play.

Panthers quarterback Brian Groover fired a quick out to receiver Erik Hardison, the ball barely missing the anticipatory hands of Chaptman. That allowed Hardison to scamper 53 yards to the Eagles’ 13. Chaptman redeemed himself three plays later with a leaping interception in the end zone.

“The margin of error on passing plays is zero,” Eagles coach Michael Clark said. “Some of the big plays they had, it was because we were being aggressive. We’re not going to be gun shy, though.”

The Panthers’ four turnovers helped set up advantageous field position for BC (4-0), which had no problems weaving in and around LaGrange’s defense. A healthy senior tailback Winston Young, making his first start since Sept. 2, rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. His battery mate, Phillip Carter, added 111 yards and a pair of scores to give the Eagles two 100-yard rushers for the first time this season.

Young said he is slowly starting to work his way back into form after bruising his ribs at McDaniel.

“I’m getting there,” Young said. “It’s not where I want to be yet, but yeah, definitely, there is a little bit of rust.”

Another factor for Young may be the flack jacket he’s wearing to protect his ribs. Because of his physical, between-the-tackles running style, Young is subjected to punishing hits as defenders try to stand him up and wait for tackling help.

“I try not to think of it,” he said of his protective armor. “It’s just a subconscious thing.”

The effective running game contributed to an efficient afternoon for junior quarterback Jeff Highfill, who finished a crisp 10-for-15 for 196 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles utilized play-action on both of Highfill’s strikes, a 58-yard bomb to senior receiver Michael Oakes with 8:02 remaining in the first quarter and a perfectly feathered 22-yard pass to senior Warren Hedgepeth late in the third quarter.

Highfill also ran for a score – which he’s done in every game this season.

“I’m feeling more comfortable,” the Roanoke native said. “My goal is to get better every day and every game. Just keep improving. As the season goes on, as I get more time with the receivers, I can work on more stuff. It’s just natural as the season goes on that I’ll get better.”

The Eagles’ defense took it on the chin a bit in the second quarter – after BC had raced to a 30-0 lead – on two quick touchdown strikes by backup Panthers quarterback Koty Moorehead. The freshman got LaGrange on the board with a 20-yard pass to receiver Dustin Afman, who was wide open in the end zone thanks to blown coverage. Moorehead scored again with no time remaining before halftime when his 66-yard Hail Mary pass tipped off two Eagles defenders to freshman running back Mario Wallace.

Panthers coach Todd Mooney was pleased with the improvement his team showed Saturday. LaGrange had passed for only 193 yards in its first three contests, but outgained the Eagles 261-259 through the air at Jopson.

“We’ve just been focused on building on our success,” Mooney said. “We had some better things happen today.”

Once the game got out of hand, many of the Eagles’ backups got some much-needed playing time. Former Harrisonburg High School quarterback Nick Lincoln entered the game late in the third quarter and tossed two touchdowns. Clark said he also used the second team’s on-field time as a mini-audition for the nickel packages he will have to employ once BC opens play in the ODAC.

It all begins this week with “Championship Week,” the moniker Bridgewater has attached to its annual showdown with Hampden-Sydney. That was evident immediately after the game as the Eagles’ coaching staff immediately posted the week’s practice schedule after the game.

“This isn’t a normal week,” Clark said.

Smith Named to National Team of the Week

2006-09-20T17:28:00.000-05:00

Craig Smith, senior linebacker, was named to D3football.com's National Team of the Week for his week three performance against Ferrum.

Smith recorded 14 tackles (six solo) in the Eagles' overtime victory against Ferrum. He was instrumental in Bridgewater 's goal-line stand in overtime. On second-and-1 and on third-and-1, Smith made the tackles to keep the Panthers out of the end zone.

To view the complete D3football.com Team of the Week, click here.

Wrong Spot At Right Time (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College’s Desmond Jalloh was out of position last weekend when he made the game-saving play against Ferrum.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — It’s a good thing Desmond Jalloh made the game-saving play in Bridgewater College’s 30-27 overtime defeat of Ferrum on Saturday.

Otherwise, he would have had to face an unhappy coaching staff afterward.

The Eagles’ starting safety revealed Tuesday that he was out of position when he tipped away Panthers quarterback Jermaine Pitts’ last-gasp pass.

Originally, the play called for Jalloh to cover Ferrum tight end Chris Silk, who was left wide open in the corner of the end zone. The junior from Roanoke instead made a decision on the fly to pressure Pitts, who had rolled out on play-action, and leapt high in the air to knock down his pass.

"Well, to be quite honest," Jalloh said with a sly smile, "I wasn’t quite in the right spot. We anticipated a load option [play] and I made a read on the fake handoff. [Pitts] sold it really well. He rolled out, I anticipated and sprinted out towards him."

It was far from the game’s only defensive miscue after the Panthers rushed for 493 yards.

"We messed up so many times," BC linebacker Brandon Borst said. "But I guess if you’re going to make a mistake, why not win the game?"

Jalloh’s performance Saturday (14 tackles, one pass defense) was good enough to earn him the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week award. It also earned him plenty of praise from Eagles coach Michael Clark.

"When we grade players," Clark said after practice Tuesday, "we don’t count an aggressive mistake that leads to a successful play. It was a missed assignment, but it was a big play."

After examining the play on film, both Clark and Jalloh didn’t consider the error as egregious as it might have been Saturday. The Eagles’ coach said because of the intense pressure Jalloh was bringing on Pitts, the Panthers’ QB would have had a hard time throwing over the safety’s large frame (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) in order to accurately complete the pass.

"His arm strength wasn’t good enough," Jalloh said. "Plus, our cornerback Earl Chapman was in the area. He’s got real good closing speed. He would have intercepted it or knocked it down."

Still, the Ferrum game was a reality check for an Eagles defense that started the season with two straight shutouts. Jalloh said many of the Panthers’ players were more than happy to point out that fact after scoring their first touchdown in the opening quarter.

But, aside from a few bruised egos, the safety said BC’s defense remains confident, despite struggling to contain the Panthers’ wishbone and zone-read option attack.

"We’ve still got our swagger. We drink a bottle of swagger juice before every game," Jalloh said. "Plus, we’re not going to face an offense like that again."

Not every Eagle would agree.

BC held a physical practice in full pads Tuesday, leading to a few instances of flared tempers and trash talking. After the day’s last play, linebacker Craig Smith – who himself made two game-saving tackles – took off his helmet and verbally laced into his teammates.

"We ain’t that damn good," the senior captain said. "Especially when some team runs for 400-something yards on us."

Jalloh thinks the Eagles’ upcoming game against first-year varsity program LaGrange on Saturday is the chance to re-establish their toughness. The Panthers are averaging a puny 2.3 points and 84.3 yards per game.

And with Bridgewater – ranked No. 8 in Division III -- about to make the transition to the chuck-it-up passing offenses of the ODAC, the Eagles need to get matters sorted out quickly.

"We want to make our defense a no-fly zone," Jalloh said. "If you’re going to come out with that air attack, we want to show that it’s not acceptable."

The Cave Springs High School graduate did admit that there are "fundamental things" the Eagles need to fix, and while he’s still got his confidence, there was a bit of a wake-up call.

"It brought us back to reality," Jalloh said. "Ferrum was a hungry team, and the teams we’re going to play are only going to get hungrier. But they’re chasing us, and we’re chasing championships."

Jalloh Named ODAC Defensive POTW

2006-09-17T21:57:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater's Desmond Jalloh, a junior safety, was named the Defensive Player of the Week by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).

He finished Saturday’s contest with a career-high 14 tackles including seven solo and one for a loss. His biggest play came on the game’s final snap in which he knocked down a Ferrum pass on a fourth and goal set from the one yard-line to preserve BC’s overtime triumph.

Click here for the ODAC report from week three.

Eagles Ranked No. 8 by D3football.com

2006-09-17T21:35:00.000-05:00

Even with Ferrum pushing Bridgewater to overtime, the Eagles moved up two spots in the D3football.com Top 25 to No. 8, jumping over idle UW-La Crosse and Occidental.

Bridgewater moved up one spot in the Football Gazette poll, from No. 8 to No. 7.

The Eagles debut at No. 10 in the AFCA's first top 25 of the season.

JV Defeats Shenandoah, 21-0

2006-09-17T21:29:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater's junior varsity team defeated Shenandoah on Sunday afternoon at Jopson Field by a final of 21-0.

The Eagles first score came as freshman wide receiver Corey Johnson hauled in a touchdown from fellow wideout, junior Michael Colaw. BC then made it 14-0 on a Will Osborne (freshman running back) run. The last score came when freshman quarterback Vince Reese found Colaw.

Bridgewater JV is now 1-1 on the season and will travel to Shenandoah to face the Hornets again on Thursday, October 5 at 7:00 pm.

Somehow, Eagles Beat Ferrum (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-16T21:48:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

FERRUM — As pandemonium erupted in a sea of white jerseys at Adam’s Stadium, a Ferrum College linebacker could only wonder aloud — as tears welled in his eyes — what went wrong.

“How did we lose that game?” Shaun Green said, his voice cracking.

It almost seems ironic. How could the Panthers (0-2), having sliced and diced the Bridgewater defense like a ripe tomato in a late-night kitchenware commercial, fail to net a single foot when given three shots? How did the Eagles (3-0), who seemed destined to suffer their first loss, escape this southern Virginia hamlet with a 30-27 overtime victory?

By making three gutsy stops.

After sophomore Luke Taylor kicked a 41-yard field goal to put the Eagles up 30-27 in the first overtime, it was the Panthers’ turn to take over on offense. Ferrum, which had gained a ridiculous 493 yards rushing, methodically worked its way to the 1-yard line using a variety of misdirection option runs.

“I told my team in the huddle,” BC linebacker Craig Smith said, “to keep playing hard. It’s what we’ve always done and it’s what we’ll continue to do. No matter what.”

It was at about that point when Smith (14 tackles) heeded his own advice. The fifth-year senior stopped Kere Whitehead not once, but twice, for no gain as the Panthers’ stocky running back tried to leap over the pile.

“We just ripped through the gaps,” BC defensive coordinator Grant Higgison said. “We tried to stuff the dive and the quarterback. It was a hell of a play. Craig Smith right there. We tell those linebackers that you’re our toppers. If anything goes over the top, you hit it in the face. I could take [those plays] to a clinic and show what a topper does.”

Then, facing a fourth-and-1, Ferrum opted not to attempt a chip-shot field goal to tie the game. But instead of running or handing off, quarterback Jermaine Pitts dropped back to pass and spotted tight end Chris Silk wide open in the corner of the end zone. His pass, however, was tipped at the line of scrimmage by junior safety Desmond Jalloh, sending the Eagles storming onto the field.

The Panthers’ failures at the game’s end did little to take the sparkle off of a scintillating effort by Pitts, who rushed for 242 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. His efforts broke the Ferrum record for rushing yards in a game (235) set by former Seahawks All-Pro running back Chris Warren in 1988 against Rhodes.

But as dominating as his performance was, he still could focus only on the end results.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Pitts said afterward. “It hurts. It hurts more than anything. People say it shouldn’t matter because it’s not the conference. I mean, we could have lost 48-0 and it wouldn’t have hurt this bad.”

Ferrum coach Dave Davis said he had no intention of kicking a potential game-tying field goal because of the ease with which his team was moving the ball.

“The play we selected was the right play,” Davis, in his 13th season as Ferrum’s head coach, said of his fourth-and-1 call. “We just didn’t execute. It takes both. I couldn’t see from the sideline, but I heard [Silk] was wide-open. The defense just made a great play.”

The decision to go for it may also have stemmed from an early fourth-quarter Ferrum possession in which the Panthers advanced the ball – courtesy of Pitts’ 68-yard scramble – all the way to the BC 5 before stalling. The ensuing field goal was blocked.

Of course, the Eagles could have avoided a lot of the drama by ending the game in regulation, which they seemed poised to do.

Taking over possession at the 41-yard line after a Ferrum punt with 1:41 remaining and the game tied at 27, BC went into its two-minute, no-huddle offense. Junior quarterback Jeff Highfill completed three straight passes to receiver Brandon Copeland, and fullback Robbie Matthews ran 8 yards to bring the ball to the Panthers’ 21 with 48 seconds left.

It was right then that Highfill — playing in front of about 30 friends and family members who made the 40-minute drive from his hometown of Roanoke — erred.

Looking for receiver Michael Oakes on a deep corner, Highfill (15-of-24, 176 yards, two passing touchdowns) stared down his receiver, which allowed Panthers cornerback David Coleman to read the pass perfectly and intercept it.

“We were trying to do our rally offense,” Copeland said. “Bad things happened. I’m just glad the defense stepped up today, along with kicking and special teams.”

Which means Taylor can now add game-winning kick to his resumé. The rotund 5-foot-9, 224-pound sophomore from Williamsburg, who had never been in a similar situation, barely pushed across the 41-yarder in BC’s overtime possession, drawing plenty of congratulations and a little ribbing from his teammates.

“All that eating you’ve been doing is paying off,” one Eagle chirped while Taylor was speaking with reporters after the game.

Even the game’s other hero had some good-natured jokes at Taylor’s expense.

“Oh man, ol’ blue shoes,” Smith said, mocking Taylor’s bright blue kicking cleats. “We rag on him a lot. He stretched my jersey out, too. When I got injured last year [Achilles tendon tear] he wore my No. 25 and stretched it out.”

Next up for the Eagles, ranked No. 10 by d3football.com, is a chance to stretch their non-conference record to 4-0 for the first time since 2002. BC will host LaGrange, which is in its first year playing varsity football, to Jopson Field on Saturday at 1 p.m.

BC Getting Defensive (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-15T07:31:00.000-05:00

The Eagles have shut out their first two football opponents.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — After two games last season, the Bridgewater College football team had allowed 56 points, including 19 in the second half of a shocking 36-35 comeback victory by McDaniel.

This year, against the same two opponents, the overall points total has been substantially reduced. To zero.

Zip. None. Nada.

And it’s not like the Eagles are doing anything different.

"Scheme-wise," BC defensive coordinator Grant Higgison said after practice Thursday, "we haven’t changed anything."

The Eagles (2-0) do have linebacker Craig Smith back from an Achilles heel injury, but BC still had to replace nine impact players on defense, including both starting safeties, two injured linebackers, two defensive tackles, one defensive end and two nickelbacks who could almost be considered starters because of all the four- and five-receiver sets the Eagles see in the pass-happy Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Given that, coach Michael Clark had been pleasantly surprised with his defense. He’s just curious to see how the Eagles respond when they allow a point.

"I think the real test comes when somebody does score," Clark said. "It’s not the fact that they scored, but how do we respond? How do we handle ourselves in a 14-14 game in the fourth quarter? We welcome the test, because it’s going to define us."

The key for Bridgewater in 2006 has been the dominant play of its defensive line and linebackers. The Eagles have allowed only 307 yards of total defense, an average of 153.5 per game – including just 78.5 per game on the ground.

Hence the reason that two run-heavy teams – Shenandoah and McDaniel – have seen bagels next to their score lines.

"Tim Keating and Paul Barnes told me after our games," Higgison said, referring to the Green Terror and Hornets coaches, "‘Your kids really play hard.’ To me, that’s a big compliment. Now, we’ve made mistakes, but when the kids are playing fast, then you can cover up for them."

In the Eagles’ defensive schemes, it all starts with the line. It is the only unit on defense that can go two-deep at almost every position, which allows Higgison to rapidly rotate players in and out to keep them fresh. The catalyst has been senior defensive end Tony Burt, who leads the squad in tackles for losses (five) and is tied for the team lead in sacks (two). The Western Branch High School graduate and proud "757" representative has recovered from what he and Higgison both classified as subpar sophomore and junior seasons.

"I told him in the offseason," Burt said, "that I wanted him to get on me for every mistake or if he saw me slacking. This is my last year, and I want to make a name for myself. And he said he would. He’s definitely lived up to his part of the bargain."

BC also can look to outside linebacker Brandon Borst as another key playmaker this season. The senior leads the team in tackles with 12 and is second in stops behind the line with three. He plays the wild-card role in Higgison’s schemes, lining up all over the field.

"He’s our wild man," Burt said. "Always hustling, always in the weight room. He just gives that 101 percent. Always flying to the ball."

What Burt takes pleasure in is how the Eagles’ defense has sucked the life out of their opponents as the games progressed. He pointed to the McDaniel game on Sept. 2 – a 41-0 victory – as the defining point of his thesis. On the first kickoff after halftime, Green Terror running back Matt Buschman took the ball on a short kickoff and, before he could really even start running, was obliterated on a helmet-to-helmet, fumble-causing shot by reserve freshman safety Aubrey Dicks.

"It kind of deflated them," Burt said. "When other teams watch film of our defense, we want them to say, ‘Man, they don’t slack up. We’re going to have to stay on our blocks. We’re really going to have to bring our A games.’"

Clark conceded that the Eagles’ two previous opponents – with a combined record of 0-4 – are not a true litmus test. That test might come Saturday, when BC – ranked No. 10 in Division III -- travels to defending USA South champion Ferrum (0-1).

But for now, Clark will allow the players and the staff to enjoy a little bit of the spoils.

"I have a Bill Parcells quote hanging in my office," Clark said, referring to the Dallas Cowboys’ skipper, "that says, ‘Be proud of your work, but don’t admire it.’

"I’m pleased with two goose eggs."

NOTES: Eagles tailback Winston Young will dress for Saturday’s game against Ferrum, but will not start, according to Clark. Young is still recovering from a rib injury sustained in BC’s season-opening win over McDaniel. Junior tailback Phillip Carter has been named the starter. The Eagles will also be without freshman cornerback Seth Little, who Clark said he wants to rest because of two sprained ankles.

Former Player Needs Your Prayers

2006-09-12T19:18:00.000-05:00

BridgewaterFootball.com has learned that Papi Rodriguez, a 2003 Bridgewater graduate, was involved in a motorcycle accident in Florida and was taken to an intensive care unit.

The two-year starter at safety finished with 112 tackles and six interceptions for his career.

The family just asks that you keep Papi in your thoughts and prayers. They really appreciate everyone's support during his road to recovery.

Pictured: Rodriguez getting off the bus in Salem, Virginia, for Stagg Bowl XXX (Photo courtesy D3football.com)

Statistically Speaking - Week Two

2006-09-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

Well, fortunately I have some good stuff again this week - one item thanks to a Bridgewater fan who posts on D3football.com's message board, mizzou_mafia.

Let me begin this week with his find...

* It's obvious that the Eagles have given up zero points. What's maybe not as obvious is that it's very rare a team surrenders nothing through their first two games. So much so that Bridgewater is the only Division III school to record two straight shutouts to begin the 2006 season. "Oh, well it must be more common in previous years then," you say. Oh, but what a minute - in 2005, only one school (Hobart) started the season with two shutouts. In 2004, no one did. In 2003, Rowan, Mass.-Dartmouth, North Central and Amherst did. In 2002, only Tufts did. In 2001, Amherst was the only one. So in the last six years, Bridgewater is one of only eight schools to record such a feat. The seven other teams couldn't push their shutout streak to three games - can the Eagles?

* There are a handful of true freshmen making an instant impact for the Eagles this season, most notably Seth Little (DB), David Rodgers (TE) and Louis Sanchez (OL). But who has really stepped up has been Jeremy Lewis at linebacker. With the injuries to Antwaine Campo and Brandon Kelley, Lewis has been able to play quite a bit thus far this season. So much so that he is currently averaging the fifth-most tackles a game among freshmen defenders in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) with six tackles (five solo) through the first two games of the season. That's an average of 2.5 solo tackles a game - nearly the same amount future All-American (and NFL prospect) Jermaine Taylor averaged his first year for the Eagles. BC fans can only hope he becomes as good.

* The Bridgewater defense recorded 16 tackles for a loss against Shenandoah last weekend, which was twice as many as what Guilford and Hampden-Sydney tallied, and two more than what Catholic, Randolph-Macon and Washington & Lee combined for.

* Brandon Copeland returned six punts for 118 yards against the Hornets, which happens to be the third-most punt return yardage in conference history for a game. Bridgewater enjoyed an average starting field position at their 42-yard line because of it. His 14.9 yards per punt return average on the season is currently tops in the ODAC and 13th-best in the nation.

* Speaking of NCAA statistical rankings, the Eagles are ranked in the top 50 in the following team and individual categories;
-35th, Total Offense – 409.5
-21st, Total Defense – 153.5
-17th, Rushing Offense – 242.5
-28th, Scoring Offense – 35.5
-1st, Scoring Defense – 0.0
-30th, Team Kickoff Returns – 25.0
-34th, Team Punt Returns – 13.6
-12th, Luke Taylor (K) in Field Goals Per Game – 1.5
-15th, Tony Burt (DE) in Tackles For Loss Per Game – 3.0

* Last week I filled you in on what players were on the outside looking in on the career offensive top 10s. Let me catch you up including the Shenandoah game;

-For scoring, junior Kyle Beach (K) is still 11 points from cracking the top 10.

-For rushing, senior Robbie Matthews (FB) had 52 yards rushing and is now 494 away from the top 10 rushing list.

-For passing, junior Jeff Highfill (QB) threw for 131 yards and now needs only 260 to join the top 10 list.

-For receiving, junior Brandon Copeland (WR) recorded 36 receiving yards, putting him 349 yards closer to the top 10.

If you missed last week's 'Statistically Speaking', click here.

Until next time...

BC Jumps to No. 10 in D3football.com Poll

2006-09-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

With the Eagles blanking their second straight opponent this past Saturday, and three teams ranked above them losing (No. 6 Mary Hardin-Baylor, No. 7 Linfield and No. 11 Union), Bridgewater moved from No. 13 to No. 10 in this week's D3football.com Top 25.

It's the highest ranking by D3football.com of the Eagles since they were tabbed No. 7 in their 2004 preseason poll.

Bridgewater moved up two spots in the Football Gazette poll, from No. 10 to No. 8.

The AFCA will release their poll later this week.

Bridgewater Routs Shenandoah (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-10T10:30:00.000-05:00

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).

New Tailback Ready To Go (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-09T07:33:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater faces Shenandoah in football today.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — When Phillip Carter chooses to express himself, he often takes a trip down the left – i.e., creative — side of his brain.

Sometimes, it’s finding his inner shutterbug through digital photography, or perhaps impromptu poetry. Often, it’s via spontaneous, violent thrashes of a No. 2 pencil in his sketchbook.

Bridgewater College football coach Michael Clark, however, plans for Carter to express himself in a different avenue today – right through, around and over Shenandoah’s defense.

The Eagles (1-0) have a 1 p.m. date with the Hornets (0-1) at Jopson Field, and Carter will start at tailback in place of the injured Winston Young. It’s a role Carter has prepared himself for the entire summer, at the urging of Clark.

"Coach [Clark] always tells us that we’re ‘one play away,’" Carter said after practice this week. "We know that anybody can step up and make plays in this program."

Carter rushed for 77 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown in the second half of BC’s 41-0 romp over McDaniel on Sept. 2. Rocket Gadsden will move up to the No. 2 spot.

Offensive coordinator Joey Soltis said the Eagles’ backups – in particular Carter — are more than ready to carry the load.

"If Winston had graduated [last year]," Soltis said, "this is the guy everybody would be talking about."

At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Carter is a punishing runner, an attribute the BC staff worked hard to refine this summer. The knock on the Spotsylvania native’s game last year was that he hit the hole too soft, and you couldn’t trust him in passing situations, but those are issues Soltis said have all been rectified.

"He’s really been one of our most improved players," Soltis said.

And much like the way Carter defines himself through artistic expression, BC has been known to get a little creative with the play calling whenever it faces Shenandoah. Last year, the Eagles relied on not one, not two but three trick plays for touchdowns, a well-known favorite of former offensive coordinator Bob Colbert – now the head coach at St. Vincent – but an area that hasn’t yet been tapped by Soltis.

BC emphasized during the offseason that its trademark trick plays – "special" plays in the Eagles’ parlance – would remain part of the repertoire. Whether they’re unveiled against Shenandoah remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure -- don’t expect any such wizardry from the Hornets.

Shenandoah, a traditionally run-heavy team under coach Paul Barnes, carried the ball 40 times against Catholic in its season-opening loss. But it’s the 2004 contest, a comfortable 35-13 victory by BC, that still gives Clark nightmares. The Hornets ran 94 plays from scrimmage, a majority of them on the ground, and chewed up 41 minutes on the clock.

Clark said the key to stuffing the Hornets’ offensive game plan is to put SU in obvious passing situations. Starting quarterback Derby Blake was ineffective for Shenandoah last week, completing only four of 16 passes and tossing a late interception. SU will be without backup and former Bridgewater quarterback Richard Glick, who will miss the remainder of the season with a broken leg.

Clark noted the Hornets added some variety to their ground game this year. After watching film of SU’s 17-6 loss to Catholic, he noticed Shenandoah dropped its traditional wing-T formation in favor of an I-formation with multiple receivers in an attempt to spread the field and create more running lanes.

"It’s an offense in transition," Clark said. "That being said, they’ve had a lot of success against us running the ball. We’ve got to be prepared."

Offensively, the Eagles are riding high after carving up the Green Terror for 505 yards. Junior quarterback Jeff Highfill was BC’s leader through the air (187 yards, two touchdowns) and on the ground (105 yards, one touchdown), but the Eagles’ coaches are asking for more consistency from the Roanoke native, who looked effective throwing the ball down the field but often overthrew or skipped short passes.

"He was exceptionally good with the driver," Clark said with a chuckle, "bad with the short putts."

Just as importantly, BC hopes its vaunted rushing attack remains in gear. BC gained 318 yards against McDaniel, despite having Young for only a quarter and a half.

To remain productive, the Eagles probably will have to rely on their resident artiste, who embraces many disciplines. Well, everything except painting.

"It’s not my thing," Carter said, "but I’ll get dirty."

Which, of course, is music to a coach’s ears.

Statistically Speaking - Week One

2006-09-06T20:15:00.000-05:00

Each week, I'll attempt to give you something statistically interesting to chew on. Tall order, but here goes nothing...

* We all know that Bridgewater currently has a 35-game ODAC win streak, but what you probably didn't know was that the Eagles ended a different 35-game streak this past Saturday. Prior to our defense holding the Green Terror to zero points to start the 2006 season, Bridgewater hadn't shut out a Division III opponent since September 13, 2003, when the Eagles defeated Shenandoah 42-0 nearly three years ago.

*Jeff Highfill became Bridgewater's fourth starting quarterback out of the last five to pass for more than 150 yards and rush for another 100 in a game. His 178-yard passing and 105-yard rushing performance against McDaniel this past weekend joins Jacob Lewis, Brandon Wakefield and Jason Lutz. Lewis recorded 226 and 124 against Hanover in 2005, Wakefield had 202 and 109 versus Emory & Henry in 2003, and Lutz did it multiple times, with the last coming in the 2001 playoffs against Widener when he put up 227 and 142. The Eagles won all four games.

*Tony Burt, a senior defensive end, was in on five tackles for loss and three sacks against the Green Terror. His performance is so impressive that with 153 other Division III teams in action this past week, only one player would be in on more tackles for loss and sacks. Beloit's Joe Goldufsky tallied six tackles for loss, while Puget Sound's Jake Parks recorded four sacks.

*Last year, I took it upon myself to compile Bridgewater's career top 10 lists for scoring, rushing, passing and receiving. I updated them throughout last season and have done so through the McDaniel game this year. I'm sure you've seen it before, found under 'Record Book' on BridgewaterFootball.com. Senior Winston Young (RB) has been climbing the top 10 charts for scoring and rushing since 2005, but what you probably don't know are the current players who are on the outside looking in. Let me introduce...

-For scoring, junior Kyle Beach (K) added two extra points against McDaniel to bring his career scoring total to 121. He has hit 79-of-87 extra points and 14-of-22 field goals. Beach is only 11 points from cracking the top 10.

-For rushing, senior Robbie Matthews (FB) added 22 yards this past weekend to bring his career total to 1,118. He has a bit of work to do, needing 546 more yards to enter the top 10 rushing list.

-For passing, junior Jeff Highfill (QB) threw for 178 yards against the Green Terror, pushing his career passing mark to 984 yards. He needs only 391 to join the top 10 list.

-For receiving, junior Brandon Copeland (WR) came into the season with 577 yards through the air. This past Saturday, he added another 66, bumping his career total to 643. He will need 385 more to jump into the top 10 for receiving yardage.

Well, that's all I have for this week. I don't expect to have this much each time, but you never know what will happen. No individual or team game records were broken against McDaniel, but you better be certain I'll keep my eye out on them.

Until next time...

Burt, O-Line, Named to National TOW

2006-09-05T21:14:00.000-05:00

Every week since 1999, D3football.com has collected the best player at each position for their Team of the Week (TOW).

Following week one of the 2006 season, Bridgewater's defensive end Tony Burt and the offensive line were recognized on the National TOW for their performance against McDaniel. Below are their capsules;

OL Matt Capriani, Mark Shomper, Grant Holsinger, Anthony Cotton, Keaton Culver, Bridgewater (Va.)
Bridgewater totaled 505 yards of total offense in a 41-0 victory against McDaniel. The Eagles rushed for 318 yards, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. The offensive line gave up only one sack on the day.

DL Tony Burt, Sr., Bridgewater (Va.)
Burt led the Bridgewater defense in Saturday's 41-0 shutout over McDaniel, finishing with five total tackles with four coming behind the line of scrimmage. He also finished with two of the Eagles’ five sacks and two quarterback hurries.

Click here for the entire D3football.com Team of the Week for week one.

Eagles Move into Gazette Top 10

2006-09-03T17:47:00.000-05:00

Following Bridgewater's 41-0 thumping of McDaniel on Saturday, the Eagles moved from No. 12 to No. 10 in Don Hansen's Football Gazette Division III Top 40.

The Eagles are now the second-highest ranked south region team in the Gazette poll, behind Wesley who is ranked seventh.

Bridgewater remained ranked No. 13 in D3football.com's Top 25.

BC Romps At McDaniel (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-03T15:55:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

WESTMINSTER, Md. – Jeff Highfill took the snap in the third quarter and glanced at his No. 1 receiver, Brandon Copeland. Covered. He checked out a few more options, didn’t see anything he liked, and took off like he was shot out of a cannon, outracing the entire McDaniel defense en route to a 44-yard touchdown.

It was that kind of day for the Bridgewater College football team, which piled up the offense, got the bounces and exorcised some demons Saturday in a 41-0 victory over the Green Terror at Scott S. Bair Stadium.

Gone were lingering memories of last year’s 36-35 loss to McDaniel at Jopson Field, a game Bridgewater led by 19 at halftime.

“There was still a lot of memory there,” BC coach Michael Clark said.

Saturday’s victory may prove to be costly, however. Senior tailback Winston Young left the game in the second quarter after sustaining a rib injury. It was unclear how much time he would miss, but even without Young, the Eagles were clicking on all cylinders Saturday.

“They kicked our butts,” McDaniel coach Tim Keating said, shaking his head.

BC outgained McDaniel 505-174 yards, and the defense shut out the Terror at Bair Stadium for the first time since 1987. It was a physical performance, as well. Seven McDaniel players were forced out of the game because of injury, including a helmet-popping, fumble-causing shot by freshman safety Aubrey Dicks on the opening kickoff in the third quarter that sent sophomore tailback Matt Buschman to the sideline with an apparent concussion.

Highfill was the catalyst of the Eagles’ offense, tossing two first-quarter touchdowns, running for another and directing a balanced attack that ran for 318 yards through a porous McDaniel defense. Junior tailback Phillip Carter gained 81 yards, 43 on a touchdown run, and Highfill ran for 105 yards, leaving Keating surprised by the quarterback’s scrambling ability.

“I had no idea,” Keating said. “He’s a really, really nice player. I knew he was a very good option quarterback, and they ran a little bit of option, but you could see him become a team leader out there.”

The Eagles’ offense caught a few breaks, too. Facing a fourth-and-9 on the opening drive, Highfill dropped back and zipped a bullet pass to Copeland (three receptions, 66 yards and a touchdown), who could not handle it. The ball tipped off his hands and landed directly on the stomach of sophomore wide-out Andy Ropp, who ran 25 yards to the Terror 10. Three plays later, Highfill flipped a pass to tight end Jeff Jones for a 5-yard score.

Keating thought he had the mobile quarterback in Saturday’s rivalry contest, but the Eagles’ defense put the shackles on senior Brad Baer, limiting the Westminster native to 7-for-17 passing for just 73 yards. Senior linebacker Brandon Borst and senior defensive end Antonio Burt were in Baer’s face all afternoon.

“I thought it was going to be a tough game,” Baer said, “but nothing like this.”

Baer gashed the Eagles’ defense for a pair of big gains on scrambles during McDaniel’s opening drive, but BC adjusted quickly and Baer was unable to create anything out of the passing game. He was constantly harassed, pressured and hurried, which forced him to throw on the run and over the heads of receivers.

“We were all really fired up,” senior linebacker Craig Smith said. “We didn’t really make any adjustments to [Baer]. We just buckled down and everything started coming to us.”

Fired up may be putting it lightly. Just before the opening kickoff, Borst stormed onto the sideline and slammed a giant sledgehammer into the turf – a BC award for hard work similar to Virginia Tech’s lunch pail – and waved his arms toward the Bridgewater fans.

“Oh, he’s a madman,” senior linebacker Venancio Biela said. “But he really did deserve that award. He put the hammer down.”

One area of concern for BC was its inability to take advantage of its red-zone possessions. Even though the Eagles scored five touchdowns, it was the team’s 22- and 19-yard field goals that left Clark shaking his head.

“We don’t need to be kicking field goals inside the 10-yard line,” Clark said.

Eagles Lose Key Receiver (Daily News-Record)

2006-09-01T15:05:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — At first, the hit didn’t seem that dangerous. Turns out, it’s a loss Bridgewater College football coach Michael Clark can hardly afford to stomach.

Blake Warring was running a slant route in practice last week and got bumped hard by linebacker Craig Smith. At first, the junior wide receiver thought nothing of it and returned to practice. After a couple of plays, he noticed the pain wasn’t going away and he retreated to the sidelines.

That’s where he’ll be all season.

Warring suffered a fractured rib and lacerated kidney at the Aug. 22 practice, an injury that will cost him the entire 2006 season.

It won’t be an alien experience for the hard-luck Warring. In 2005, he missed all but two games of the season after tearing the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a 49-20 victory over Shenandoah. Warring also tore a ligament in his left knee during a playoff loss to Washington & Jefferson in 2004.

"It’s real frustrating," Warring said as he watched the Eagles practice Thursday. "I just have to get ready for next year."

With Warring shelved for the year, Clark promoted senior Michael Oaks to start opposite junior Brandon Copeland in the Eagles’ season-opener against McDaniel on Saturday. He knows that finding an able body to replace the 6-foot-1, 180-pound speedster from Miami will not be easy.

"It’s such a tragedy for Blake," Clark said. "He’s about as premier a wide receiver as you can get in Division III football that nobody knows about. Well, McDaniel knows about him because he had a great game against them."

Warring had a field day against the Green Terror last year in BC’s 36-35 loss, catching five balls for 115 yards and a 38-yard touchdown.

Oaks caught 24 passes for 299 yards last year in a limited offensive role. Clark said Oaks needs to step up so defenses don’t smother Copeland.

"It’s the nature of the business," Clark said. "The wide receiver position is one where we have some depth, just not deep-threat depth. We’ll have to see. Somebody has to step up and show us what they can do."

Warring noticed that his injury was more serious than originally thought when he began urinating blood the night he was hurt. He checked into Rockingham Memorial Hospital and was sent by helicopter to the University of Virginia Hospital, where he spent two-plus days before being released on Aug. 25.

Beach Begins On Bench (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-31T08:18:00.000-05:00

In an upset, Kyle Beach won’t kick in Bridgewater College’s season opener Saturday.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — Kyle Beach has waited two years to kick for Bridgewater College, a journey that’s taken him from the Shenandoah Valley to construction work in Arlington to a community college in Huntsville, Ala.

Turns out, he still has some waiting to do.

In a surprise, Beach -- the starting place-kicker in 2002 and 2003 -- lost a battle to kick for the Eagles in the season-opener Saturday at McDaniel. That honor instead will go to Luke Taylor, a sophomore from Williamsburg.

"Kyle has done it before for us on Saturdays when it matters," BC coach Michael Clark said Wednesday. "It’s just not going to be this Saturday."

Clark said Beach’s 18-month layoff was a factor in his decision. He didn’t want to rush the junior from Manassas back into action too quickly, especially after he suffered a herniated disk in his back early in summer practices.

Taylor, who has never kicked in a varsity game for the Eagles, said he’s ready.

"I’ve been making them in practice," Taylor said. "So there’s no reason to believe that I can’t make them in the games. There will probably be some nerves when I step on the field [at McDaniel], but I’ll go into my normal kick routine I use in practice, and I’ve been making those."

Clark plans to give Taylor a little leeway with the kicking duties, because he knows how pressure can play havoc with a kicker who’s constantly looking over his shoulder at his backup. Even so, he said Beach still has an opportunity to unseat Taylor because there are so few variables in evaluating players. Either he makes it, or misses it.

"It’s the easiest position to judge," Clark said, "because it’s so cut-and-dry. What’s your range? What’s your percentage? I told Luke that one kick wouldn’t make or break it [for him]. I want him to relax."

Taylor spent two years backing up David Blackwell and knew it would be tough to edge out Beach, who held a trump card with the experience factor. What sealed the deal for Clark – who coaches the Eagles’ special teams when part-time assistant Harry Trevathian is not with the team – was Taylor’s performance in the Eagles’ pressure-kick drills at the end of each practice.

Still, he’s yet to kick a game-winning field goal in a competitive game.

"Most of my games in high school were blowouts either way," said Taylor, who attended Bruton. "I know that a big kick validates what the entire team has worked hard for, and that’s a lot of pressure."

He may be in that situation on Saturday. Last year, Blackwell missed three field goals – including a 39-yard attempt with 4:18 remaining – and had an extra point blocked in the Eagles’ 36-35 loss to the Green Terror.

For Beach, he looked at his return as a way to make up for a missed opportunity. He was working construction in Arlington after dropping out of school because of academic failures when he woke up one morning and asked himself, "What am I doing here?"

"It’s not a fun life," Beach said. "That was my motivation [for returning to school]. I thought, ‘Somebody else should be doing this.’"

Beach had a successful debut season at Bridgewater in 2002. He beat out Blackwell for the kicking job as a freshman, even though he was recruited out of Osbourn Park by ex-BC offensive coordinator Bob Colbert to play wide receiver. Beach was good enough his freshman season to earn second-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference honors, going 7-for-10 on field goals and 46-for-51 on extra points.

"The year before, we were 1-for-14 in field goals," Clark said. "We still played for the national championship, but [Beach] didn’t have a tough act to follow."

Beach slumped his sophomore season, going 5-for-9 on field goals as he split time with Blackwell. It was then that his academic troubles bubbled into legitimate problems and he left school. From there, he bounced around from his construction gig to waiting tables at a seafood restaurant while he attended Calhoun Community College in Huntsville. Once he brought his grades up, a call was placed to Clark.

"He told me I could come back if that’s what I really wanted to do," Beach said. "I wanted to make sure that I’m graduating. I’m not a 19-year-old freshman anymore. I’m 22. It’s time to get on with life."

NOTES: Clark announced the rest of his special teams starters on Wednesday, including a pair of local players. Scott Ruebush, a sophomore from Fort Defiance High School, has been named the starting punter, and freshman lineman Louis Sanchez of Harrisonburg will start as the long snapper for field goals.

BC Linebacker Seizes His Chance (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-29T08:01:00.000-05:00

Because of a teammate’s injury, Venancio Biela will start at linebacker for Bridgewater College’s football team this weekend.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — The Bridgewater College linebacker with easily the most unique name on the roster is more interested in the present than the future.

He’s not thinking about four weeks down the line, when the player he’s replacing is set to return, but only of Saturday, the date he plans to make his first collegiate start.

For Venancio Biela, this is all about carpe diem. Seize the day.

"He’s one of those ‘program kids,’" Eagles football coach Michael Clark said after practice. "He’s coming into his fourth year, and he’s never played significant field time. To me, that’s a great story of his persistence."

Biela, a senior, will start at whip linebacker in BC’s season opener at McDaniel, thanks to a little bit of bad luck among his teammates.

With senior Brandon Borst entrenched at the strongside linebacker position, Craig Smith retaking the middle after returning from a torn Achilles tendon, and Antwaine Campo set in the weakside (whip) role, Biela was not in the coaching staff’s plans. In fact, he was third on the depth chart at the whip position behind senior Brandon Kelley. Barring injury, there was a good chance the 5-foot-9, 200-pound Biela wouldn’t come close to sniffing the field this season. His last season.

Slowly but surely, though, the dominoes began to fall his way. First, Campo tore an anterior cruciate ligament during a pick-up basketball game this summer. Then, during the first few days of preseason practice, Kelley shattered his finger.

Campo was lost for the season, and Kelley is out for about four weeks. So, for now at least, Biela gets the nod. And his coaches apparently aren’t worried.

"I feel real comfortable," defensive coordinator Grant Higgison said. "The [linebacking] group is a good corps of players. … It’s the strongest corps of linebackers in the [Old Dominion Athletic] conference."

In Higgison’s defensive schemes, the whip position carries perhaps the most responsibility. It requires discipline to protect against tailbacks cutting back against the grain, coverage skills to shadow backs and receivers on pass routes, and enough muscle and speed to effectively rush passers.

Biela’s newfound role came in the nick of time. At the end of every season, Clark would conduct exit interviews with each player; when Biela’s number was called, the conversation always drifted toward playing time. Clark stressed patience and the Hampton native trusted him.

"We don’t give rewards here," Clark said. "But you have to cheer for those guys like Biela. They are kids that I would love to play, but sometimes it’s just not their time."

Biela’s teammates are glad he’s getting his time. The former Kecoughtan High School player spent this summer in Bridgewater working out with Borst and Smith, knowing he was not in the initial mix but preparing as if he were a starter.

"It’s a shot he’s well-deserving of," Borst said. "He’s what this team is all about."

What intrigues Borst -- and the rest of the BC team -- about Biela is the linebacker’s name. His full name is Venancio DaRessarreicao Biela Jr., and his appearance alone can result in some Michael Buffer-style introductions on the practice field.

"The funniest thing is that he’s a ‘junior,’" Borst said, laughing. "I can’t believe there were ever two people with that name."

The name has Portuguese roots – Biela’s father was from Angola, a former colony of Portugal – and Biela is intensely proud of it. It wasn’t always that way. When Biela was a child growing up in Hampton, he was teased often as being the kid with the funny name, but as he grew older it became more important to him. It became a legacy for his dead father – Biela Sr. died when Junior was a toddler.

As for football, Biela knows he can’t get married to the starting position, but admits it’s nice to think about himself as starting a Division III college game. And he’s already thought about how he’ll feel if Kelley returns from his injury to reclaim the starter’s role.

"We’re all really tight here," Biela said. "I wouldn’t be upset. He’s worked just as hard as I have. There would be no jealously, just as I’m sure there would be none with him if I ended up with [the position]."

It’s all about seizing the day.

Fan Buses to Away Games

2006-08-27T12:47:00.000-05:00

The Alumni Office has reserved a bus for each of the away football games this fall. Join us! It's more fun to travel with a group of fans, and you won't need to worry about driving in traffic or the price of gasoline. Make your reservation no later than noon on the Monday before each game by calling 540-828-5451 or by email at shottel@bridgewater.edu. We need a minimum of 30 people for each trip; if we fail to make the minimum, we will notify you by the close of business (4:30 p.m.) on the Tuesday before the game. Plan to take a lunch; we'll make a dinner stop on the way back.

The schedule is as follows:

Sept. 2 - McDaniel - Leave BC at 8 a.m.; arrive back at approximately 9 p.m. Cost: $35 a person

Sept. 16 - Ferrum - Leave BC at 9:30 a.m.; arrive back at approximately 8:30 p.m. (Game time is 1:30 p.m.) Cost: $35 a person

Oct. 14 - Guilford - Leave BC at 7 a.m.; arrive back at approximately 10 p.m. Cost: $45 a person

Nov. 4 - Randolph-Macon - Leave BC at 9:30 a.m.; arrive back at approximately 8:30 p.m. Cost: $35 a person

Nov. 11 - Catholic - Leave BC at 8 a.m.; arrive back at approximately 9 p.m. Cost: $35 a person.

Eagles Scrimmage Hargrave PG

2006-08-24T22:45:00.000-05:00

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.

Clark Looks For New Stars (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College’s football team is again the heavy ODAC favorite, but the Eagles enter the season with less experienced depth than usual.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — It’s hard to stay on top.

Bridgewater College football coach Michael Clark has first-hand knowledge of that maxim, having led the Eagles to five straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships. Every year, he notes, the rivals get hungrier, stronger and better.

But this year may be his toughest test yet.

The Eagles are losing 26 players – "difference makers," according to Clark – from last season’s NCAA Division III quarterfinalist, and are struggling to fill gaps on the offensive line, at tight end and at safety 1½ weeks before the season-opener Sept. 2 at McDaniel.

Friday – the end of preseason practice – is the cutoff date for players to prove their worth to the program. After that, the Eagles will begin working on installing plays and formulating a game plan for the Green Terror rather than developing players.

"We’re done developing," Clark said. "We’ve got to find out if this is the corps."

The Eagles go into the season ranked No. 13 by d3football.com. That, of course, means nothing. Clark looks at his roster and sees less experience than usual, and less experience often translates into less success.

Clark is hoping to get some insurance through the Eagles’ non-conference schedule. With at-large bids scare for the NCAA playoffs, a 4-0 record against the non-conference portion of the slate could carry a lot of weight. After the McDaniel game, BC will host regional rival Shenandoah on Sept. 9, then turn around and travel to Ferrum – the defending USA South champions -- on Sept. 16.

The Eagles will wrap up the non-conference schedule with a home game Sept. 23 against LaGrange, which added football this year.

"A good start, it gets you out of the gate," Clark said. "You’ve got a card that you can play later on."

The Eagles’ conference winning streak stands at 35 games and, for players, the pressure is simple: they don’t want to be part of the group that fails to win an ODAC crown.

"It’s my last year," senior linebacker Brandon Borst said. "I don’t want to be part of that group."

He added that even with some of BC’s key losses in personnel, it doesn’t change the mission players have set out to accomplish this year.

"We don’t want to be the 13th-best team in the country," Borst said, noting d3football.com’s preseason ranking. "That’s not what we set out to accomplish. In order to do that, to be like the Mount Unions or the Rowans, we need to be beating strong teams out of our conference."

Much of Borst’s motivation comes from the gut-wrenching blowout last year at Wesley. The 46-7 rout, in Borst’s home state of Delaware no less, provided plenty of motivation in summer workouts.

Borst and senior linebacker Craig Smith will be the anchors of a defense looking to improve after a less-than-stellar 2005 season. The big question mark is the safety position, where first-time starters Desmond Jalloh and Derrick Burroughs will be making their debuts.

The Eagles plan to start a freshman, 6-foot-3, 230-pound David Rodgers of Centreville, at the tight end. On the offensive line, BC has to replace seven of the top 10 players.

Elsewhere, there’s star power. Although honorable-mention All-American tailback Marcus Washington is gone, junior Jeff Highfill returns at quarterback and he’ll be joined on offense by a pair of standouts -- junior wide receiver Brandon Copeland and senior tailback Winston Young.

"Things are coming together," Highfill said. "I know we lost some quality players, but we’ve also got a lot of guys coming back who played a lot last year. Especially with guys like [fullback] Robert Matthews and Winston Young back there."

Highfill is not as concerned with the expectations of the 2006 season as he is about the upcoming McDaniel game. Considering the Eagles have lost two in a row to the Green Terror, it’s probably critical that a strong season begin with a win against a traditional rival.

"It’s important to send a message," Highfill said. "We have to go out and beat a good program. Not too many people can say that they’ve beaten Bridgewater two years in a row. We know they’re going to be fired up."

Borst agrees. He said Sept. 2 has been circled on his calendar for a "long, long time."

"I think about it 25 hours a day," the senior said with a chuckle.

Chaptman Turning The Corner At BC (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-22T07:23:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — Jeff Highfill called out his cadences, snuck a peek to his left, shouted an audible and threw the football toward the sideline, a quick out meant to catch a napping cornerback off guard.

Not gonna happen – not with Earl Chaptman playing defense.

Chaptman snatched the pass out of midair and turned on the afterburners as he raced down the sideline during football practice at Bridgewater College on Monday, prompting a prediction from one of the cornerback’s coaches.

"It’ll be the same against McDaniel," defensive coordinator Grant Higgison told Chaptman after the drill, referring to BC’s season opener Sept. 2.

Chaptman, a junior from Baltimore, will start at one of the two cornerback slots this fall. Although he’ll be playing opposite preseason Division III All-American Josh Knight of Harrisonburg, coaches don’t expect him to be overshadowed.

Rather, they expect Chaptman to help plug holes in a BC pass defense that allowed 3,302 yards last season.

"We’ve always had a lineage of great cornerbacks here," Higgison said after practice. "Starting with Steward White and now Josh [Knight]. Earl is going to be the next guy in line. He’s out on that edge, and I can tell you, he makes my life easier having him there."

It doesn’t hurt that Chaptman and Knight hang out constantly, whether playing EA Madden Football or going to the movies.

"Josh is one of my closest friends," Chaptman said as he pulled his mid-length dreadlocks underneath a silk cap. "I talk with him all the time. We talk a lot. Me and Josh have been on the field for three years together now. We’re even on the same page. We can look across the field at each other and know what’s going on."

Chaptman was born and raised in East Baltimore, a gritty inner-city neighborhood that served as the backdrop for HBO’s popular crime drama, "The Wire." Murders, drug use and gang activity are a part of life in the B-More projects, a backdrop of Chaptman’s life he’s happy to forget.

"It’s tough, man," Chaptman said. "It’s real tough. A lot of kids get caught up in things that get them off track. I’m glad that I had a mother and coaches that kept me on track. There might have been times that I got myself in trouble, but they always kept me on track. That’s what got me here today."

Chaptman said he still has friends involved in the city’s seedy side, a reason he spent this summer in Bridgewater working out and running sprints with Knight.

Knight grew up on Kelley Street, one of Harrisonburg’s tougher neighborhoods. He understood the need to put those aspects of life behind him.

"We got a saying back there [on Kelley] that ‘real recognize real,’" said Knight, who celebrated his 21st birthday Thursday. "So no matter where you from, we know we went through the same thing with all the violence growing up."

Chaptman mockingly scoffed at the notion that Knight truly understands his rough upbringing, saying that Harrisonburg and Baltimore are not on the same level.

"Where Josh lives now," Chaptman said, "I hate to say it, but the way I see it, I just don’t see it as tough as Baltimore. It’s such a big city, and it has so much going on in terms of murders and stuff."

BC unearthed Chaptman when coach Michael Clark received a call from his coach at Dunbar High School, the gist of the conversation being that Chaptman was a talented athlete – he played quarterback and was the starting point guard for the Poets – who was not getting any recruiting looks.

"We kind of lucked into him," Higgison said. "And so we went up there, coach [Peter] Raeford [Jr.] went up there, spent some time with him and then we got him here and we put him into the fire as a freshman. He’s learned from the repetitions and the game situations."

Higgison said Chaptman’s skills at cornerback allow him to take some gambles with blitzes and be aggressive with coverage schemes, instead of strictly relying on zone defenses when BC plays pass-happy Old Dominion Athletic Conference teams.

Chaptman’s lack of size -- 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds -- teased a lot of ODAC teams into trying to beat him with jump-ball passes on fade routs, but Higgison noted that Chaptman’s athletic ability allows him to compensate.

"For a guy his size," Higgison said, "he can go up and play that deep ball. A lot of teams would try to throw that fade on him, and he’d just jump up and get it. He’s gotten better and better over the years and become a more well-rounded corner."

As Chaptman’s game progresses, so should his stats. He finished with just one interception last year, five short of Knight’s total.

"It’s every man for himself out there," Knight said. "You just gotta handle your business."

Both on the football field and on the streets.

Soltis Revving Up BC’s Offense (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-18T07:57:00.000-05:00

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — Now that Bob Colbert has his own rig in Latrobe, Pa., Bridgewater College football coach Michael Clark has tossed the keys to the Eagles’ offense to the protégé – former wide receivers coach Joey Soltis.

So far, Clark said, the engine is purring quite nicely, though he isn’t averse to giving it a tune-up.

"He’s done a good job of identifying what we’ve done well," Clark said this week. "[But] anytime you put new people in charge, there are new ideas that are introduced that might end up making the bag."

Colbert, now the head coach at St. Vincent College, developed an entertaining, high-octane attack that helped turn BC into a Division III power. Not surprisingly, Soltis plans no major changes to an offense that averaged 37.1 points and 443.1 yards per game in 2005.

For one thing, Clark probably wouldn’t let him.

"He knows I’m not going to do anything that he thinks doesn’t work," Soltis said with a laugh.

Most of the key players from last year are back, with the only notable absence at the skill positions being tailback Marcus Washington. With junior quarterback Jeff Highfill now entrenched in the starting role, Soltis wants to tailor the BC attack toward both the Roanoke native’s strengths and those of senior tailback Winston Young.

Highfill is exceptionally mobile for a D-III quarterback, and Soltis intends to take advantage of that attribute.

"We’ll do a lot more option things out of the shotgun," Soltis said, "do a bit more inside and outside … in addition to our regular power running game."

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Highfill secured the starting job late last season when incumbent Jacob Lewis hurt his right thumb during practice two days before the NCAA Division III playoff opener against Washington & Jefferson. Even after Lewis healed, Clark stuck with Highfill, who led the Eagles to two victories before a 46-7 loss to Wesley in the national quarterfinals.

This year, Highfill has been given more responsibilities.

"Now, I can make more checks from the line," Highfill said. "We’ve added some new running plays and some blocking schemes that should help us, especially against some of the bigger guys that we’ll see like the ones we saw at [Washington & Jefferson] last year."

To help familiarize himself with Soltis’ playbook this summer, Highfill made the two-hour drive from Roanoke to Greensboro, N.C., to meet his top receiver and in-season roommate, Brandon Copeland. The duo spent time focusing on the offense’s routes, using repetitions to get more comfortable with each other and learn tendencies.

Sometimes, he said, Copeland would make the drive up to Roanoke, but the mantra was always the same — improve.

Soltis was pleased to hear of the bonding sessions.

"Oh man, it’s great anytime that you have quarterbacks and receivers who are trusting each other," he said.

Soltis said he still calls Colbert for advice, but not as often as he would like because both are busy. They also email each other. The 34-year-old Soltis knows he isn’t yet a finished product. For one thing, he said, his play calling needs improving. In the past, he called plays only for BC’s junior-varsity games.

"You’ve got to develop a feel for it," Soltis said. "I’m not exactly sure how I’ll deal with it, but I know I’ll have to be even more organized."

Colbert’s famous trick plays still will be in the repertoire, and Soltis has designed some new ones that he hopes to install in the next few weeks as the Eagles become more comfortable in his system.

"We’ve already broken out a wide receiver reverse or two in practice," Soltis said.

If there’s any pressure that comes from taking over an offense that’s led Bridgewater to five straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships, Soltis said he isn’t feeling it.

"We’re going to still stick with the things that made us successful that I believe in and our kids believe in," Soltis said.

Clark, whose team is ranked 13th by d3football.com, sounded almost jealous of Soltis.

"I’ve coached a long time," Clark said. "Funnest thing I’ve ever did in football is call passing plays. I’ve done just about everything else. There’s nothing more fun to do during a game than call the offensive plays."

Eagles’ ‘Uncle Craig’ Back (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-17T13:29:00.000-05:00

BC’s Smith missed 2005 season with an injury

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — The first time this summer that linebacker Craig Smith donned his shoulder pads, there was still that twinge of trepidation, the cautious voice in the back of his mind offering a constant reminder of last year’s nightmare.

Psst. Hey Craig. Remember me? You’ve been down this road before, and you weren’t even touched last time. I could be back at any time. Don’t sleep on me.

At the start of Bridgewater College preseason football practice last year, Smith was participating in a drill and blocking the quarterback while ex-safety Adrian Herndon was returning an interception. He felt a sharp stab of pain in the back of his foot, almost like he had been inadvertently kicked.

Turns out, it was a torn Achilles tendon. He was out for the season.

"I’ll be honest with you," Smith said outside the team’s locker room at Nininger Hall after practice Wednesday. "It was hard for me. The first day that we put on pads, and I’ve never been a nervous guy, but I was nervous. It was very much in my mind. I definitely think about it a lot."

You can’t blame Smith for tiptoeing through his first contact drill. Last year was supposed to be his swan song, anchoring an Eagles’ defense that was stacked with talented, athletic upperclassmen.

Smith’s absence not only created a gaping hole at the middle linebacker position, but an enormous void in terms of team leadership. The 5-foot-9, 207-pound defensive captain knows when to get in a teammate’s face, when to pick him up, where to make the defensive calls and how to keep emotions in check. It wasn’t a roster spot that Eagles’ coach Michael Clark could easily pencil someone into.

"He’s a voice," BC defensive coordinator Grant Higgison said, "that everyone listens and respects. He can go and do what needs to be done as a leader. His value is in intangibles. You can’t put any value on that."

Higgison is elated to have Smith back in the fold because he feels the linebacker will help galvanize a defense that was ravaged by seven departures. Smith believes that the Eagles "D," has a chance to get some much-needed swagger back after allowing 328 points last season.

"It’s a pass-happy league now," Smith said, referring to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. "Everyone wants to pass the ball and there are going to be a lot of big plays, lots of explosive plays. …We’ll get a lot better. You’ll see some explosion from us."

Off the field, Smith has a similar infectious impact on his teammates, most of who refer to the 23-year old Virginia Beach native as "Grandpa," or "Uncle Craig."

Need advice on school, girls, life or football? The therapist is in.

Said outside linebacker Brandon Borst, who took over Smith’s position last year after the injury: "Well, he is a little old. He’s a lot older than me. In fact, he’s just an old looking dude. He’s wise beyond his years, man."

Borst also pointed to last season’s opener against McDaniel – a game that the Eagles lost 36-35 – as a true barometer of Smith’s value.

"We don’t lose that game if he’s there," Borst said. "We let it slip away. We were missing that leadership, and you can’t just go and replace that."

It’s also Smith’s industrious personality that wears off on teammates. Undersized for his position, Smith’s success is born of hard work, Clark said.

"Craig Smith is one of those that maximized his talent," Clark said. "A topped-out athlete. More importantly, when we recruited him and I went and visited with his high school coach [at Kellam] he said, ‘This is the guy that you want in the locker room. When doors are shut and backs are turned, he’s going to be saying the right things to the right people.’"

Coaches also credited Smith for getting his roommate, Winston Young, involved in his summer conditioning sessions. After last season, Young weighed 190 pounds. Thanks to a dedicated offseason lifting weights with Smith, he’s bulked up to 218 pounds of what he termed "solid muscle."

"There are days when I didn’t feel like getting up," the senior tailback said. "But there would be Craig pounding on my door. He would always be yelling, ‘You can sleep later.’ He motivates me to be better than what I was."

One obvious concern is whether or not Smith will be able to retain his sideline-to-sideline speed, but he’s not too worried.

"Our trainers here are the best," he said. "It was crazy the things I was trying to do to get back in into it. They had me bouncing on my right Achilles, pushing me farther than I thought I could go. Rehab is tough, but it’s getting my body back where it needs to be."

The real test comes Sept. 2, when BC opens the season at McDaniel.

Clark Gets Plenty Of Bodies (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-16T07:23:00.000-05:00

Now, the BC football coach has to figure out which ones will make a difference.

Daily News-Record By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — With Division III recruiting being so hit-or-miss, Mike Clark likes to take the Costco approach to filling out the Bridgewater College football roster.

It’s always smarter to buy in bulk.

"It’s like buying lottery tickets," Clark said after a practice for freshmen players Tuesday. "Your chances increase the more you get. We’re no different from any other college program in the country."

If only it were as easy for BC coaches to take their grocery carts down the aisles and pick out the exact ingredients needed for their recipe.

With 64 freshmen at practice this year, almost double the 34 who arrived at Bridgewater last season, Clark has more options to fill holes and more bodies to provide depth. And, much like the lottery, it’s a gamble which of the 64 will pay off as "difference makers."

"A friend of mine told me once, the only way to have success [in Division III] is to deal in volume," said Clark, a former Virginia Tech assistant now in his 12th season at BC. "When I got this job, I knew nothing about D3. My friend told me that of 50 or so players you recruit, you need to have 15 difference makers. That was the formula. There is a lot of truth in that."

The problem for BC last year was a large and established senior class, which scared off some recruits. This season, the perennially powerful Eagles – ranked 13th in d3football.com’s preseason poll -- had to fill plenty of holes. With more opportunities to play, freshmen arrived on campus in droves.

Some, like former Page County High School lineman Matt Ryman, could care less about the number of novices that arrive every year.

"At first, it seems like a lot," said Ryman, who has been practicing as a split-side guard. "But you see that it’s the stars that stand out. You just have to work hard, you know? Get better a little bit more every day. I don’t think it’s too much of a problem."

Another reason recruiting suffers some years is BC’s hefty price-tag. It costs about $28,000 to attend Bridgewater, which translates into sticker shock when dealing with recruits. D3 schools are not permitted to offer athletic scholarships, which means students either pay their own way or cobble together a variety of need-based and academic grants.

"Private education costs are always a problem," Clark said.

Defensive coordinator Grant Higgison said the increased competition recruiting against other Old Dominion Athletic Conference schools can be a hurdle. One way opposition coaches try to gain an advantage, apparently, is to get inside a kid’s head and tell him the Bridgewater roster is too stacked, too log-jammed.

"Kids these days," Higgison said, "they all want to play right away. … We lost 30 seniors this year, so there are a lot of spots open. We told them at the start of practice that we are going to play some freshmen this year."

Playing right away is not indicative of a recruit’s talent level, according to Clark. The BC coach pointed to former Eagles lineman Paul Getty as someone who rose slowly through the system and then exploded onto the Division III scene.

"In the past," Clark said, "we had Paul Getty, one of the better offensive players we’ve ever had. He played JV ball his first two years. Then he’s an All-American. If kids are willing to work, there is evidence of a return."

The type of kids BC coaches recruit range from those who finally realize Virginia and Virginia Tech aren’t interested and slip to Division III late in the process, to heated battles with conference foes like Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon over more easily definable D3 players.

Ex-Stonewall Jackson quarterback Patrick Smoot decided on Bridgewater because of the success that another former General QB had with the Eagles.

"I talked a lot with Jason Lutz," Smoot said. "And he told me a lot of great things about playing here. I’d like to think I can have the same success that he did, but I know that it’s a lot of work."

Lutz led the Eagles to the 2001 Stagg Bowl, where they lost 30-27 to Mount Union in the national championship game.

Bridgewater coaches said Tuesday that it’s too early to identify which freshmen will be "difference makers." The rookies have practiced only three days and haven’t yet worked out with the veterans.

Clark, however, said several newcomers appear to have strong potential. Among them: Aubry Dicks, a defensive back from Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Ricky Milbourne, a quarterback from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas.

Several former area stars are trying to display their talents, including ex-Turner Ashby quarterback/cornerback Seth Little, Harrisonburg offensive lineman Louis Sanchez, Broadway linebacker Mark Brenneman, Spotswood running back Matt Paulette and Smoot. Former Trailblazer receiver/quarterback Chet Landes also decided to attend BC this fall, but tore his anterior cruciate ligament in April and will miss the season.

The freshmen and veterans – all 142 of them -- will practice together for the first time this morning as the Eagles prepare for their season-opener on Sept. 2 at McDaniel.

"After next Monday," Clark said. "I should know the chosen few that are in the varsity plans."

Audition Time For Freshmen (Daily News-Record)

2006-08-15T07:39:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater College’s football staff got its first look at its rookies Monday.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — Every year in August, Mike Clark welcomes a bumper crop of eager freshmen to the auxiliary practice field at Bridgewater College, and every year it becomes the same dog-and-pony show for the program’s football coaching staff.

It’s the Eagles’ version of speed dating: show me quickly what you can do and why we should be interested.

On Monday, the second day of practice, the BC coaches ran 64 freshmen through a variety of drills and scrimmages, each designed to identify talent and potential as early as possible so the coaches can begin integrating those players into the regular practice sessions. It’s not quite an NFL combine atmosphere, but for a group of wide-eyed novices, it can be quite a petrifying experience.

"We’ve got to identify who, athletically, is ready to play college ball," Clark said after practice. "What you’ll find is that some kids just are not ready, physically. You’ve got to identify who can be a fill-in with the regulars."

Clark worked with the quarterbacks and receivers Monday, pantomiming everything from how to drop back properly to when to release the ball on a receiver’s break. With the short preparation period the NCAA allows Division III schools – Clark is granted a maximum of 25 practices – it’s a race against the clock to Sept. 2, when BC opens at McDaniel, to get players acclimated to college football.

"For better or worse," Clark said, "the installation is based on what the top kids can do. We know that’s a fact. We have the shortest preparation period. It moves very quickly. You owe it to the kids who’ve been here two, three years to make sure everybody’s ready for Saturday."

One freshman coaches are high on is former Turner Ashby High School star Seth Little, who is practicing as a cornerback. Little – who quarterbacked the Knights to a 27-13 victory over Richlands in the Division 3 championship game last fall, along with making a key interception – looked comfortable in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, which he credited to a summer working out on campus and spending time with the team’s upperclassmen.

"It’s a totally different ballgame," Little said as he walked out of Nininger Hall. "It’s a lot faster, guys are much bigger and they don’t really care about what you did in high school. I’m just trying to go as hard as I can and soak it all in."

Little’s aspirations are to make the traveling roster and help out on special teams, an ideal objective for freshmen, according to BC defensive coordinator Grant Higgison.

"He’s very mature," Higgison said. "Just the kind of kid that sticks out as being mature. A legitimate goal for freshmen at any level is to make a special-teams roster and get used to the speed of the game. The key is to get out there and compete. A lot of our good freshmen start out that way."

Little loves that he doesn’t have to spend time with both offense and defense, which he said would be almost impossible at this level. Just trying to digest the defensive schemes in his playbook is tough enough.

"It’s all the new terminology that is tough," Little said, "and all of the coverages. Plus with the caliber of athletes that I’m going up against, I couldn’t even think of going both ways. It’s kind of nice to just be able to focus on one thing, one position."

And for the players not quite physically ready to contribute, coaches know that it’s also a mission to develop them, as well, even if results don’t come to fruition as quickly.

Defensive line coach Stephon Healey said the hardest thing for freshmen to grasp is the speed of practice.

"Going from what we do in meetings to the practice field," Healey said. "That’s tough to do. Plus we want to make it sound like hell for them. That way, it lessons the sharpness on the edge of the sword."

Healey added that because there are no athletic scholarships given in Division III, technically each player is a paying customer.

"They are your future," Healey said. "So you’ve got to make them feel loved. In Division I, it’s all business. In D3, they are paying customers of the school, so we’ve got to make them better."

Clark splits the sessions into two groups – the BC regulars worked out Monday morning – so coaches would be able to devote their full attention to the freshmen. Still, he added, it can be a tiring experience.

"Every coach here has multiple hats," Clark, who is entering his 12th season, said. "When the NCAA came down with this acclimation program, meaning we can’t have two-a-days back-to-back, it’s a good thing I have a young coaching staff. Because, I’m telling you, this kind of schedule can wear out a middle-aged man."

All together, the Eagles had 142 players at practice Monday.

Wakefield Becomes BC's TE Coach

2006-08-12T21:33:00.000-05:00

Brandon Wakefield will be coaching Bridgewater's tight ends this coming season.

A 2005 graduate, Wakefield played three seasons for the Eagles, throwing for 4,842 yards and 42 touchdowns. He also had 641 rushing yards on 183 carries, 12 of which were scores. He started under center his last two seasons, leading Bridgewater to the NCAA semifinals in 2003.

He has spent the last two summers playing for the Montabaur Fighting Farmers in Germany. This past season, he led his team to a league championship and 8-1 record. Wakefield threw for 1,810 yards and rushed for another 417. He had 35 touchdowns - 27 passsing, 8 rushing - to only two interceptions.

Jermaine Taylor Update

2006-08-07T14:56:00.000-05:00

Bridgewater's Jermaine Taylor has been in Orlando, Florida, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camp since July 28. They have had a morning practice (8:30 - 10:45 am) and afternoon practice (2:45 - 4:45 pm) everyday since. The camp will end August 17 following their morning practice.

You can follow the Bucs training camp on their 2006 Training Camp Central website. Daily news articles, blogs and pictures are posted.

Taylor, who finished his Bridgewater career with a school-record 447 tackles, was allocated to NFL Europe this past spring, finishing tied for fourth in the league with 67 tackles.

Because he played in the most recent NFL Europe season, he will be exempt from the roster cut down limit in NFL training camp. He will not count against the roster limit until the final one, where it cuts to 53. Taylor made it until the final cut with both the Green Bay Packers (2004) and Bucs (2005).

Before being a part of the final cut last year, Taylor recorded five solo tackles in their four preseason games. The Bucs first preseason game this year will be August 11 versus the New York Jets. The preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 26 will be aired on CBS. Below is Tampa Bay's 2006 preseason schedule;

Aug. 11 - vs New York Jets, 7:30 pm
Aug. 19 - vs Miami, 7:30 pm
Aug. 26 - at Jacksonville, 8:00 pm
Aug. 31 - at Houston, 8:00 pm

To catch up on all of Taylor's happenings since he first signed with Green Bay Packers in May of 2004, visit his BridgewaterFootball.com Fan Page.

2006 Season Preview: Continuing Tradition

2006-08-07T14:16:00.000-05:00

Albeit only six years worth. The 2000 squad won the school's first NCAA playoff game. The 2001 offense put up 43 points a game on their way to the Division III national championship game. The defenses in 2002 and 2003 held 22 of 26 opponents to 20 points or less. The six teams before prior to this season continued the all-division best 35-game conference win streak. With 77 returners and a group of 69 newcomers at the start of camp, this team has all the ingredients to be as good (or better) than their predecessors. For the second consecutive year, Bridgewater is ranked a concensus top 20 team by the five preseason polls.

New to the website this year is the Bridgewater News Blog and the Player Diaries. Graphics and links for both are located at the top of this page.

Peggy Erwin will be BridgewaterFootball.com's photographer for the third straight season. Her website - BridgewaterPhotos.com - currently hosts over 25,000 Bridgewater football pictures from the past three seasons.

The rest of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) must be smiling.

Bridgewater’s largest and third-most dominant class of players in program history graduated, only eight starters return, and offensive coordinator Bob Colbert left after eight seasons to take on the head coaching role at startup St. Vincent.

But fresh off their fifth consecutive ODAC championship, sixth straight season in the NCAA playoffs, and extension of an ODAC record 35 straight conference wins, the Eagles aren’t ready to hand over the reigns quite yet. “Until someone beats us, we’re still the [ODAC] champion,” said head coach Mike Clark.

Similar to 2002 – the year after the National Championship appearance – the Eagles will have just as many newcomers as they will returnees. Over 140 kids will report to camp on August 12.

To Clark, there will be three ingredients to having a successful roster for 2006. First there are franchise type players, who when on, can win you a game. Next, there are program kids, who played behind a heck of a senior class. And finally, the newcomers, who he hopes is as good as the recruiting class from four years ago.

The Eagles showed a lot of grit last season, especially with injuries. Losing an all-conference linebacker during preseason camp, their deep-threat receiver in the second game of the year, and their starting quarterback and running back while down by two scores during a key ODAC game on the road. Yet, when the dust settled, two other linebackers earned all-conference honors, another receiver stepped up and averaged 18 yards a catch, and they won that game versus Washington & Lee in route to another undefeated conference season.

At quarterback, junior Jeff Highfill is coming off a 2005 campaign having started four of the last five games, including all three playoff contests. In his four starts, he was 46-for-77 passing for 557 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Eagles to the NCAA quarterfinals. Currently at backup is senior Nick Lincoln, who Clark says understands the system. “The other kids haven’t taken a college snap, so we’ll see come August,” said Clark.

All-Conference Winston Young brings career marks of 2,019 rushing yards and 34 total touchdowns into his senior year at running back, being only 11 scores short of setting a school record for career points. Impressive, considering he has only started in five games. “What has made us good has been our productive depth at this position – tailback by committee,” says Clark. After Young, Clark is hoping junior Phillip Carter, sophomore Rocket Gadsden, or one of new recruits helps with the load. “Carter is a physical back, Gadsden has raw talent, and our recruits at this position have a lot of promise.”

With the return of All-Conference senior Robbie Matthews, the fullback position will look to be a potent weapon once again. In 36 career games, Matthews has racked up 1,102 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns. His career 7.16 yards per carry is second best in Bridgewater history. “We’ve gotten spoiled with our fullbacks having tailback speed over the last couple years,” said Clark. Junior Tyler Thomas ran with the first unit this spring.

Clark believes the receivers will be the deepest position for the Eagles in 2006. With the return of junior Blake Warring from injury last season, Bridgewater will once again be able to keep the field spread for whoever is in the backfield. “We have quantity and quality at wide receiver, and we recruited solidly there,” says Clark. “We have three or four kids who opponents won’t be able to go one on one with without running the risk of giving up a big play.” Warring was averaging a startling 27.5 yards per catch last season. Junior Brandon Copeland caught 27 passes for 484 yards and five touchdowns, including a school record 99-yard reception during the playoffs. Michael Oakes brings 429 career receiving yards into his final year.

The tight end position is wide open with the graduation of Corey Hulsebus and Julian Pierre. Senior Jeff Jones, a former defensive end, took most of the snaps during spring practice, but some of Bridgewater’s top recruits are tight ends. “This position is wide open,” says Clark.

Eight different offensive linemen started at least one game last season. Four are returning in seniors Matthew Capriani and Henry Thode, and juniors Anthony Cotton and Keaton Culver. Junior Grant Holsinger also saw extensive playing time last year. “We will look to develop the young kids we’re bringing in,” said Clark. “And we have third-year kids like Marcus and Marcel Anderson who – if they worked hard during the off-season – could give us good volume again.”

In 2005, the defense had to face four of the top six passing offenses in the country. Even though they gave up an average of 30 points against those opponents, they were 4-0 in those games. Because of the pass-happy ODAC, and the graduation of five of Bridgewater’s top eight defensive backs, the coaching staff put a lot of emphasis on that area during recruiting. “The defensive back position has been well recruited,” said Clark. “Half the time, we have to have five of them in the backfield. We need to develop half a dozen secondary kids in three weeks because of the teams we play.”

All-Conference senior Josh Knight recorded 53 tackles, 11 pass breakups, six interceptions and three blocked kicks in 2005. Knight will be joined in the secondary rotation by seniors Derrick Burroughs and Desmond Jalloh, and junior Earl Chaptman, who combined for 95 tackles, 11 pass breakups and two interceptions last season.

The defensive line lost three to graduation, taking 17 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks with them. But All-Conference senior defensive end David Clements returns, having led the team last season with 11.5 tackles of loss and 4.5 sacks. Seniors Tony Burt and Josh King both started more than half the games in 2005, combining for 13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Juniors Carlton Morrison and Brandon Orndorff also received significant playing time last year. Balance at this position should provide stiff in house competition.

The coaches were excited about the linebackers returning this season, with three all-conference performers in seniors Brandon Borst and Craig Smith, and junior Antwaine Campo. Clark felt this group of linebackers could have been just as good – or better – than the trio from the 2001 Stagg Bowl in Gary Nelson, Lonnie Parker and Jermaine Taylor. Nice compliment seeing that all three of them were All-Americans. Then the coaching staff learned that Campo injured himself playing basketball this summer, losing him for 2006. “It’s never a good thing to lose a first team all-conference player and your best pass rusher,” said Clark. “He was a big play linebacker.” But senior Brandon Kelley saw plenty of action last season to vie for a starting role. “Then you have kids like Venancio Biela who have worked hard for three years and waited their turn,” says Clark. “Not to mention this position has been well recruited.”

Special teams will continue to give the Eagles an edge in 2006. The return of junior Kyle Beach, all-conference four years ago, will replace a graduated All-Conference kicker David Blackwell. Beach only played two years (2002 and 2003) before transferring, but placed himself in the record books with 72 career made extra points. Senior returning starter Colin Owens and sophomore Scott Ruebush will be called upon for the punting duties. “Those two have the leg strength to change field position in a game,” says Clark.

Young and Copeland will likely be the kick and punt returners for 2006. Young averaged 22.4 yards on 10 kickoff returns last season. Opponents are happy to see the graduation of All-Region performer Brian Awkard and All-American Marcus Washington. Awkard is Bridgewater’s all-time leader in punt return yards with 1,149, while Washington set a school record of 28.7 yards per kickoff return for his career. The two combined for seven return touchdowns.

D3football.com Ranks BC No. 13

2006-08-04T07:05:00.000-05:00

D3football.com has released their preseason Top 25, what many consider the only poll to give any credence to. The Eagles are ranked number 13, marking the fourth-straight year D3football.com has tabbed Bridgewater a top 15 team to begin the season.

Mount Union was picked #1, UW-Whitewater #2 and Rowan #3. The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.

None of Bridgewater's 2006 opponents are ranked, but several received votes. Ferrum, who the Eagles play on September 16, received 17 votes. ODAC-foes Hampden-Sydney and Washington & Lee received three and two votes, respectively.

Check out the D3football.com preseason Top 25, and the other four national polls, by clicking here.

DIARY: Winston Young

2006-08-02T15:06:00.000-05:00

#32 | 5'10'' | 210

Winston Young is a running back from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 2003 Boyd Anderson High School graduate will be a senior this coming season.

Young didn't waste any time, gaining 417 yards on 63 carries as a freshman, adding six scores. In 2004, he led the team with 606 yards on 102 carries and 12 rushing touchdowns. Young, even though injured for the first three games last season, finished with 996 yards on 108 carries and 11 rushing touchdowns. For his career, he has 2,019 rushing yards (eighth all-time) on 273 carries for an average of 7.4 yards a rush. He also has 25 career receptions for 176 yards and four touchdowns, four pass completions for 29 yards and two touchdowns, 30 kickoff returns for 564 yards, four punt returns for 89 yards and a touchdown, and on special teams has 15 tackles and four blocked kicks. Young is currently fourth in school history with 204 points, only 11 touchdowns away from breaking the record.

Young will write a weekly diary until the end of the Eagles season for BridgewaterFootball.com.

DIARY: Earl Chaptman

2006-07-31T19:48:00.000-05:00

#5 | 5'10'' | 180

Earl Chaptman is a defensive back from Baltimore, Maryland. The 2004 Dunbar High School graduate will be a junior this coming season.

As a freshman, Chaptman played in eight games recording six tackles (two solo). Last season he played in all 12 games, finishing with 31 tackles (24 solo), six pass break ups (second-most on the team), two interceptions and one tackle for a loss.

Chaptman will write a weekly diary until the end of the Eagles season for BridgewaterFootball.com.

Coach Colbert Recuperating

2006-07-31T16:28:00.000-05:00

This is an email I received and am publishing with permission:

I am Bob Colbert's daughter. I know that he left the "Bridgewater Fold" to pursue some personal dreams, but I wanted to make an appeal to the Eagles Football Family. My dad just had double knee replacement surgery and is currently sitting in a hospital in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Anyone reading this that knows my father at all will know that it is killing him not to be able to be active. I wanted to start a card writing campaign to help him stay motivated on his road to recovery. I was wondering if you might put a posting on this website (including his address) at St.Vincent where people might send him an encouraging word. The address is as follows:

Bob Colbert
Head Football Coach, St. Vincent College
300 Fraser Purchase Road
Latrobe, PA 15650-2690

Thank you so very much. =)

CARA COLBERT

DIARY: Craig Smith

2006-07-31T15:55:00.000-05:00

#25 | 5'9'' | 210

Craig Smith is a linebacker from Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 2002 Kellam High School graduate will be a senior this coming season.

As a freshman, Smith played in three games, recording nine tackles (one solo) including one for a loss. He broke out his sophomore season, finishing with 47 tackles (21 solo), four tackles for a loss, two pass break ups, one interception and one fumble recovery, while playing in all 14 games. In his junior season in 2004, Smith led the team in tackles with 79 (33 solo), adding four tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and one pass break up. An injury during preseason practice sidelined him the entire 2005 season.

Smith will write a weekly diary until the end of the Eagles season for BridgewaterFootball.com.

ODAC Coaches Pick BC No. 1

2006-07-28T21:05:00.000-05:00

ODACOnline.com - By Chris Kilcoyne

SALEM, VA – Five-time defending league champion Bridgewater College sits atop the 2006 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Preseason Football Poll in a vote taken of the league’s seven head coaches.

2005 ODAC Coach of the Year Mike Clark and his squad received all seven first-place votes and a total of 49 points to take the top spot in the poll. The Eagles, who have reeled off 35 consecutive league wins, return 10 starters from a team that went 10-2 overall and 6-0 in the ODAC last season. BC earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the national quarterfinals.

The Eagles return a strong nucleolus on offense including running back Winston Young who ran for 902 yards and 10 touchdowns on his way to All-ODAC honors a season ago. Bridgewater averaged 37.7 points and 450.4 yards total offense during the 2005 season. The Eagles also rushed for 263.4 yards per game.

Washington and Lee earned 40 points to take the second slot in the poll. The Generals, who are coming off their most successful season in 20-years, garnered a 7-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the ODAC in 2005. A pair of Preseason First-Team All-Americans are back in the fold for head coach Frank Miriello. Junior wide out Jack Martin returns following a 2005 season in which he shattered the W&L record books when he caught 70 passes for a school-record 1,353 yards and a school-record 15 touchdowns. Running back Stuart Sitterson who was recognized as an All-American for his kick returns, will assume the role of the feature running back in Miriello’s offense this season.

Hampden-Sydney finished third in the poll with 33 total points. Marty Favret’s squad heads into the season looking to replace 2005 ODAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year quarterback J.D. Ricca, who led the Tigers to an 8-2 overall record, a 4-2 mark in the league and the top-rated offense (525.5 yards-per-game) in the nation last season. Eleven starters are back in the mix this season for Favret.

Guilford, who posted a 5-5 record a season ago and returns the 2005 ODAC Rookie-of-the-Year in quarterback Josh Vogelbach, landed in the fourth spot in the poll with 29 points followed by Randolph-Macon (23 points), Catholic (11 points) and Emory and Henry (11 points).

2006 ODAC Football Preseason Poll

Place Team Points (First-Place Votes)
1. Bridgewater 49 (7)
2. Washington and Lee 40
3. Hampden-Sydney 33
4. Guilford 29
5. Randolph-Macon 23
6. Catholic 11
6. Emory and Henry 11

DIARY: Tony Burt

2006-07-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

#93 | 5'10'' | 225

Tony Burt is a defensive end from Chesapeake, Virginia. The 2003 Western Branch High School graduate will be a senior this coming season.

As a freshman, Burt played in three games, recording 12 tackles (10 solo) including two for a loss. In 2004, he played in 10 games, tallying 30 tackles (14 solo), four tackles for loss, two pass break ups, one sack and one fumble recovery, earning second team All-ODAC honors. In 13 games last season, Burt had 29 tackles (14 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three pass break ups.

Burt will write a weekly diary until the end of the Eagles season for BridgewaterFootball.com.

DIARY: Jeff Highfill

2006-07-27T16:43:00.000-05:00

#13 | 6'3'' | 195

Jeff Highfill is a quarterback from Roanoke, Virginia. The 2004 William Byrd High School graduate will be a junior this coming season.

As a freshman, Highfill played in one game going 3-for-3 passing for 69 yards and one touchdown. Last year he started four of the last five games, including all three playoff contests. In his four starts, he was 46-for-77 passing for 557 yards and five touchdowns. For the season, he was 63-for-112 passing for 737 yards and seven touchdowns. Highfill also had 76 carries for 316 yards (4.2 yards per rush) and six scores. He has a 57.4 career completion percentage and a passing efficiency of 128.79.

Highfill will write a weekly diary until the end of the Eagles season for BridgewaterFootball.com.

DIARY: Brandon Copeland

2006-07-27T16:29:00.000-05:00

#87 | 6'2'' | 185

Brandon Copeland is a wide receiver from Greensboro, North Carolina. The 2004 Page High School graduate will be a junior this coming season.

As a freshman, Copeland played in five games catching six passes for 93 yards (15.5-yard average per reception). Last year he hauled in 27 catches for 484 yards (17.9 average). His five reception touchdowns led the team, one being a Bridgewater College record 99-yard score during the quarterfinals of the NCAA playoffs.

Copeland will write a weekly diary until the end of the Eagles season for BridgewaterFootball.com.

Need A Sub? (Daily News-Record)

2006-07-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

Winston Young will give you one at his convenience store, but he won’t be one on the football field this fall.

Daily News-Record - By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — It took three years before Bridgewater College’s Winston Young could truly be considered the featured running back in football coach Mike Clark’s offense.

His rise in the business world was much faster.

After only two months this summer, Young worked himself up from the role of cashier to assistant manager at Quarrels gas station, just up the road from campus on Route 42.

He’ll need all the fuel he can get this fall: Young is set to fill the tailback spot vacated by Division III All-American Marcus Washington. So when he’s not working the 2 p.m.-to-midnight shift at the Q-Stop – he averages about 50 hours a week there – Young often is pumping iron at Nininger Hall with teammate/roommate Craig Smith. The pair wakes up at 8 o’clock every morning for intense workouts that involve lifting and sprints.

Any other time? Most likely sleeping.

"It’s funny to see," Clark said with a chuckle. "I stopped by the other day and he gave me a strawberry milkshake. It’s the perks, you know, of being a Division III coach."

It might have been funny to see a 5-foot-10, 215-pound football player schlepping groceries for Bridgewater residents and checking ID’s of his fellow students making late-night beer runs, but Young has worked his way past that level. He’s the boss now, making sure the store runs smoothly.

"It keeps me out of trouble," Young, who was raised in suburban Toronto and South Florida, said when asked why he decided to work at the Q-Stop. "It keeps me focused. To be able to jump from regular employee to running a store, it shows responsibility when I get on the football field."

He’ll return to the field in 2½ weeks – practice starts Aug. 13 -- and the running back responsibilities will fall mainly on his shoulders this fall. Last season, Young proved himself as the No. 2 tailback in BC’s run-heavy offensive schemes, rushing for 902 yards on 102 carries, good for an almost-absurd 9 yards every time he touched the ball.

Jeff Highfill, the freshly anointed starting quarterback, can hardly contain his excitement when he thinks of the possibilities of having Young in his backfield fulltime.

"[Winston’s] not afraid to lower his shoulder," Highfill said. "He’s not afraid to get to work. He’s no prima donna, but hopefully he’ll be a star for us."

Clark thinks it’ll happen.

"He’s a franchise tailback," Clark said. "He’s a Division I player playing Division III football. You look at his body and he’s the kind of kid you think belongs at Virginia or Tech."

Young said he believes he would have gone to a Division I college, but during his senior year at Boyd Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he took a hit during a game that damaged his nerves, causing him to lose feeling from his neck down to his arm on the right side of his body. The big-time schools all backed off, leaving a fateful meeting with Clark at a recruiting fair in Fort Lauderdale to prompt his move to the Valley.

"He was honest with me," Young said. "I told him, ‘I know I can still play. All I want is a chance.’ He gave me that, and that’s all I ever asked for."

Young almost didn’t get into football. He was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, but grew up North York, Ontario – a stone’s throw from Toronto – where, of course, ice hockey dominates youth sports. In fact, his mother, Carol Bartley, now lives just a few minutes away from the youth residence of Wayne Gretzky in Brampton, Ontario.

"I played [hockey] ever since I was 5 years old," Young said, laughing. "And yeah, I was really that good."

Young thought he would go far delivering bone-crushing checks on the ice, but a friend -- Kerry Carter, a Toronto native who currently is in the Redskins system – urged him to check out football. After joining a team in North York between his eighth- and ninth-grade years, Young quickly dumped hockey.

He packed his bags, kissed his mother goodbye and moved in with his father, Winston Young Sr., in South Florida.

"It was so different," said Young, taking a break on the benches outside of Quarrels. "I loved the school down there. Everyone was so big, too. I had trees blocking for me. And fast, too. I was fast in Canada, but just average in Florida until I learned really how to run."

And run he can.

Clark linked Young’s talents to those of former BC stud tailback Devon Cruz. Both had the coveted combination of size and speed –Young said he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds – but differed slightly in running styles. Young, Clark said, is much shiftier behind the line of scrimmage than Cruz.

The agile-yet-bullish Young certainly relishes the added responsibility that will be bestowed on him when the Eagles open the season on Sept. 2 at McDaniel, and he dreams about playing pro ball in either the NFL or CFL, but for now the only "Jamericanadian" on the Bridgewater roster has to focus on making sure the Q-Stop is in tip-top shape.

Of course, his teammates give him a little ribbing for it.

"It’s so funny," Highfill said. "But Winston’s been doing that for a while. Half of his family is in Canada and the other half in Florida and here he is putting in long hours at the gas station. He’s something."

Knight Named Preseason All-American

2006-07-24T14:03:00.000-05:00

Senior defensive back Josh Knight was named preseason all-america honorable mention by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Knight is one of 44 defensive backs honored.

Named to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference first team last season, Knight tallied 53 tackles, 11 pass breakups, six interceptions and three blocked kicks in 2005.

Click here to view the entire Don Hansen's Football Gazette Preseason All-American team.

Clark to Head NCAA Football Rules Committee

2006-07-24T10:02:00.000-05:00

Clark Presides Over Notre Dame - Sort Of
The Bridgewater College coach is about to become chairman of the NCAA football rules committee.

Daily News-Record - By Joe Lemire

BRIDGEWATER – Shortening the length of the game, mandating that helmet eye shields be clear and lowering the kicking tee aren’t glamorous changes, but they are among the adjustments Bridgewater College coach Michael Clark helped proctor as a member of the NCAA’s football rules committee.

Beginning in September, Clark will have even more clout when he starts his four-year term as chairman of the panel that determines rules for all divisions of NCAA football.

"It gives me a chance to influence the game," said Clark, who is entering his 12th season at BC. "I’m never going to influence the game with the money I make or any recognition I got. ... Maybe somewhere down the line I can look back and say that’s where we made the game better."

The 12-member committee, comprised of college coaches and administrators, has six representatives from Division I – four from I-A and two from I-AA – and three each from Divisions II and III. According to Clark, its mission is threefold: ensure the safety of players, coaches, officials and fans; maintain a competitive balance; and improve the sport.

Clark has remained realistic about his seemingly unlikely ascension from Division III coach to chairman of a committee that governs the rules for national football heavyweights like Notre Dame, Penn State and Southern California. He replaces Charles Broyles, the coach at Division II Pittsburg State in Kansas.

"Probably the reality is that the guys at the Division I level didn’t want to do it," Clark said with a chuckle. "I’m well aware that they probably didn’t want to put the time into it."

The two I-A coaches on the committee are Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville and Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, though Beamer’s term ends in September. Michigan’s Lloyd Carr was a member when Clark first joined the board three years ago.

Today, the primary matter facing the committee is the length of games.

"The next issue out there is time management and the pressure from the big-money people to speed up the game," Clark said. "Television is really impacting most of Division I at some level."

Clark said the overriding issue during his first two years was regulation of instant replay as used to overturn officials’ calls – something he speculated would affect even small-college football in the near future.

"We had to look into that because the day is coming when instant replay will be, at some level, in Division III," he said. "That’s coming. It might be three or four years out."

Clark said he’s enjoyed the give-and-take dynamic of the committee, which must consider a wide variety of factors. An example: kickoffs, which representatives from Division I – where the high frequency of touchbacks have made kickoffs a "dead play," Clark said – wanted to become a greater part of the game. But it wasn’t so simple, as an athletic trainer (and non-voting attendee of the committee meeting) voiced his opposition.

"When we were talking about bringing this play back into football, he was against it," Clark said. "From the [trainers’] perspective, the kickoff is the highest-risk play out there. There are high-speed collisions in open space."

After the committee nevertheless decided to alter kickoffs, one idea was to push back the kickoff from the 35-yard line to the 30, but an NFL study showed that lowering the tee from 2 inches to 1 inch has a greater effect on the length of kicks. That measure was approved and will be implemented this fall, and it’s an example of how a rule might be inspired by play at Division I but its impact will be felt at least as strongly at the lower levels.

"There are a lot of crappy kickers in Division III," Clark said. "Off a 1-inch tee, you’re going to get a lot of line-drive kicks. If you’re good at returning kicks, you can be at the 40 most of the time. From my perspective, kickoff return is going to get a lot of emphasis in summer ball."

Though Clark has made his name at the D-III level, he’s familiar with the Division I-A game, too, having played at Cincinnati and served as defensive coordinator for Beamer at Tech. Clark also has coaching experience at the I-AA level at Murray State and Virginia Military Institute.

"I can empathize with their issues," he said of the teams in the power conferences.

One fellow committee member praised Clark’s understanding of the panel’s influence across all divisions.

"Mike’s a football guy, and he’ll be a very good chair," said College of New Jersey coach Eric Hamilton. "... Mike has a genuine awareness of that [influence], and it shows that he does his homework."

Clark seems to have gained the respect of his peers, but perhaps not enough yet to pitch his grand idea: killing the extra point.

"The extra point is a wasted play," he said. "There wasn’t a lot of good with the XFL, but I liked their idea of enticing people to go for two by moving the ball up and moving it back to kick one. In Division I, they don’t even keep [extra points] as a statistic any more."

The committee holds several teleconferences throughout the season and meets every February for four days, alternating years between NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis and more intriguing locales like Key West, Fla., where Clark went for his first meeting. With such a travel enticement, being on the committee has its advantages – as does being chair.

"I’ve always said, if you’re going to sit through a long meeting, it’s a lot better to run it than to sit on the outside," Clark said with a laugh.

Football Gazette Ranks Eagles No. 12

2006-07-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Don Hansen ranked the Eagles No. 12 in his Football Gazette's preseason top 40 released July 17.

This past June, Sports Weekly ranked Bridgewater No. 13, while both Lindy's and Street & Smith's ranked the Eagles No. 19.

Two final Division III preseason polls are expected in the coming weeks. Sports Illustrated will release a top 10 in their preview magazine due out late-July, while the much anticipated D3football.com top 25 will be posted on their web site in early August.