The E&H football crew opened the school’s Division II lay on Sunday with a 36-7 win over North Carolina Wesleyan College.
North Carolina Wesleyan took the opening kickoff and went 66 yards in six plays capped by a 14-yard pass from Storm Yarbrough to Kevin Alford for the 7-0 lead just 2:18 into the game. The next six possessions ended in punts before Emory & Henry put together its first sustained drive of the game. Inside the Battling Bishops’ five yardline, senior running back Devontae Jordan dove for the pylon, but lost the ball resulting in a turnover.
The Wasps responded on the next drive, however, as junior defensive back T.J. Payne picked off Storm’s pass and saw senior linebacker Brent Butler complete the return for the touchdown and the 7-7 score.
That score set up five straight touchdowns for E&H as Jordan plowed in from two yards out with 6:16 to go in the second quarter and senior wide receiver Elijah Rice hauled in an 18-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Kyle Short to give the Wasps a 19-7 lead at the half.
Coming out of the break, Emory & Henry continued to be hot on offense going 65 yards in eight plays capped by a 29-yard score by Jordan. After forcing a three-and-out by the Bishops, the Wasps struck down the field again as Short linked up with 5th-year wide receiver Gunner Griffith for a 28-yard catch and a 33-7 advantage.
Following another three-and-out by NCWC, Emory & Henry began to melt the clock, and made it 36-straight points for the final 36-7 margin on a 33-yard field goal by junior Cameron Jones.
Short finished his E&H debut 17-for-23 for 179 yards and two touchdowns, as he and sophomore quarterback Carter Everett combined for 220 yards through the air, hitting eight different receivers on the afternoon. Jordan led the rushing game with 134 yards and two scores on 25 carries.
Senior wideout Kashawn Cosey was the favorite target, catching seven balls for 17 yards while Griffith’s three catches went for 50 yards and a score. Junior tight end Zach Venhorst had four receptions for 34 yards as Rice hauled in three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
The E&H defense was evenly spread with 12 players seeing three tackles or more. Redshirt freshman defensive back Gage Mannon led the way with six tackles while junior defensive back T.J. Tester saw all three of his stops go down as sacks for a total of 18 yards. Payne added three tackles to his interception.
Emory & Henry outgained North Carolina Wesleyan, 383-177, gaining 28 first downs as they averaged 5.2 yards per play. The Wasps were 8-for-16 (50%) on third down compared to just 33 percent (5-for-15) for the Bishops.
E&H’s defense held NCWC to just 11 rushing yards as they totaled 16 tackles for loss including five quarterback sacks. Thirteen different players made their mark as the Wasps lived in the Battling Bishops’ backfield all afternoon. Emory & Henry will open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Bluefield University in a battle of Southwest Virginia schools. The Wasps defeated the Rams, 49-21, in their first-ever meeting on Sept. 28, 2019 in Bluefield.
