Thornton and Braner Lead Randolph-Macon past Emory and Henry 28-25

Thornton and Braner Lead Randolph-Macon past Emory and Henry 28-25

ASHLAND, VA – Randolph-Macon quarterback Brandon Braner threw three touchdown passes, ran for another and running back Zak Thornton racked up 161 yards on 42 carries as Randolph-Macon clipped Emory and Henry 28-25 in Ashland on Saturday afternoon.

R-MC has won four games in a row and stands at 6-1 on the season, securing its first winning campaign since 2002. The Yellow Jackets also stand at 3-0 in the ODAC as they head into a bye week and prepare for its October 27th game at Guilford College. Emory and Henry drops to 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in the league.

The Wasps capitalized early when R-MC fumbled on its opening possession at the E&H 39 yard line. The Wasps needed just four plays to go up 7-0 as Daniel Booher found Jonathan Hawkins wide open on a play action pass for a 46 yard score.

Trailing with 5:46 left in the quarter, the Jackets took over at their own 40 yard line and got a 28 yard gain on the first play of the drive when Rod Nelson took a reverse down to the Emory and Henry 42. From there, Thornton ran for 25 yards on five carries and set up a third down and goal quarterback keeper by Braner that tied the game at seven.

After a 24 yard field goal from Luke Hawk made the score 10-7 with 9:38 left in the half, R-MC took its ensuing possession 65 yards on 12 plays in 2:09 to take a 14-10 lead. Thornton carried the ball seven times on the drive for 28 yards helping the Jackets get the ball down to the E&H nine. On third down and goal, Braner found tight end Alex Ramirez for the touchdown and the Yellow Jackets first lead of the game.

Emory and Henry responded by taking the kickoff and driving down to the Randolph-Macon four yard line. On third down and goal and time running out in the half, R-MC’s Hassan Shonekan picked off Booher in the end zone for a touchback and the Jackets headed to the locker room with a 14-10 lead.

The Wasps took the opening kick of the second half and started a drive at their own 48 yard line. After a series of rushes from Matt Gillespie got E&H inside Jacket territory and down to the 39 yard line, Booher connected with Corey Shepherd for a 35 yard gain on third down to get to the four yard line. On fourth down and goal, Emory and Henry took a 17-14 lead a one yard plunge.

Braner stuck for his second touchdown pass of the day with 3:31 left in the third quarter when Rod Nelson took a wide receiver screen and scampered 26 yards for a touchdown, giving R-MC a 21-17 advantage.

The Yellow Jackets padded their lead when they took over on the E&H 40 yard line with 11:28 remaining in the game after a punt attempt was mishandled. R-MC put together an 11 play, 40 yard drive that shaved just over six minutes off the clock and was capped off by a three yard touchdown pass from Braner to Stuart May, making the score 28-17.

Emory and Henry cut the lead to 28-23 with 2:56 left in the game when Booher hooked up with Ryan Mettinger on a 13 yard touchdown pass. Booher then found Brian Bush for the two point conversion, making the score 28-25.

That was a close as the Wasps would get as Thornton ran for 29 yards and two first downs on R-MC’s next drive to run out the clock.