The first game in the 125th year of Sewanee football kicks off Saturday at 2 p.m. EDT at the Tigers’ Harris Stadium, which surrounds the fourth-oldest NCAA field in the United States, and the Tigers will be hosting a first-time opponent.
The visitor is Southwestern University from Georgetown, Texas, which used to be in Sewanee’s league but did not have football then. The Pirates program was reinstated in 2013 after a 63-year absence and is 22-37 under coach Joe Austin but with winning records the last three seasons.
Southwestern was 6-4 in 2017 and last year but lost its all-conference quarterback and tight end and its top running back.
Sewanee has been undergoing a steady rebuild of its own under third-year coach Travis Rundle. After winning just three games combined the three years before he took over, the Tigers went 3-7 in 2017 and 4-6 with a 3-5 league record last season, and that was with quarterback Alex Darras from Notre Dame High School ending both seasons early with injuries.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior has completed 227 of 383 passes for 2,805 yards and 20 touchdowns in his two partial seasons and been effective running the ball as well. His backup is 6-foot freshman Cooper Hancock from Connecticut.