Guilford falls in final game of football season

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Caleb Jennings (Cedar Bluff, Va./Richlands) rushed for 239 yards and a touchdown in visiting Emory & Henry College’s 17-3 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football win at Guilford College Saturday. Jennings added 64 punt return yards and finished with 297 all-purpose yards in both teams’ season finale.

The Wasps closed the campaign with three straight wins to finish with a 7-3 overall record (3-3 ODAC). The Quakers end the year with a 3-7 mark (2-4 ODAC).

Guilford’s Chris Jessup (Eastover, N.C./Cape Fear) forced and recovered a fumble by Wasps’ quarterback Drew Piscopo on the game’s opening possession, which led to a 32-yard Brad Scott (Rocky Mount, N.C./Nash Central) field goal and an early 3-0 Guilford lead.

The scoring drive proved costly as Guilford starting quarterback Billy Watkins (Mebane, N.C./Eastern Alamance) was injured in the series and did not return. Without a game-tested backup, junior receiver Justin Parker (Greensboro, N.C./Southern Guilford), a high school option quarterback, took over under center. He ran for a team-high 98 yards, but completed just one of eight pass attempts. Teammate Earl Womble (Siler City, N.C./Jordan-Matthews (Mars Hill)) added 90 rushing yards for the Quakers.

The Wasps tied the score on Matt Turchin’s (Salisbury, N.C./West Rowan) 39-yard field goal late in the first quarter and took the lead with two second-quarter scores. Jennings had 133 rushing yards and a touchdown in the second quarter alone and 195 rushing yards by halftime. His 59-yard scoring run early in the second quarter gave Emory & Henry a 10-3 lead. Piscopo’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Hawkins (Crockett, Va./Rural Retreat) 11 seconds before halftime provided the game’s final margin. Jennings ran for 46 yards on the seven-play, 65-yard drive, which was aided by two personal-foul penalties against the Quakers.

Both teams kept the ball on the ground in the second half, Emory & Henry by choice, Guilford by necessity. The Wasps converted just one of six third-downs in the final two quarters, but did not turn the ball over and kept the Quakers pinned deep in their own territory. Punter T.J. Frazier (Roanoke, Va./William Byrd) averaged 40 yards on four kicks, three of which fell inside the Quakers’ 20-yard line.

Guilford’s average second-half starting position was its own 24-yard line. The Quakers’ best drive ended on downs at the Emory & Henry 23 with 2:17 left in the game.

Shane Wicks (Pounding Mill, Va./Richlands) paced the Wasps’ tacklers with 11 stops and one forced fumble. C.J. Hodges (Boone, N.C./Watauga) made two of his five tackles behind the line of scrimmage and broke up two passes.

Guilford senior linebacker Richie Paul (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot (Quincy)), who entered the contest ranked third among NCAA Division III tackles leaders, made a game-high 13 stops in his final Quakers’ contest. Jessup added 10 stops.

Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics