Football Snaps 76-Year Losing Streak
WINCHESTER, Va. - For the next two weeks, the Shenandoah University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will be looking back at its top 10 highlights of the 2008-09 school year.
For the complete list and overview of the project, please click here.
Today, we look at our No. 7 highlight: Football Downs Bridgewater
Since re-starting football in 2000, Shenandoah University has experienced many successes in its program. The Hornets won USA South Conference championships in 2003 and 2004, built one of the finest facilities, Sprint Field at Shentel Stadium, and had its program profiled on the front page of the New York Times.
Yet, through all of that, one thing remained: beating Bridgewater.
The Bridgewater Eagles are the Hornets closest Division III opponent, located just 60 miles down the Shenandoah Valley, and have always been the program by which SU has measured itself.
In its long history of football, Bridgewater had just one championship until current head coach Mike Clark began to improve the Eagles fortunes in the late 1990s. BC made its first NCAA playoff appearance in 2000, and played for a national championship a short time later.
The Eagles were Shenandoah's first home opponent in 2000, and the three biggest crowds in Shentel history featured Bridgewater as the Hornets opponent.
Unfortunately, those crowds, the epitome of what the Division III experience should be about, were not treated to close contests.
Heading into the 2008 campaign, BC had outscored SU by aggregate total of 313-51 with the Hornets coming no closer than 14 points in any of the eight contests.
Things didn't look positive for a win in 2008 either, as coach Paul Barnes' squad was coming off of a crushing overtime loss to Catholic in the season opener and Bridgewater figured to have another strong squad.
Fortunately, the 2008 Hornets didn't buy into any of that thinking. Behind a strong defense that held the Eagles to just 187 yards in offense and one timely touchdown, SU was a 10-6 winner of over BC in the week two contest.
