Wasps hand Bulldogs 41-0 loss

EMORY, Va. — Emory & Henry University has had a football team since 1893 and the Wasps have upheld that tradition nicely over the years, including a how-do-you-do 41-0 whipping of Barton College on Saturday in the first meeting of the two programs.

Barton, which started playing football again in the spring of 2021 after shelving it a second time after the 1949 season, suffered its worst shutout loss in the NCAA era and tied for the second-worst margin of defeat in that same time. The Bulldogs were outgained by nearly 400 yards as they tumbled to 1-2 overall in their final NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference opener. A member of Conference Carolinas in all other sports, Barton will be part of its inaugural football season in 2025.

Emory & Henry, which moved to the SAC up from the NCAA Div. III ranks prior to the 2022-23 school year, stands 3-0 after its third dominant victory. The Wasps piled up 536 yards and 29 first downs with a balanced offense while the Bulldogs ran for just 57 yards on 25 attempts and managed just 92 passing yards.

Barton head coach Chip Hester compared Barton’s showing to an old children’s book, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”

“But let me first say that I think Emory & Henry has a good football team and they play hard,” he said. “They were efficient. They did what they needed to do. We surely did not and they whipped us pretty good. Frustrating day, for sure.”

It took the Wasps a quarter to get going as Barton safety Connor Stanley’s goal-line interception of E&H quarterback Charles Mutter was the Wasps’ first turnover of the year. The Bulldogs gave it back when Trevor Nored’s deep ball was picked off at the E&H 2-yard line and the Wasps turned that into an 11-play, 98-yard scoring drive.

Barton cornerback Mike Webb picked off another Mutter pass later in the game, but the Bulldogs lost two fumbles and Nored was intercepted twice as Emory & Henry added to its Div. II-leading turnovers forced total that is now 11.

Cam Abshire’s 26-yard touchdown catch from Mutter was the first of six TDs on the next eight Emory & Henry possessions. Cam Peoples rushed for a 2-yard TD and caught another 26-yard scoring toss from Mutter, who was 11 of 19 for 274 yards and three TDs. His last one was a 58-yard strike to Abshire wit 7:42 to play in the third quarter to put E&H up 27-0.

Jordan Jackson and Rudolph Paul added TD runs in the fourth quarter.

Barton was without starting halfback Tay Long, who rushed for a career-high 137 yards in a win at Chowan last Saturday but didn’t come away from that game unscathed. The Bulldogs’ top rusher Saturday was punter Andrew Bontekoe, who finished with 45 yards on two carries. His 26-yard scramble after picking up the snap on the goal line was the longest run of the day by Barton, which averaged 2.3 yards per carry.

“Emory & Henry does a really good job of packing the box,” Hester said. “When you’re into wider wide receiver sets, there’s really nine guys dedicated to the run, and so, we just couldn’t hurt them in the passing game and and that let them gang up on the run. We couldn’t find our way. And defensively, we did some good things early, created a couple turnovers, but they were on the field too much. So that’s what not what we need.”

Bontekoe, who also ran 19 yards for a first down in the second half, had a nice day actually punting the ball. He averaged 42.7 yards on seven kicks, including a 16-yard punt to start his day, while kicking two more than 50 yards.

Barton will welcome first-year program Anderson University to Truist Stadium next Saturday, Sept. 21, for a 2 p.m. kickoff.

Emory & Henry 41

Barton 0

BC EH

First downs 7 29

Rushes-Yards 25-57 45-221

Passing yards 92 315

Att-Comp-Int 24-9-2 23-14-2

Punts-Avg 7-42.7 2-39.5

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-Yds 11-88 7-74

Score by quarters:

Barton 0 0 0 0 — 0

E&H 0 13 14 14 — 41

Scoring summary:

E&H — Cam Abshire 26 pass from Charles Mutter (kick failed), 9:19, 2nd.

E&H — Cam Peoples 2 run (Trace Butcher kick), 0:19, 2nd.

E&H — Peoples 26 pass from Mutter (Butcher kick), 13:28, 3rd.

E&H — Abshire 58 pass from Mutter (Butcher kick), 7:42, 3rd.

E&H — Jackson Jordan 12 run (Butcher kick), 14:55, 4th.

E&H — Rudolph Paul 3 run (Butcher kick), 5:04, 4th.

The post Wasps hand Bulldogs 41-0 loss first appeared on Restoration NewsMedia .