by Martin Davis
Staff Writer
Saturday afternoon marked a memorable win for Sewanee’s football program. The Sewanee football team recovered from a 0-10 deficit in the first half to beat rival opponent Washington and Lee 21-19.“It’s a huge rivalry,” explained runningback Powers Spencer (C’17). “The first game Sewanee played against W&L was in 1893 and our last win against them was nine years ago. It was a big win.” The first half was a defensive battle. Thanks to strong play by the Tiger’s D-line, the Generals were held to 3 points. However, offensively, the Tigers were struggling. Several of the Tiger’s drives were marred by holding penalties on big plays. At halftime the Tigers had yet to score.
“Our defense held them off, which was exactly what we needed to start get going in the second half” Spencer noted. Even after W&L scored a touchdown to bring the scoreboard up to 10, the Tiger’s defense looked strong, and kept Sewanee in the game. Finally, with 4:09 left in the 3rd quarter, Sewanee’s Davonte Williams (C’16) reached the endzone. The 6-yard run finished an 11-play, 49- yard drive. It became the turning point in the game. The Tigers went onto score another touchdown, after which the Generals were forced to kick a field goal, going up to 14-13 and would stay in the lead for the duration of the game.
A Tiger recovery after a W&L fumble on their own 45-yardline led to another touchdown putting Sewanee to a 21-13. But the Generals were far from over. With 35 seconds left in the game, they scored on 70-yard drive to make the score 21-19 and opted for a 2-point conversion. Conversion failed, W&L recovered an onside kick and would set up for a field goal attempt on the Sewanee 34-yardline. Sewanee would block the kick and went onto win the game.
“In my twenty football seasons as Director of Athletics, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a more exciting game or, quite candidly, enjoyed a better football environment on Hardee-McGee Field,” said Mark Webb about the game. “While we still have eight games to play this season, including a tough conference schedule, win against our long-time rival is one that our I consider our victory against Washington & Lee University a benchmark win for our program. The Photo players and coaches will remember for many years. It was a great day to be a Sewanee Tiger.