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Tiger tailback sets ODAC all-time rushing touchdown record with performance ROCKY MOUNT, NC (September 7, 2008)—If the word about Hampden-Sydney senior tailback Josh Simpson (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) wasn’t out already, Sunday’s season opener certainly put future Tiger opponents on high No. 42 alert. Simpson scored four touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air, and accounted for 338 of Hampden-Sydney’s 435 yards of total offense to lead the defending Old Dominion Athletic Conference champions to a 33-23 road triumph over host North Carolina Wesleyan in the inaugural match up between the two teams. Simpson’s last touchdown, a 17-yard gallop around left end with 14:39 to play in the fourth quarter, gave Hampden-Sydney (1-0) the final ten-point margin and some much needed breathing room in a choppy contest marred by untimely sloppy play and plenty of turnovers; the Tigers and Battling Bishops combined for 11 giveaways amidst the soggy terrain at the Northern Nash Football Complex. At the outset, however, Hampden-Sydney’s offense appeared to pick up right where it left off in 2007 as the Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in nine plays and just over three minutes to take a 7-0 advantage on Simpson’s first score of the afternoon, an eight-yard scamper. The Bishops answered right back, using their own version of the spread offense to even the game at 7-7 just 1:07 later on a Bo Jordan 30-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Avery Butler. The next Tiger possession stalled after three plays and met with disaster as the long snap to senior punter T.C. Stevens (Alton, VA/Halifax) squirted between his legs. Stevens fell on the football at the Hampden-Sydney one-yard line, but the Bishops needed just one play to take a 13-7 lead on a Luke Williford one-yard plunge. Hampden-Sydney responded immediately, putting together an eight-play, 53-yard drive culminating with senior quarterback Corey Sedlar's (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) 10-yard scoring toss to senior tight end Connor Oliver (Richmond, VA/Deep Run) with 6:22 to play in the opening frame. The extra point glanced off the left upright, keeping the score knotted at 13-13 after one quarter of play. After North Carolina Wesleyan’s Kevin Quicker put the Bishops back ahead by three with a 23-yard field goal, turnovers took center stage. Each team suffered three giveaways apiece on their next three possessions, a span of 5:46; at one point, a turnover was the result of four successive plays from scrimmage. Fortunately for Hampden-Sydney, the final of those six turnovers was a Clyde Kessler (Round Hill, VA/Loudoun Valley) interception of Jordan that Kessler returned 17 yards to the North Carolina Wesleyan 13-yard line. From that point, the Tigers needed only three plays to take the lead, 19-16, on a Simpson 4-yard run with 8:14 to play in the first half. Later in the second stanza, with Hampden-Sydney facing a third-and-five on their own 35-yard line and 2:20 remaining in the opening half, Simpson found the end zone once more when he took a Sedlar screen pass, cut back to elude one defender, hurdled another and raced 65 yards up the center of the field for his third score, giving the Tigers a 26-16 halftime advantage. The Hampden-Sydney defense forced a punt to open the second half, but Sedlar threw his fifth interception of the contest giving the Battling Bishops new life and great field position at the Tigers’ 35-yard line. Jordan completed all four of his pass attempts on the ensuing drive, which was capped off by a Williford nine-yard touchdown run and brought the Bishops within three at 26-23 with 7:50 to play in the third quarter. After the Tigers and Bishops traded punts, Hampden-Sydney ultimately put the game out of reach with a nine-play, 55-yard drive ending on Simpson's 17-yard scoring rush. The Tiger defense, which surrendered only seven points and 153 yards of offense to North Carolina Wesleyan in the second half, picked off Jordan for the third time to halt a promising Bishops' drive, while the offense followed with an 18-play, 57-yard drive that erased 9:12 to successfully end any hope of an opening week win for Wesleyan (0-1). On the afternoon, Simpson rushed 31 times for 185 yards and caught ten passes for 153 yards. His three rushing scores give him 45 for his career and place him atop the all-time ODAC rushing touchdown list, passing Emory and Henry's Oliver Jordan for the top conference mark. His four total touchdowns give him 56 over his Tiger tenure, adding to the record he set as a junior. Sedlar completed 25-of-39 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns in addition to five interceptions. Zach Miller (Lebanon, VA/Lebanon) turned in a solid performance with seven receptions and 77 yards while the Hampden-Sydney defense was led by junior linebacker Andrew Seller's (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) seven tackles and sophomore cornerback Michael Ware's (Goochland, VA/Goochland) four tackles and two interceptions. The Bishops' Jordan threw for 266 yards on 29-of-45 passing and one score to go along with three interceptions of his own. Wide receiver Orlando Webb corralled eight passes for 85 yards and tailback Williford rushed seven times for 28 yards and two scores to lead the North Carolina Wesleyan ground attack. Hampden-Sydney returns to action next Saturday, September 13 when it travels to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to square off with the Gettysburg College Bullets. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 pm. You can catch all the Tiger football action by tuning into 95.7 WFLO-FM or logging onto the live webcast via the Hampden-Sydney football webpage. www.hsc.edu/athletics |
