Photos by Frank Straus/For The Local
Above: Randolph Macon President Robert Lindgren spoke at the dedication of the renovated Day Field football complex. Above right: Will McGhee (27) follows his blocks on his way to an 183 yard day. RMC defeated Averett 21-6 for the first win on the newly renovated Day Field.
JACKETS Continued from pg. 30 b
not there yet.” It was in the second half when the Yellow Jackets displayed their dominance as the defense held the visiting Cougars to a mere 29 yards. Meanwhile the R-MC offense rolled to 221 yards thanks in large part to a tremendous game by junior Will McGhee, who returned from defensive back. The 5-10, 185-pounder carried the ball a game-high 25 times for 183 yards. “That is where he belongs (at running back),” Arruza aid. “He is a natural running back and we recruited him as a running back but he had to play him on defense last year. He played hard and with him we were able to run the ball and that is what we do.” Things didn’t go smoothly in the early going for home team. R-MC’s first drive was moving nicely before Averett’s Jagger Johnson and David Stigall hit Yellow Jacket sophomore quarterback Zac Naccarato in the backfield. The ball came loose
and Stigall recovered at the 38 yard line. The Yellow Jacket defense, led by Tom Solak and Michael Weldon, forced the Cougars into a long fourth down situation. But after a R-MC timeout, Averett opted for the fake punt and up-man Owen Hayden went inside for 37 yards to put the Cougars on the Yellow Jackets 15-yard line. The Randolph-Macon defense, which was stout in the red zone all game, held the Cougars to a 21-yard field goal by Ryan Ristaino. R-MC had the answer. Four plays later Naccarato went up the middle and scooted down the left sideline. Aided by a terrific down-field block by Kyle Norton, Naccarato made history by scoring the first touchdown at the newly refurbished Day Field. Norton was rewarded for his effort as he ran in for the two-point conversion and an 8-3 lead R-MC would not relinquish. The Cougars pulled to within two points when Ristaino drilled a 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but that
would be as close as the team from the USA South would get. Averett later attempted a 46-yard field goal but it was blocked by Lee-Davis alum Calvin Davis. Defense helped R-MC find their rhythm in the second half. Solak, who finished with six tackles, had a sack along with a sack apiece from Ian Candelaria (game-high seven tackles) Davis and David Fetter (Lee-Davis). “We worked hard and were charged up,” Solak said. “We tried to take control and get the ball back for the offense.” Solak said the fake punt was a concern but only made them dig in more. “We never want to give up any yardage,” Solak added. “So that just made us hold stronger. We were please that we held them to a field goal because we knew if we if we would be quick to the ball on defense we could contain them. And we knew eventually the offense would get going. It is a team effort, and if the defense needs to make the play, we need to make the play. “We knew going in this was going to be a battle and our job on defense was to hold them.
But it all started at practice this week when the No. 1 offense went against the No. 1 defense. They pushed us to stop the run, and I think we helped them work on establishing the run.” Randolph-Macon showed its superiority to start the second half as they crafted their best drive of game. With Naccarato converting on a third-down and a crucial fourth down run, the Yellow Jackets marched 73 yards on 14 plays, and scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Naccarato to Conor Moe. Sophomore Clint Herrmann, filling in for injured kicker Josh Storm, connected on the PAT. More importantly for the Yellow Jackets, the seized control of the game. R-MC outgained the visitors 120-34 in the third quarter, outscored them 7-0, and maintained possession for 11 minutes. From there, it was more of the same. Mixing a heavy dose of McGhee and Drake Sanders, the Yellow Jackets quickly marched down the field and scored their final touchdown on a 1-yard plunge by Naccarato to provide the final margin. Naccarato finished the day
73 yards rushing on nine carries and accumulated 102 yards in the air (11-of-16) while Sanders finished with 68 yards on 19 carries. “We really complement each other,” McGhee said of Sanders. “He is constantly motivated me to hit the holes had and we both are agile and have similar running styles.” Naccarato’s favorite target of the day was junior wide receiver Christian Cook, who hauled in five passes for 42 yards. The Yellow Jackets are back in action, hosting Bethany (W.Va.) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Cougars are back at home against Guilford. The bad news for RandolphMacon, Fred Mitchell Award nominee, kicker Josh Storm, will probably have an MRI of his knee to determine the extent of his knee injury.
Third Quarter RMC – Moe 6 pass from Naccarato (Herman kick) 7:51 Fourth Quarter RMC – Naccarato 1 run (kick failed) 12:16 RUSHING Averett: Hayden 1-37, Brown 12-33, White 13-29, Brown 5-minus 17. Randolph-Macon: McGhee 25-183, Naccarato 9-73, Sanders 19-68, Cook 1-13, Hendren 1-1. PASSING Averett: Brown 9-20-0-61 Randolph-Macon: Naccarato 11-160-102. RECEIVING Averett: Stephens 3-15, White 2—9, Jones 1-16, Gillespie 1-15, Hughes 1-6, Brown 1-0. Randolph-Macon: Cook 5-42, Sellers 3-32, Moe 2-22, Crouch 1-6.
NOTES Continued from pg. 33 b
year has been a struggle and we haven’t had the huge meltdown Averett....................... 3 3 0 0 – 6 and all the controversy and R-MC.......................... 8 0 7 6 – 21 what may come with it and this and that. It’s all been better.” First Quarter Kinder yes, however, there’s A – FG Ristaino 21 (4:36) a bit of the old Harvick still in RMC – Naccarato 70 run (Norton reserve. “Not gentler,” he said. “I run) 3:03 Second Quarter still want to punch Kyle Busch A – FG Ristaino 35 (12:35) in the mouth.”
The Mechanicsville Local
September 12, 2012 35