Washington & Lee: 0
Georgia Tech: 36

After being shut out 18-0 by Tulane’s Green Wave in New Orleans, the Jackets would return home to face the heavily overmatched Washington & Lee Generals at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

The Generals took the game’s first possession, but quickly lost a fumble to Tech at the 31 yard line. The game then saw little action until the Jackets threatened late in the first quarter, moving to the General 21 yard line before Bobby North lost a fumble to Dave Hedge at the 17. The first quarter passed without any scoring and the game moved into the second period of play with the squads tied at 0-0.

With three minutes gone in the second stanza, Washington & Lee was forced to punt from its own 38 yard line. Jimmy Jordan fielded the punt at the Tech 25 and raced 75 yards down for the game’s first score.

The Yellow Jacket defense held strong on the ensuing General possession and forced another punt. This time, Jordan fielded at his own 45 and took the ball 55 yards for his second touchdown in as many punt returns.

Holding a two score lead, Tech took over at its own 46 later in the period. Jim Southard hit Jack Griffin with a 17 yard strike to the General 37 before Jordan busted off a 22 yard carry to the 5 yard line. Morris Harrison gained the remaining yards in two tries for the third Ramblin’ Wreck score. Bobby North had connected on two of his three extra point attempts and the Jackets now held a 20-0 lead.

Washington & Lee nearly scored before halftime when Skippy Sideris took a lateral from Vic Marler and raced 40 yards into the Tech end zone. But the play was called back for offisdes on the Generals and Tech would maintain its twenty point lead at intermission.

After a scoreless third quarter, the fourth looked like it may follow suit until midway through the period. Tech advanced to the General 2 yard line before eventually losing possession on downs at the 9. But Clay Matthews came up big for Tech shortly thereafter when he blocked a General punt into the visitors’ end zone. Charles Holt recovered for Washington & Lee, but the result was a safety that gave the Jackets a 22-0 lead.

Later in the period, the Wreck took over at its own 28 after intercepting a General pass. Southard quickly hit Sid Williams for a strike to the Washington & Lee 49. The young quarterback then ran for 5 yards to the 44 before connecting with Pete Ferris on a touchdown strike to extend Tech’s advantage to 29-0

With little time remaining, Gene Bennett lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to Tech’s Lamar Wheat at the 28 yard line. A five yard delay of game penalty on the Generals pushed the ball up to the 23 and William Scharfschwerdt connected on two of three passes for one last touchdown as time ran down. Scharfschwerdt hit Colin Anderson from 4 yards out to reach the final tally of 36-0.

Statistics:

First Downs:
W&L – 8
GT – 20

Rushing Yards:
W&L – 135
GT – 238

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
W&L – 1-6-22
GT – 13-20-222

Fumbles lost:
W&L – 2
GT – 3

Interceptions thrown:
W&L – 1
GT – 1

Penalty yards:
W&L – 40
GT – 60

References:
Williams, F.M. “Tech Wrecks W&L, 36 to 0.” The Atlanta Constitution. 9 Oct. 1949