Football Tigers Thrill in Season Openers
by: Jarrod Ficklin ‘11
Sophomore David Prizzia
The Tiger football team wasted no time in proving to everyone that they’re ready to make a run for the ODAC title this year. The home crowds at Lewis C. Everett Stadium were very pleased to see the Tigers prove their prowess as they blew out the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan by a score of 55-23 on September 5th, and then edged out the Bullets of Gettysburg College 46-43 in overtime the very next Saturday.
41-3: this was the eye-opening score after the first half on September 5th. In the first 5 minutes of the game, senior quarterback Corey Sedlar was 9/10 for 114 yards and 2 TDs. Making his job even easier was the Tiger defense that held the Bishops to -2 yards in the first quarter. Yes, that’s right: negative yardage. The Tigers continued to pour it on the Bishops, outscoring them 27-0 in the second quarter.
After solidifying the lead in the first half, Head Coach Marty Favret wanted to give fans a glimpse into the future of Tiger football. Sophomore quarterback Travis Lane came in and went 8/13 for 122 yards and 1 TD. Freshman running back Evan King carried the ball 8 times for 53 yards and 1 TD. Freshman brothers Dimitri and Mikhail Walton and freshman Steven Fogleman also showed flashes of brilliance in the return game as well.
Overall, the Tigers ended up with 628 yards of total offense and 31 first downs, while the defense held the Bishops to just 252 yards total offense and only 16 first downs. Defensively, Thomas Hovis led the way with 7 tackles, and senior captains Andrew Sellers and Josh Miller both chipped in with 6 of their own.
Gettysburg proved to be a much tougher opponent than North Carolina Wesleyan. North Carolina Wesleyan’s first possession against the Tigers resulted in a 3 and out. Gettysburg’s first offensive play of the game resulted in an 80 yard TD pass. Gettysburg went into the locker room at halftime with a 35-21 lead. The second half of the game, however, proved to be a much different story.
The week before, both the Tiger offense and defense looked phenomenal. On September 12th, however, the Tiger special teams were exactly that: special. With just under 2:00 remaining in the 3rd quarter, the score remained 35-21. The Tiger offense had already committed 6 turnovers (3 in the 3rd quarter), and the Tiger defense had given up 5 TDs and 412 yards of total offense.
However, the Tiger defense had pinned the Bullets at their own 1 yard line, forcing them to punt. A mishandled snap resulted in a safety, and more importantly, a complete shift in momentum–1 minute later, Corey Sedlar and Kyle Vance hooked up for a 30-yard TD, making the score 35-30 at the end of the 3rd quarter. 10 minutes and 2 Tiger TDs later, the Tigers had a 43-35 lead. The Bullets hung tough and fought their way back to tie the game with 3:10 remaining.
With 8 seconds left, the Bullets lined up for their 3rd field goal of the day (the first one was blocked by Boaz Young-El, and the second one was missed wide right). With no time remaining on the clock, the snap was good, the hold was good, but the kick… was blocked once again by Boaz Young-El, giving the Tigers hope in overtime. Ty Condrey set the tone for overtime by wrestling down Charles Curcio in the backfield for a loss of 9 on the very first play.
Two plays later, linebacker Trevor Ikwild picked off Matt Flynn’s pass to secure the Bullets’ shutout in overtime. Special teams proved to be the deciding factor of the entire game, and the Tigers found themselves relying on the toe of kicker David Prizzia in overtime. Fortunately for the Tigers, the sophomore kicker pulled through on a 21-yard field goal, giving the Tigers an exciting come from behind victory over Gettysburg.
Overall, both teams dazzled the crowd with over 1,000 yards total offense (662 for the Tigers), and Corey Sedlar set two new Hampden-Sydney records in the game. He broke two of J.D. Ricca’s records, setting a new mark for the all-time completions list with 607 and a new single game record with 522 yards through the air.
Sophomore Sean Cavanaugh was named ODAC offensive player of the week after hauling in 9 receptions for 195 yards and 2 TDs, giving him a total of 13 receptions and a conference-leading 310 yards on the season. Andrew Sellers led the way with 13 tackles, and 9 Tigers tallied at least 6 tackles on the day.
After opening up with two thrilling wins at home, the Tigers will hit the road for a two-game stint. On September 19th, they will travel to the University of the South to take on the Tigers of Sewanee. On September 26th, the Tigers will open up ODAC play with a night game against the Quakers of Guilford College.Be sure to mark your calendars for October 3rd, when the Tigers return to Lewis C. Everett Stadium for Family Weekend to take on the Bridgewater Eagles. The Tigers will be sure to thrill.
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