It came down to the final minutes, but Hampden-Sydney College fell just short on Saturday, dropping the 28-26 game on the road. Playing at Washington and Lee University, the Tigers saw multiple players record career-highs, but it just wasn’t enough to pull off the win in Lexington. 

“Proud of the team’s effort,” said Hampden-Sydney Head Coach Vince Luvara. “Hats off to W&L, they made one more play than we did.”

There were some achievements for the Tigers. Sophomore wide receiver Ethan Dowdy had a career-high 108 yards receiving while also throwing his first career touchdown pass. Freshman strong safety Mitch Ladamus also had a career-high 12 tackles in the loss. 

While the team started out strong, leading the host Generals 7-0 after one quarter. However by halftime, the Tigers were trailing 14-13 and 21-19 after three quarters. 

Breaking down the game 

Hampden-Sydney scored first on a 94-yard drive, marching down the field in 14 plays. That finished with a five-yard shovel pass from Tigers quarterback Carter Sido to senior tight end Sutton Lasso for the score. After Washington & Lee tied the game, Hampden-Sydney went back ahead after a field goal in the second quarter. Washington & Lee scored again, to go up 14-10, before Hampden-Sydney answered with another field goal with two seconds left before halftime.

The teams would trade leads before Washington & Lee scored to make it 28-19 with 13:10 left in the game. The Tigers then marched down the field in a 13-play 73-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Hicks with 8:48 remaining. That would be the last score by either team. 

What’s next for Hampden-Sydney?

The Tigers will play on the road again this week, heading to southern Virginia to take on ODAC conference member Ferrum College. That’ll take place on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. in Ferrum.