Balanced Attack Leads #21 R-MC Football past NCWU

By Press release submission

Sep 7, 2022

The Yellow Jackets registered more than 500 yards of total offense and held the Battling Bishops to zero net rushing yards as No. 21 Randolph-Macon posted a 49-7 opening-night victory over North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday evening.

The Basics:

Score: Randolph-Macon 49, North Carolina Wesleyan 7

Location/Venue: Ashland, Va./Day Field

Records: Randolph-Macon 1-0, NCWU 0-1

How it Happened:

The Bishops picked up two first downs on their first possession, but were forced to punt. The Yellow Jackets drove 70 yards in seven plays, as senior quarterback Andrew Ihle (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) plowed in from two yards out to give R-MC a 7-0 lead.
The Yellow Jacket defense forced another punt and Ihle scrambled in from 15 yards out as R-MC led 14-0 after one period.
Senior running back Nick Hale (Vinton, Va./William Byrd) burrowed in from one yard out and junior quarterback Drew Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) hit senior receiver David Wallis (Cedar Point, N.C./Croatan) on a 71-yard TD pass near the midway point of the second quarter as the advantage grew to 28-0.
Ihle connected with senior receiver Zach Bowman (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) on a four-yard scoring pass with one minute left before halftime as R-MC took a 35-0 lead at intermission.
Campanale led the Yellow Jackets on a 12-play scoring drive to start the second half and completed a three-yard TD pass to junior receiver Davis Clemmons (Wendell, N.C./Broughton) on a fourth-down play as the margin grew to 42-0.
NCWU got on the board later in the third period before Campanale hit senior JoJo Marinella (Franklin, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) on a 27-yard scoring strike early in the fourth quarter to make the final score 49-7.

By The Numbers:

R-MC amassed 523 yards of total offense, with 284 on the ground. Eight different Yellow Jackets had carries and four had at least 48 yards. Junior Gage Pennington (Robbins, N.C./North Moore) paced the victors with 12 carries and 59 yards.
The Yellow Jackets completed 14 of 17 passes for 239 yards and four scores. Campanale went 9 for 11 for 166 yards and three TDs. Wallis had two catches for 118 yards and one touchdown.
The Bishops had 18 carries for 0 net yards. Junior cornerback Silas James (Greenville, N.C./JH Rose) topped R-MC with five tackles. Senior tackle Jacob Hutchinson (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) had 2.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.

For The Record: