The Roanoke College football team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten as the rain fell at Salem Stadium last Saturday. Visiting Hampden-Sydney pulled out a 39-33 win in a back and forth Old Dominion Athletic Conference thriller.
The Maroons gave the Tigers all they could handle despite playing a varsity schedule for just the second year. Roanoke took an early lead when KJ Bratton gave the Maroons good field position on the opening kickoff, leading to a 33-yard field goal by Ethan Cyr and a 3-0 lead.
Hampden-Sydney answered with a TD but the Maroons jumped back on top, 10-8, on a six-yard run by Ethan Graves. The Tigers answered again, but Bratton’s 42-yard run gave the Maroons a 17-15 advantage. Hampden-Sydney’s Terry Hicks then scored on a 15-yard run as the Tigers took a 22-17 lead into halftime.
The Tigers got the ball first in the second half and drove into the red zone before the Maroon defense stiffened and Hampden-Sydney settled for a field goal to up the lead to 25-17. Bratton then ran the ensuing kickoff back 91 yards for a score. A two-point conversion tied the game midway through the third period.
At this point Tiger tailback Hicks took over. He did the bulk of the damage as Hampden-Sydney increased the lead to 39-25 with 6:39 to go. Roanoke cut the lead to 39-33 with two and a half minutes remaining on a TD pass from Linwood Johnson to Grey Deal, but the Tigers were able to run out the clock and hold on for a hard fought win.
Bratton finished with 199 yards of kick returns in addition to 56 yards rushing. Jerrett Shepherd had 72 yards between rushes and receptions and Johnson completed 11 of 20 passes for 157 yards.
On defense Ethan Mapstone led the Maroons with 15 tackles, including eight solos. Landon Altizer had 11 tackles, Brayden Andrews had seven and Lane Shoemaker had an interception.
For Hampden-Sydney, Hicks ran for 217 yards on 37 carries. The Tigers improved to 4-1 with the win while RC is also 4-1, and both schools received votes this week in the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) top 25 poll.
Up next for the Maroons is a trip to Winchester to take on Shenandoah University Saturday at noon. The Hornets are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ODAC with a 30-14 loss to Hampden-Sydney on October 3 and a 38-20 win over Averett in Danville last Saturday.
