BUENA VISTA, Virginia – The Wilmington College football team exploded for five passing touchdowns in the first half and handed Southern Virginia University (SVU) a 52-27 defeat in the season-opener on Thursday evening. The win for the Fightin' Quakers avenges a 41-34 overtime loss at Williams Stadium to begin the 2021 fall season.
Quarterback Adam Dixon, starting his first collegiate game, threw for seven touchdowns to set a new program record for touchdown passes in a game. The previous record was held by Billy Blackburn, who threw six touchdowns against John Carroll University in 2007. Additionally, the 52 points are the most for the program since a 55-6 victory over Franklin College on Oct. 9, 1999.
"I so proud of our players and coaches," Acting Head Coach Corey Fillipovich said. "Both groups played and coached with shocking efforts and you could see that on the field tonight. That's a part of #QuakerStyle."
Dixon connected with Ace Taylor on a post for the first score of the game, but SVU answered with a long conversion on third down and scored to tie the game. The WC offense would be forced to punt on the ensuing possession, and the Knights used a short punt and a penalty to find the end zone again. The point-after attempt, however, failed as a penalty pushed back the attempt, which sailed wide. The hosts led 13-7, and that would prove to be their only lead of the night. Dixon found Itika Wynn Jr. for a long score to regain a 14-13 advantage, and after the WC defense came up with a stop on 4th-and-1 from near midfield, Dixon took advantage of a blown coverage to put the visitors up 21-13.
The Wilmington offense would only be stopped, it seemed, by the clock expiring in the first half. Wynn Jr. hauled in an impressive catch and score on 3rd-and-20, and after another stop, Dixon picked apart a Knight zone for a fifth score of the half. Up 35-13, the Quakers nearly scored again, but a pass breakup in the end zone ended the half.
Southern Virginia scored the first 14 points of the second half to pull within a score at 35-27, but a Seth Best field goal put the visitors up two possessions. The WC defense once again camp up big as linebacker Jarod Lee stuffed a run on 4th-and-short. A missed field goal followed, but the Quaker defense was determined to give the ball back to its offense, coming up with another stop on fourth down. Dixon put the game out of reach with a touchdown to Lathan Jones, and would set the record with a slant to Wynn Jr. as the game's final score. In total, Wynn Jr. caught three, Xavier Fuller caught two and Taylor and Jones each hauled in one score.
"The performances tonight were some of the best in the history of Wilmington football," Fillipovich said. "What a night for those two!"
The Quaker finished with 510 yards of offense compared to just 288 for the Knights. Dixon completed 25-of-41 passes for 382 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. Wynn Jr. hauled in seven catches (three for touchdowns) and 161 yards while Benn Hobbs ran for 113 yards on 21 attempts. Jarod Lee led the defense with 11 tackles and two breakups while Quentin Davis had a sack and a forced fumble. Zach Schmidt returned an interception to setup WC's final score in the game.
For SVU, Colten Shumway finished 21-of-37 for 189 yards and four scores. Jacob Wood rushed 22 times for 99 yards.
Wilmington (1-0) will open Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play hosting Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff from Williams Stadium is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.