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After about a month of practicing under new coach Mickey Whitehurst, the Farmers played their first game of the season, opening their season for the second straight time at home against the Ashland, Virginia-based Randolph-Macon College. Though lighter than the previous years' teams, the hopes for the Aggies were modestly high, as they returned several key starters from the previous season as well as reliable workers from the previous year's scrub team. Leading the team was first-year coach M. M. "Mickey" (or sometimes, "Michie") Whitehurst, who had coached Western Maryland (now McDaniel College) from 1901 to 1906 to a 28-24-2 over that period. Before the team had even played a formal game he was predicted to be "no doubt... the best coach in [A&M] history" (News and Observer, September 26th, 1907, p. 5).
Not much is readily available regarding the Yellow Jackets at the start of the season, though it was noted that the school would have a smaller enrollment that the previous years due to changes in the college's curriculum (The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, September 18th, 1907, p. 4). Their coach, Rice Warren, had just started his first of five seasons in Ashland after playing for Virginia from 1904 to 1905. The earliest pre-game writeup in News and Observer (cited above) wrote that the Ashland boys had a "fast and snappy team" that was among their best in recent years. Randolph-Macon arrived in Raleigh arrived on the Saturday night preceding the game and practiced throughout Sunday in preparation for the game (The Raleigh Evening Times, September 27th, 1907, p. 8).
A&M | Randolph-Macon | |
---|---|---|
Stephens | RE | Story |
Beebe | RT | R. Woodhouse (Capt.) |
Von Glahn | RG | Phelps |
Thomason | C | S. Woodhouse |
Sykes | LG | Ridgeway |
Stroud | LT | Balderson |
Fox | LE | Owens |
Harris | QB | Harlan |
Long | RHB | Sessler |
Johnson | LHB | Powell |
F. Thompson (Capt.) | FB | Harris |
Spencer | SUB | Rowe |
Bray | SUB | Galloway |
Lattimore | SUB | Bush |
Sadler | SUB |
Period | Time | Description | NCSU | RM |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 15 | NCSU - Long - 4 yd Run (Thompson kick) 5 plays, 42+ yards, TOP unk | 6 | 0 |
1st | unk | NCSU - Thompson - unk yd Field Goal - unk plays, 55 yards, TOP unk | 10 | 0 |
1st | unk | NCSU - Stephens - 65 yd Punt Return (UNKNOWN kick failed) 0 plays, 65 yards, TOP unk | 15 | 0 |
2nd | unk | NCSU - Thompson - 40 yd Punt Return (UNKNOWN kick failed) 0 plays, 40 yards, TOP unk | 20 | 0 |
NCSU | Opponent | |
---|---|---|
Rushing TDs | Long (1), Stephens (1), Thompson (1) | none |
Passing TDs | none | none |
Receiving TDs | none | none |
Defensive TDs | none | none |
PATs | Thompson (1/1), UNKNOWN (0/2) | none |
2PT: | N/A prior to 1958 | N/A prior to 1958 |
FGs | Thompson (1) | none |
Safety: | none | none |
Length: 35 (20 / 15) - Duration: unk Attendance: 800 Location: A&M Athletic Field - Raleigh, NC Temperature: ??? Weather: fair Wind: ??? |
The weather on the day of the game was described as a bit too hot for comfortable playing, with a high of 77 degrees (News and Observer, October 1st, 1907, p. 1). In spite of the heat of the late summer, the playing was fine, and 800 spectators came out to watch the game, which was played in one 20 minute half and one 15 minute half.
Existing descriptions of the game are fairly short, though it is clear that, despite the fairly low score, the Virginians were outclassed by A&M. Thompson kicked off to start the game for A&M; the Yellow Jackets were immediately unable to gain the necessary distance and kicked the ball away. After a few "unimportant plays" including some kicking, A&M again had the ball. Frank Thompson started off a strong drive with a 15 yard carry, followed by a 10 yard pickup by Johnson and a 13 yard run by Harris. Randolph-Macon managed to get their first stop in at least four plays on the first down of A&M's newest set of downs, but a second carry brought the ball to within 4 yards of the Yellow and Black's goal line. Finally, R. Long carried the ball the last 4 yards to cross the goal line after just five minutes of play. After a successful goal kick by Thompson, the Aggies were up 6-0.
Randolph-Macon delivered a paltry 15-yard kickoff; Long, Johnson, and Harris combined for the drive's first 10 yards, followed by a 13 yard run for Frank Thompson and an 18 yard run by Harris. Starting from roughly R-MC's 30-yard line, Long ran the ball twice for 8 total yards; that down was nearly finished with a 4-yard run by Thompson, however, A&M was penalized for being offsides, costing them 5 yards from the end of the play and the resulting first down; this gave the ball back to the Methodists at about their own 25-yard line.
To start their drive, Powell made the Virginians' first first down of the game on a 10 yard run. This effort was followed up by another first down on three runs by Harris, Sessler, and Powell, who combined for 10-1/2 yards. However, the next three ties by the Ashlanders were not quite enough, and the ball went back to the Red and White around their R-MC 45-yard line. That point was described as "the only time in the game when Randolph-Macon made any decided gains."
Despite getting the stop, the Farmers continued to be stymied by the Yellow Jackets, at least for the time being. After a few "slow advances," Thompson kicked to the Old Dominion boys' 10-yard line; the Ashland boys immediately kicked the ball back to A&M, who caught the kick at midfield. Most of the subsequent drive was composed of comparatively small gains, though a "brilliant forward pass" to an unnamed player did net the Aggies 15 yards. After two runs for no gain, Frank Thompson attempted a place kick of an unspecified distance; his kick was successful, putting the Farmers up 10-0.
Randolph-Macon's second kickoff was better, going to A&M's 5 yard line, where the ball was caught by Johnson and advanced 10 yards. Johnson then kicked the ball himself. Johnson's kick set up "the most remarkable play of the whole game"; Stephens recovered Johnson's kick, which landed around A&M's own 45-yard line, and carried the ball the remaining 65 yards for a touchdown, which was allowed under the rules at the time, as any kick was a live ball. Following Stephens' spectacular touchdown, there was some confusion: Red and White wrote that the Farmers were not allowed to try the goal kick for an unspecified reason despite the fact that time remained on the clock; The News and Observer wrote that no kick was attempted "Through some misunderstanding." With the first half closing, the Farmers were up 15-0.
There was, however, some time left on the clock. Though there was "little but kicking" from both sides, when time was called the Aggies had booted the ball to R-MC's 25-yard line.
Randolph-Macon kicked off for a third time, sending the ball to A&M's 10-yard line. Thompson responded with an absolutely booming 70 yard punt to R-MC's 30 yard line. The Yellow Jackets carried the ball for several downs, but were again eventually forced to kick. After a series of undescribed plays, Randolph-Macon had the ball at their own 10-yard line, where they kicked it away. Thompson returned the kick 10 yards, and then gained another 9-1/2 on the following play. Following a 15-yard pickup by Bray and a 5 yard run by Thompson, the Red and White's offense was finally slowed, and a third down which was "nearly a touchdown" was stopped just short by Randolph-Macon, who subsequently got possession of the ball on their own goal line.
The Yellow and Black, of course, immediately punted the ball away, giving the Farmers the ball back. Despite being assessed two 15-yard penalties for holding, the Aggies moved "rapidly" down the field. Somehow, the Old Dominioners got the ball again and punted the ball to their own 40-yard line, where Thompson caught the ball and ran it across the goal line for the game's third and final touchdown. The Farmers attempted to do a "fair catch kickout," which allowed a team to get better position to attempt their goal kick, but failed, making the score 20-0 in favor of the Aggies after about 14 minutes of play in the second half.
According to Charlotte Daily Observer, both teams tried some forward passes but never had "effectual gains"; this probably explains several of A&M's stalled drives (News and Observer, October 1st, 1907, p. 6; Red and White, Vol. IX No. 2 (October 1907), pp. 82-83; Charlotte Daily Observer, October 1st, 1907, p. 12).
The Randolph-Macon team was, admittedly, much lighter than the Farmers, averaging about 150 pounds. Though The News and Observer wrote that the Ashland team deserved credit "for keeping the score as low as it did," other papers disagreed; The Wilmington Messenger chirped plainly that the "Game was dull" and that the "Visitors were completely outclassed" (The Wilmington Messenger, October 4th, 1907, p. 12). For A&M, Thompson and Stephens were understandably described as the star players, though it was noted that several of the new recruits were showing good progress.
Randolph-Macon went on to have a rather up-and-down season. While later papers noted that the team was "crude and uncoached" for their opening matchup against A&M, the team's results fluctuated throughout the season (The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, October 17th, 1907, p. 8). The following Saturday the Yellow Jackets bested Fredericksburg COllege at home 16-0, and the Saturday after that they lost 0-4 to William & Mary in Norfolk a week later. Another week later, the Ashlanders narrowly defeated Richmond 12-11 before finally returning home to beat the Virginia Medical College 20-0 on their home grounds. On October 28th, the Yellow and Black met Hampden-Sydney at Farmville and lost 6-11, but protested the game claiming the Presbyterians illegally played a professional player, breaking the rules of the Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association. After taking a week off, the R-MC team returned to action on November 16th, losing to William & Mary in Richmond 4-12 before taking down Richmond 14-10 on Thanksgiving Day for a final record of 4-4.
The Farmers had originally intended to play a second straight home game against the Orange and White of William & Mary; unfortuately for the Farmers, the game was canceled by William & Mary on October 5th. According to reports in Raleigh, the cancelation was created W&M got a new manager for their football team who "disregarded for some reason the contract made by his predecessor." The Farmers tried to arrange a replacement game against the Oak Ridge Institute, but the military boys turned down the offer, as they had existing plans to play Davidson (News and Observer, October 6th, 1906, p. 13).
Last updated: 6/4/2024