R-MC Defeats Bridgewater 24-12 Behind Zak Thornton's 238 Yards

HARRISONBURG, VA -- Randolph-Macon’s Zak Thornton rushed for 238 yards on two touchdowns on 43 carries Saturday to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 24-12 ODAC victory over the Bridgewater College Eagles at Jopson Field.

With the victory, the Yellow Jackets improve to 8-1 and 5-0 in the ODAC. Randolph-Macon closes its regular season with a Nov. 10 home game against Hampden-Sydney with the winner claiming the conference championship.

With 43 carries, Thornton now stands as the ODAC record holder of most attempts in a season with 318. Thornton passes Chris Sullivan of Washington and Lee who set the record in 2004 with 294 attempts.   Thornton now has 1, 457 yards on the season which is just 11 yards shy of R-MC single season record set by Howard Stevens set in 1968. 

Bridgewater drops to 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the ODAC. The Eagles close out their season with a home game against Catholic next Saturday. Bridgewater's 12 points was the lowest the Eagles have scored in a single game since 2005.

Starting at the BC 42 following a 40-yard kickoff return by David Argaud, Hagan Driskill completed his first pass on the first play with a 16-yard strike to Brandon Copeland. The Eagles moved to the R-MC 7 before the drive stalled and the Eagles settled for a 24-yard field goal by Luke Taylor for a 3-0 lead.

Randolph-Macon answered on its possession with Thornton scoring on a 36-yard run. Scott Shope added the PAT for a 7-3 R-MC lead with 9:46 left in the first quarter.

Driskill marched the Eagles into scoring postion on the next series but once again the Eagles’ offense stalled and Taylor’s 37-yard field goal made the score 14-6.

The Yellow Jackets padded the lead with Shope’s 37-yard field goal with just 16 seconds left in the first quarter, giving Randolph-Macon a 10-6 lead.

After a scoreless second quarter, Randolph-Macon took the second half kickoff and drove 67 yards six plays to take a 17-6 lead. The big play was a 40-yard pass from Brandon Braner to Kevin Allen to the BC 22. Thornton capped the drive with a 7-yard scoring run and Shope added the PAT.

Jeff Highfill, who did not start the game due to an injury, entered the game early in the fourth quarter at quarterback, and led the Eagles on an 80-yard scoring drive. Phillip Carter, who finished the game with 108 yards rushing, capped the drive with a 2-yard run. The try for two points failed, but the Eagles were within striking distance, 17-12, with 6:40 left in the game.

The Yellow Jackets answered with a 76-yard clinching drive. Thornton carried eight times for 44 yards and Braner finished off the drive with a 13-yard TD pass to Stuart May. Shope’s PAT made it 24-12 with just 2:23 left in the game.