The Tigers’ sensational season concluded with a first round loss against Johns Hopkins University at Lewis C. Everett Stadium. Throughout the regular season, the Tigers went undefeated, took home four of the six major ODAC awards, placed 12 players on All-ODAC teams, and gave Tiger fans a season to remember.

The 8-2 Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins came into the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament as the underdog against the undefeated Tigers, but the Blue Jays proved they deserved to be there, dominating the time of possession and downing the Tigers 23-7. The Blue Jays had the ball for 44 minutes while the Tigers only had the ball for 16 minutes—less than 4 minutes the entire second half. Johns Hopkins took advantage of that statistic, especially in the 4th quarter by reeling off 16 points. Johns Hopkins continued their upset streak the next week knocking off the formerly undefeated Thomas More College 31-29 on the road in the second round of the playoffs. The Blue Jays will look to continue their streak on Saturday, December 5th when they travel to take on the #3 nationally ranked Wesley College.

The week before they hosted Johns Hopkins, the Tigers won a thrilling version of “The Game.” For the third year in a row, the winner of “The Game” decided the ODAC champion. Because of that fact, fans packed an extremely muddy Day Field in Ashland to watch the Tigers take on Randolph-Macon in the 115th meeting between the two schools. The teams went back and forth in the first half, but a Tigers push late in the first half gave Hampden-Sydney a 20-14 going into the locker room. The Yellow Jackets came out ready to play the second half, and with 13 minutes remaining, they took the lead 27-26, but most importantly, they stole the momentum. The Tigers needed a big play to stay in the ball game, and they got exactly that when Tiger freshman Steven Fogleman returned the ensuing kick-off 90 yards for a Hampden-Sydney touchdown. A two point conversion made the score 34-27. On Randolph-Macon’s last drive, they converted a 4th and 13, marched down inside the red-zone, and looked poised to tie the game. However, as it had all season, the Tiger defense held strong in the red-zone, and pressure up the middle caused Austin Faulkner’s pass to come up short on 4th and 4 at the 18 yard line, giving the Tigers the ball with 32 seconds left, consequently giving the Tigers the win, the school’s 6th ODAC championship, and an undefeated season.

The six major awards in the ODAC are the team championship, Coach of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. The Tigers took home four of these awards. Obviously an undefeated season – the second in school history—resulted in the Tigers’ 6th ODAC Championship. Coach Marty Favret was named ODAC Coach of the Year after leading his Tigers to the conference title, and he currently sits at 8th place in the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year Award voting. Will Riggenbach’s record breaking season landed him the ODAC Defensive Player of the Year Award. Riggenbach broke Hampden-Sydney’s single season sack record by tallying 14.5 sacks; that mark was also good enough for best in the nation. Josh Miller took home the last of the major awards by defining the term Student-Athlete. Miller was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year because of his 71 tackles, 3 sacks, but most importantly, his 3.82 GPA.

Corey Sedlar finished the season with over 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns for a career record of over 10,000 yards.

Hampden-Sydney’s career passing leader Corey Sedlar was named 1st Team All-ODAC quarterback. Throughout the course of the season, Sedlar surpassed the 3,000 yard single-season mark, the 30 touchdown mark, and the 10,000 career yardage mark. Joining him on the All-ODAC 1st team’s offensive side of the ball were sophomore wide receiver Sean Cavanagh and sophomore center Ben Rogers. On the defensive side of the ball, the aforementioned Will Riggenbach and Josh Miller, senior linebacker Andrew Sellers, and junior safety Bill Doody garnered 1st team All-ODAC awards. Doody tied Hampden-Sydney’s single season interception record by hauling in 9 picks. Tight end Andrew Bruckner, cornerback Boaz Young-el, and linebacker Trevor Ikwild were named to the All-ODAC 2nd team. Young-el made a name for himself on special teams as well by blocking 3 field goals this year. Ikwild led the team and was fourth in the ODAC with 94 tackles—13.5 of those for loss. Seniors Thomas Hovis and E.K. Smock garnered Honorable Mention Awards.

The 2009 football season was definitely a season to remember. The Tigers completed the regular season undefeated, won their 6th ODAC title, and tied the school record for wins. Since the preseason, the Tigers certainly wanted to “Prove It” to the rest of the ODAC–as the Randolph-Macon 2008 ODAC Championship shirt asked them to do. It is safe to say that they certainly did that and more.

Related posts:

1. Soccer Season Ends on a High Note
2. Football Tigers Thrill in Season Openers
3. Quick Hits

Junior Defensive End Will Riggenbach is certainly having a breakout season. He led the team in 2008 with 5 sacks, but he has overpowered every offensive lineman he has faced this year. In only four games, Riggenbach has an ODAC-leading 8.5 sacks. Junior safety Bill Doody accounted for three turnovers himself in Greensboro on Saturday night. His two interceptions extended his season total to a team-leading three interceptions. On top of those two interceptions against Guilford, he broke up three more passes and recovered a fumble.

One of the main questions heading into the season was “Who would replace touchdown machine Josh Simpson?” Kirk Rohle has responded to that question very well. Over the past two weeks, Rohle rushed for 274 yards, had 6 TDs, and extended his 100-plus yards rushing game streak to three. The sensational sophomore is certainly making senior quarterback and Captain Corey Sedlar’s job much easier. On the season Sedlar is completing over 62% of his passes for over 1400 yards and 14 TDs. An average of 353.8 yards through the air doesn’t hurt him either.

Over the past two weeks, the Tiger offense gained just under 900 yards of total offense and brought their season scoring average to 45.8 points per game. For as good as the offense was, the Tiger defense stole the show against Sewanee and Guilford, only letting up a combined 353 yards and 13 points. The constant pressure put on by Riggenbach and the rest of the Tigers’ front seven provided enough pressure to cause turnovers as well. The Tigers forced one fumble and three interceptions, one of which was returned 60 yards by freshman Mikhail Walton for a touchdown.

Both the offense and the defense will have to keep up the good work if they plan on beating rival Bridgewater College. From 1999-2006, the Eagles never lost to Hampden-Sydney. Although the Tigers have had the upper hand for the past two years, the Eagles are averaging 33 points per game and are heading into this ODAC clash with a 3-1 record—their only loss coming in overtime on the road at Ferrum.

The Eagles are without question the team of the decade in the ODAC. In 2001, they represented the conference well, losing the National Championship 30-27 to DIII powerhouse Mount Union. From 2000-2006, the Eagles strung together an astonishing 36 game win streak against ODAC opponents, winning the conference every year from 2001-2005. The Eagles are also without a doubt well coached. Head Coach Mike Craft is in his 15th season with the Eagles. His previous résumé is impressive; he was Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator under Frank Beamer from 1988-1993 until a man by the name of Bud Foster came and took over that job. 

The current Eagles are a bit undersized compared to earlier years, so they have worked on their strength in the off-season. Craft also tweaked his team’s offense prior to the 2009 season, eliminating seven step drops and focusing more on an option, draw, and screen oriented offense in order to emphasize the speed and athleticism of his playmakers.

Needless to say, Craft will have his Eagles ready to play on Saturday as they try to end the Tigers’ win streak against them. The Tigers, on the other hand, will try to ensure that Bridgewater continues to live in the past by continuing their win streak and keeping the momentum going into the next decade. Be sure to remind your family that it is Family Weekend 2009 on Saturday, October 3rd at Lewis C. Everett Stadium as the Tigers take on the Eagles of Bridgewater College at 1:00 p.m.

Related posts:

1. Tigers Survive Nail Biter Entering Bye Week
2. Tigers’ Sensational Season Ends in First Round of Playoffs
3. Tigers Prepare for Macon With Tournament Berth Secured

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.

Related posts:

1. Tigers Off to a Convincing 2 – 0 Start
2. Tigers Drop Final Two to End Championship Season
3. Resilient Tigers Continue to Prove Their Prowess

 The Hampden-Sydney Football Tigers will compete for their 2nd ODAC championship in the last 3 years this fall. There is much pressure on the Tigers to reclaim the coveted ODAC crown after last year’s disappointing loss to Randolph Macon, and the Tigers will have to replace All-ODAC running back Josh Simpson. 

The Preseason ODAC Coaches Poll even has the Tigers slotted to win the conference this year. However, because of that disappointing finish to last year, senior leadership and experience, and a talented class of freshman, the Tigers believe they can live up to the preseason hype and capture the school’s 6th ODAC title.

If you were at Lewis C. Everett Stadium on November 15, 2008, you, like all other Tiger fans, players, and coaches, remember the sting the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets provided to the season of the Hampden-Sydney Tigers. The Tigers had the ODAC crown in their grasps and Randolph-Macon came into town and simply stole it away from them, the same fate the Tigers provided to the Yellow Jackets the year before.

Although last year is behind them, Head Coach Marty Favret says, “We’re fooling ourselves if we don’t acknowledge that the sting from that defeat is a big motivating factor for the ’09 Tigers.” The motivation factor is so prevalent that in the middle of the Tigers’ locker room hangs a shirt that simply reads “Prove It: R-MC 31 H-SC 21”. This year, the Tigers look forward to doing exactly that every week: proving it.

On the offensive side of the ball the Tigers will be led by Captain Corey Sedlar. Sedlar definitely has the experience to lead the Tigers, considering he decided to return for a 5th year, averaged 360 yards per game through the air last year, and threw for 23 touchdowns.

Sedlar will also have talent around him to help boost his own statistics. Leading yardage receiver Adam Gillette returns along with seniors Anthony Mancini and E.K. Smock. Senior H-back Craig Warnement also adds another receiving weapon coming out of the backfield. Adding to the threat each senior poses, sophomore receivers Sean Cavanaugh and Kyle Vance simply look, as Daft Punk or Kanye would put it, much “stronger, better, faster, stronger”. Junior Andy Bruckner also adds another tall threat at receiver.

The playmakers the Tigers have this year obviously pose a big threat to opposing defenses, but we all know an offense cannot run properly without the big boys up front. Leading the offensive line will be sophomore and 1st team All-ODAC center Ben Rogers.

Although the Tigers have plenty of playmakers this year, one obvious question still looms: Who will replace touchdown machine Josh Simpson? Fortunately for the Tigers, they believe they have found just the man to fill that void in sophomore running back Kirk Rohle. Rohle has impressed the coaches during the preseason with his vastly improved vision, acceleration, and cutting ability- all essential features in a dominating running back.

If the promise lies in the Tiger offense, the leadership definitely lies in the Tiger defense, where three of the four captains play: All-ODAC linebacker Josh Miller, 5th year senior linebacker Andrew Sellers, and senior defensive end Ty Condrey. Add even more experience to the Tiger defense when you put in linebacker Trevor Ikwild, who tallied over 60 tackles last year.

On top of that add two lock down corners in Boaz Young-el and Michael Ware and two hard hitting safeties in Bill Doody and Thomas Hovis, who all four combined for 10 interceptions last year.For a team that has historically been known as an offensive scoring machine, the Tigers certainly look to solidify themselves as a multiple shutout defensive team. They certainly have the pieces of the puzzle to achieve that goal this year.

Adding to the talent of this year’s team will be a very talented group of freshman. Coach Favret is excited about the entire class of 2013, but two freshmen have stood out in preseason more than any others: running back Evan King and defensive back/kick returner Steven Fogleman.

“Both Evan and Steven are big time recruits that we have high hopes for. I expect both of them to contribute right away. Some local products- Regis Craft (RB from Nottoway) and Dimitri and Mikhail Walton (DBs from Cumberland) have also turned some heads this camp,” says Coach Favret.

Hampden-Sydney kicks off the season at 1:00 on September 5th at Lewis C. Everett Stadium against the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan. The Tigers will certainly be on the prowl this year for their 6th ODAC title in school history.

Yes, they have pressure to be successful this year, but Coach Favret and the rest of the Tigers know that they are “mature enough to realize the pre-season hype doesn’t mean a whole lot once the ball is kicked in the air September 5th.” The Tigers want to do exactly what that shirt hanging in the middle of the locker room says: “Prove It”. They want to prove it to the fans, the rest of the ODAC, and, most importantly, themselves.

Related posts:

1. Football Tigers Thrill in Season Openers
2. Resilient Tigers Continue to Prove Their Prowess
3. Tigers’ Sensational Season Ends in First Round of Playoffs