HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- A career day from junior running back Kennedy Fauntleroy led the Bridgewater College football team to a hard-fought 39-38 win against Hampden-Sydney in both teams ODAC opener at Lewis C. Everett Stadium on Saturday.
Bridgewater wins its third game in a row and improve to 3-1 on the season behind a 1-0 record in league games. The Tigers see their two-game winning streak come to an end and fall to 2-2 on the season with an 0-1 mark in ODAC play.
Bridgewater got on the board first in the contest as Fauntleroy fell in from four yards out to cap off an eight-play 58 yard drive that used just over three minutes of game time. The Tigers almost immediately responded with a 70-yard pass-and-catch from Andrew Puccinelli to Braeden Bowling on the first play of the drive.
After an interception, the Hampden-Sydney offense set up deep in Bridgewater territory and took its first lead of the game as Puccinelli found Bowling again for an 18-yard score to take a 14-7 lead after a successful PAT with 7:22 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles fought back on the ensuing drive on a lengthy 65 yard run from Fauntleroy for his second touchdown of the game to make it 14-14 after the PAT from Jack Hendren was true. The Tigers moved the ball 73 yards on six plays to retake the lead at 21-14 after Melik Frost found space on the left side and sprinted 12 yards for the score.
The second half was much quieter on the scoring side of things as the the seven-point lead for the home side stuck for nearly the entire 15 minutes. Bridgewater put together an 11-play drive to chew up almost all of the remaining time in the half as a Hendren 46-yard field goal made the score 21-17 heading into the break.
As the Tigers held onto a small four-point lead, the Eagles offense went back to work moving 80 yards capped off by a 40-yard touchdown run from Fauntleroy, his third touchdown of the afternoon, to give the Eagles a 24-21 lead with 6:12 left in the third quarter. That advantage was short lived as Hampden-Sydney followed that drive with a 24-yard field goal from Elijah Swett to tie the game at 24-24 with 5:03 to go in the third.
The scoring continued before the quarter came to a close as Puccinelli found Austin Fernandez for a 12-yard touchdown to take a 31-24 lead. Not to be outdone, the Eagles responded quickly as Montez Green hauled in a 48-yard touchdown from Malcolm Anderson to tie the game with under a minute to go in the third quarter.
Hampden-Sydney controlled possession for most of the final 15 minutes and scored off a 33-yard pass from Puccinelli to Jamahdia Whitby to assume a 38-31 lead.
As regulation was drawing to a close, Bridgewater put together a 14-play, 88 yard drive that chewed over six minutes of time and converted on several third downs. A key play during the drive was a 28-yard grab by Tyler Gilliam who tapped down a toe in-bounds before falling out of bounds to move the ball across the 50-yard line. Fauntleroy plunged in from a yard out to make the game 38-37 with 23 seconds left in regulation.
After each side alternated timeouts, a two-point conversion from the Eagles was drawn up as a quarterback-keeper from Anderson who reached across the goal line for a good conversion to give the Eagles a 39-38 lead.
The Tigers took the ensuing kickoff to their own 30 yard line and moved the ball 14 yards on a catch by Fernandez before spiking the ball to stop the clock. The Tigers had time for another play as a deep ball down the sideline was grabbed before Noah Hines broke up the pass leaving just a second left on the clock. On the game's final play, Puccinelli was hauled down for a sack by TJ Lowery to end the game.
Fauntleroy finished the game with 246 yards and four touchdowns on the ground for one of the best rushing games in Bridgewater history. His total is sixth-most in a single game in the program's illustrious history. The total is also the most for an Eagle since Anthony Carter rumbled for 233 yards on Oct. 22, 2011 against Washington and Lee.
Anderson also finished over the century mark with 106 yards on 18 carries, while Anderson was 12-of-17 for 148 yards and a touchdown throw the air. He also had one interception.
Green led the team with 61 yards receiving on two grabs and a touchdown, while Gilliam led with four catches for 50 yards. Cedric Drumgoole, Ian Browne and Derrick Jenkins all had two catches, as well.
Defensively, Lowery had 11 tackles (two solo), while Aaron Nice had nine stops of his own. Aaron Moore had eight tackles and led the team with four solo stops, while Lowery had 1.0 sack and Nice and Eli Rucker split another.
Hines had another terrific game in the secondary with four passes broken up as Moore and Xavier Edelen each had a pair.
For Hampden-Sydney, Puccinelli finished 24-of-37 for 333 yards and four touchdowns, while Bowling led all receivers with 181 yards on five catches. Mason Cunningham paced the game with nine catches and went for 58 yards. On the ground, Frost finished with 55 yards on 18 carries.
Bridgewater is back in action next Saturday, October 7, as it continues ODAC play at Shenandoah. Kickoff is set for 7 pm.