ANDERSON, S.C. – Eclipsing their program mark for wins in a season in front of a raucous Homecoming crowd, the Anderson University (4-2, 2-2 SAC) football team took home a dominating 50-7 win over the Cavaliers of UVA Wise (1-5, 1-4 SAC), keeping their record against the Virginia based school unscathed on Saturday, October 4.
The Trojans officially held the Cavaliers to -6 rushing on the day, thanks in part to a couple of bad snaps that led to a Trojans scoop-and-score and safety in the Black and Golds favor as well. Anderson on the other hand recorded 196 yards on the ground and 326 yards through the air. The Black and Gold controlled the possession throughout the contest as well, holding on to the ball for 41:49.
Senior Tyler Wesley (St. Cloud, Fla.) tossed for 263 yards on 18 completions through the air, tallying a pair of touchdowns while adding another on the ground. Redshirt-sophomore Bryson James (Cross Hill, S.C.) had a breakout performance, running for 124 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. Redshirt-senior Monz Campbell (Lake Waccamaw, N.C.) was Wesley's favorite target on the day, hauling in five catches for 97 yards. Senior Jalon Warthen-Carr (Macon, Ga.) and graduate Jonathan Bowden (Palm Bay, Fla.) each accounted for a touchdown in the contest.
The Trojan defense was well balanced throughout the day, with redshirt-sophomore Cade Eavenson (Seneca, S.C.) and redshirt-senior Caleb Gleason (Indian Land, S.C.) each recording five tackles on the afternoon. Redshirt-senior Jerrod Woods (Leesburg, Ga.) tacked on a scoop-and-score for the defense, taking in a fumble recovery from 20 yards out in for a touchdown. Redshirt-sophomore Josh Peacock (Grovetown, Ga.) shared caused that fumble, while finishing the day with 1.5 sacks for a loss of 29 yards.
The Cavaliers started with possession after winning the coin toss, but the Trojans made quick work of their drive with a three-and-out. Anderson took over on their own 34-yard line and in just four plays were able to cap off their drive with an 18-yard scamper from Wesley to give them the early 7-0 lead.
UVA Wise again was rushed off the field in just three plays, while the Trojans were methodical with their next drive, this time taking 13 plays before Wesley hit Bowden for a five-yard touchdown to increase their lead to 14-0. A high snap on the Cavaliers' next punt attempt set the Trojans up on the Wise 16 to start a drive that only featured Bryson James in four plays to take it into the end zone and put the Trojans up by 21.
The second quarter was quiet for both teams until Anderson's third drive of the period, when they were able to put up three points of a 20-yard strike from graduate Elijah Swett (Matthews, N.C.), giving the Trojans the 24-0 halftime lead.
The Black and Gold returned to their scoring ways on the opening drive of the second half as Tyler Wesley found Jalon Warthen-Carr sneaking across the back of the end zone for a seven-yard strike that put the Trojans up 31-0. Wise was able to put their first points on the board just two drives later with a long 60-yard play, but the Trojans defense would lock them down the rest of the way.
Redshirt-senior JB Seay Jr. (Polk County, Fla.) got in on the scoring to kick off the fourth quarter for the Trojans, lifting their lead to 38-7. A strip sack by Peacock on the next drive for the Cavaliers saw Jerrod Woods pick up the ball from the 20-yard line and scurry the rest of the way into the end zone, putting the Trojans up 45-7. An interception brought their next drive to a close, but an errant snap on their next possession went over the quarterback's head and out the back of the end zone to give the Trojans a safety and a 47-7 lead. Swett would add a 30-yard field goal to his tally in the late goings of the quarter to wrap up the Trojans 50-7 victory.
Anderson now turns to the toughest part of their schedule as the face perennial powerhouse after perennial powerhouse for the next five weeks, starting with a trip to Hickory, N.C. to take on the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne in a 3:00 p.m. match-up on Saturday, October 11.
