BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- On a rainy, dreary day in the Shenandoah Valley, the Bridgewater College football team battled to a 27-17 victory against Hampden-Sydney at the Jopson Athletic Complex to open ODAC play. 

The Eagles improve to 4-0 for the first time since the 2019 season and pick up just the fourth win against the Tigers (1-3) in recent history dating back to the 2008 season. H-SC, which entered the contest as the highest scoring in the ODAC with over 48 points per game, were held under 27 points for the first time this year.

H-SC actually got on the board first as Jack Breedlove drilled a field goal to make the score 3-0 with 11:20 left in the first quarter.

Not to be outdone, the Eagles used their first play from scrimmage to go 75 yards for a touchdown as Malcolm Anderson took the snap and rushed up the middle, shedding several tackles before breaking away for the score. The extra point from Jackson Hendren was true and the Eagles took a 7-3 lead just 15 seconds of game time after the Tigers opened the scoring.

Hampden-Sydney was able to manufacture a 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Bernard to Austin Fernandez to put H-SC back in front, 10-7, with seven minutes left in the first. 

After scoring on the first three drives of the game, both sides saw turnovers over the following three possessions. Bridgewater's drive stalled after an interception, Hampden-Sydney lost a fumble and the Eagles tossed another interception on the very next play. The next three drives finished in punts until Hendren nailed a 19-yarder to notch the game at 10-10 with under seven and a half minutes left in the first half.

.Both teams were forced to punt on their next drives before the Tigers rushed down the field over 50 yards in just five plays, but missed a field goal short as the weather conditions rolling into town from the remnants of Hurricane Ian effected the game. 

Bridgewater's ensuing drive eventually placed them inside the 5-yard line, but three straight rushes stalled the drive as the Hampden-Sydney defense held strong with back-to-back QB sneaks from the one yard line were unsuccessful. The game went to halftime with a 10-10 draw. 

The time of possession battle became a factor in the second half as the Eagles received the kickoff to start the second stanza and went nearly 70 yards in almost 10 plays to shave five minutes off the clock. At the end, Anderson found the end zone for the second time on the day from three yards out, 17-10.

The Tigers responded by driving down the field and tying the game off a three-yard run from Melik Frost to set the score at 17-17.

That score was the last for nearly the next 15 minutes as each side was forced to punt several times. With six minutes remaining in regulation, Frost ran up the middle again into the arms of Trey Trenary who forced a fumble that was recovered by Tucker Harris deep inside Hampden-Sydney territory. The Eagles ran the ball three times in a row gaining a first down on a 3rd and short rush from Anderson. Albert Mensah, who handled a majority of the run game today fell forward for a five-yard gain to force the Tigers to use a timeout with under four minutes left in the game. The very next play, Mensah scampered into the endzone to push the Eagles ahead, 24-17, with 3:43 on the clock.

The next drive saw the Tigers try to move down field, but the Eagles defense held strong as Daniel Santos recorded a strip sack that was recovered by Bernard to forced a 4th and long situation. The following pass fell incomplete to give the Eagles the ball on the Hampden-Sydney 33 yard line.

Milking the clock and utilizing a defensive injury timeout that saw a full 40 seconds tick off the clock, Hendren nailed another field goal to make it a two-possession game, 27-17. A squib kick gave the Tigers possession near midfield, but a completion over the middle ended the contest with the Eagles on top.

Anderson led the offense going 10-for-18 with 121 yards through the air and also rushing for over 100 yards and two scores. Jaylen Wood also tallied 100+ yards through the air with five completions on nine attempts. 

Mensah nearly hit the century mark with 90 yards on 22 carries, while Viante Tucker had three catches for 104 yards, including a 60 yard grab. Freddie Watkins snatched four balls for 61 yards, including a key third-down converstion that led to an Eagles' score. 

Defensively, Aaron Moore led the way with 10 tackles to go with a pass break up, while Shawn Harris had six stops, including 1.0 for a loss, with a pair of PBUs. Val West also had seven tackles (six solo), while Eli Rucker had three tackles with 3.0 TFL and a forced fumble. Rucker and TJ Lowery combined for a sack while Santos also registered the key strip-sack late in the contest. Tucker Harris also recorded a sack.  

Bridgewater posted 439 yards of total offense compared to 346 yards from the visitors. 

Bridgewater returns to action on Saturday, October 8, as it honors its 2022 Hall of Fame inductees. The Eagles will host Shenandoah at 2 pm at the Jopson Athletic Complex.