RICCA, SMITH, SMOTHERING DEFENSE LEAD TIGERS PAST WASPS, 44-6 EMORY, VA—Hampden-Sydney senior quarterback J.D. Ricca (Gaithersburg, MD/St. John’s) recorded his third 400-yard passing effort of the season, while sophomore receiver Drew Smith (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) caught 12 passes for 211 yards and the Tiger defense limited Emory and Henry to just 279 yards of offense in a 44-6 victory over the Wasps at E&H’s Fullerton Field. With the win the Tigers improve to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the ODAC while the Wasps drop to 0-5 and 0-1 in conference play. Ricca completed 32-of-47 passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns, while Smith tied the Tiger record for most catches in the game while his efforts were also career highs with 12 catches and 211 yards. The Tiger defense stymied the Wasp air attack, limiting all-conference quarterback Todd Woods to 151 yards and one touchdown while recording two interceptions. Following a Reed Westra (Chester, VA/Lloyd Bird) 29-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, J.D. Ricca hit Smith, junior running back Charlie Omick (Lawrenceville, VA/Brunswick Acad.) and senior tight end Ben Dull (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) with touchdown passes in the first half, while freshman running back Josh Simpson (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) scored the first of his two touchdowns on the day on a five-yard carry to offset the Tiger passing attack. Meanwhile Andrew Hemp scored the Wasps only touchdown on a two-yard reception from Todd Woods to prevent the Tiger shutout as H-SC led, 30-6, at intermission. In the fourth quarter, Dull added his second touchdown reception of the game, this time from 16 yards out, and Simpson added his second five-yard scoring run while the Tiger defense pitched its first second half shutout of the year to help Hampden-Sydney come away with its fourth straight victory over Emory and Henry, 44-6. The Hampden-Sydney defense forced a season-high four turnovers as senior defensive lineman Zach Price (Richmond, VA/James River) and senior linebacker Wes Hall (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) each recorded interceptions while Price and freshman Andrew Sellers (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) both had fumble recoveries. Linebackers Asim Wilson (Richmond, VA/Varina) and Mark Henson (Virginia Beach, VA/Ocean Lakes) led the squad with six tackles each, while defensive linemen Jordan Sprouse (Dillwyn, VA/Buckingham) and Zach Sanchez (Chesterfield, VA/Lloyd Bird) both had sacks. Hampden-Sydney rolled up over 600 yards for the third time in five games as the team finished with 610 total yards. Senior receiver Brian Rolander (Exmore, VA/Broadwater) went over the century mark in receiving yards for the second time in 2005 with eight catches and 109 yards while Charlie Omick finished with 102 all purpose yards (58-rush; 46-receive). Todd Woods finished the game with 18 completions in 36 attempts to go with 151 yards and a touchdown, while Andrew Hemp led all players with 66 yards on the ground for the Wasps. Defensively, Evin O’Sullivan paced the team with 11 tackles and a sack, while Brandon Creasy finished with ten tackles. |