WASHINGTON, D.C. – Emory & Henry committed a season-high eight turnovers and lost its third straight game as the Wasps fell to Catholic 31-21 in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup Saturday.
Catholic quarterbacks Keith Ricca and John Jacobs combined for 269 passing yards and three touchdowns, while the Cardinals outgained E&H 340-248 and controlled the game clock for 35 minutes, 38 seconds.
The Wasps held a 21-17 halftime edge but committed six second-half miscues and were outscored 14-0 in a decisive third quarter.
E&H quarterback Daniel Booher led the Wasps (4-4, 1-3) to an early 7-0 lead after finding Jonathan Hawkins on a 48-yard TD strike midway through the opening quarter. But Booher missed the entire second half due to a right shoulder injury and was replaced by Gavin Haynes, who proceeded to throw four interceptions.
“It’s going to sound like I’m making excuses, but it’s tough to win when you have to replace your starting quarterback all of a sudden,” said Wasps coach Don Montgomery. “Gavin really hasn’t gotten enough snaps in practice, so that definitely hurt our chances.”
Booher is listed as day-to-day.
The Cards (5-3, 1-3) took control early in the third quarter on Ricca’s 14-yard TD pass to Noah Rogers. Greg Brown added a 3-yard scoring jaunt for Catholic, which defeated the Wasps for the first time since 2001.
“We came out a little flat again,” Montgomery said. “And that’s the third straight week we’ve done that.
“I’ll be honest: I feel horrible about the situation. I look at myself first. This is like death. You try and learn from it and move forward.”
Evin O’Sullivan recorded a game-high 15 tackles for Emory & Henry, while Kevin Worley added 13 tackles and a 9-yard sack.
“Our defense played strong at times, but they also had some rough points,” Montgomery said. “I think teams have figured out some of our weaknesses, so we need to regroup and come up with something. This is a strong league with a lot of parity, and we need to end our season on a positive note.”
E&H plays its final home game of the season at 1 p.m. next Saturday when they host Washington & Lee.
“Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you,” Montgomery said. “Lately, we’ve been getting eaten by the bear.”

Brian T. Smith contributed to this report.

Emory & Henry 14 7 0 0—21
Catholic 7 10 14 0—31
Scoring Summary
E&H - Hawkins 48 pass from Booher (Hawk kick) CUA - Buis 34 pass from Ricca (Deluca kick) E&H - Friend 30 blocked punt return (Hawk kick) CUA - Saunders 5 pass from Ricca (Deluca kick) E&H - Assenat 1 run (Hawk kick) CUA - Deluca 28 FG CUA - Rogers 14 pass from Ricca (Deluca kick) CUA - Brown 3 run (Deluca kick)

Team Stats
First Downs: E&H 15, CUA 19; Rushing-Yards: E&H 37-124, CUA 39-71; Passing Yards: E&H 160, CUA 269; Comp-Att-Int: E&H 10-22-5, CUA 31-49-1; Fumbles-Lost: E&H 3-3, CUA 2-2; Penalties-Yards: E&H 7-47, CUA 4-40; Punts-Average: E&H 5-38.6, CUA 9-28.8.