Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408260034
SECTION: COLLEGE FOOTBALL PAGE: FB8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It may be played Saturday, Nov.12 in Hampden-Sydney.
When Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney meet for the 100th time in their fabled rivalry, it's likely the ODAC championship will be at stake.
As if the oldest small-college rivalry in the South needed additional fodder.
Since the two schools first knocked heads on the football field in 1893, the rivalry has been one of the most intense and competitive in the country.
At stake is 12 months worth of bragging rights among students and alumni of the two central Virginia small colleges.
The cliche tag of being ``one of those games where you can throw the record book out the window'' works in this long-running feud.
While the Tigers lead the series 50-38-11, the game is almost always close. Fifty-five of the previous 99 meetings have been settled by a touchdown or less.
This year's edition should be no different. Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney were picked 1-2 in a preseason poll of ODAC coaches.
The defending champion Yellow Jackets return 46 lettermen from a 1993 squad that went 7-2-1 overall and 5-0 in the ODAC, clinching the league title with a 17-10 win over Hampden-Sydney.
The good news for coach Joe Riccio's club is that junior quarterback Andy Bush is back. Bush was the ODAC's top passer in '93, throwing for 1,730 yards and 15 touchdowns, while allowing only four interceptions.
In Hampden-Sydney, Coach Joe Bush's Tigers are revving to go, loaded with high expectations. The Tigers return 16 starters from last year's 6-4 club.
The Tigers' strength will be defense. Two-time all-ODAC senior tackle Chad Wheeling of Salem and junior All-America linebacker candidate Mark Hazelwood lead nine returning starters off an unit that allowed only 151 points last season
At Emory & Henry, coach Lou Wacker, with only seven starters back, including one on offense, is facing a reloading year.
Despite the heavy personnel losses, Wacker will get it done somehow. He always does. His teams are 89-39 in his 12 years, capturing five league titles and making three postseason playoff trips.
At Bridgewater, third-year coach Max Lowe is still trying to make the Eagles fly high.
It won't be an easy task this year with a roster dominated by sophomores. The Eagles, 2-8 last season, figure to battle Guilford to see who can avert the ODAC cellar.
Guilford, after successive 2-8 campaigns and finishes in the league basement, should be improved.
The Quakers, who started 15 freshmen and sophomores at times last season, were just a few plays from .500 in '93, losing three by a TD or less in the final minutes.
by CNB