College Football Final – Averett 35, Guilford 21

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Averett University’s defense forced four second-half turnovers and hung on for a 35-21 road football win at Guilford College Saturday night.

The Cougars (1-2) raced to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and the hung on as Guilford (1-2) rallied to within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Quakers made three trips deep into Averett territory on their final three possessions, but the Cougars’ defense stood tall and made three fourth-quarter interceptions.

Averett’s defense forced five Guilford turnovers but converted them into only one touchdown. That score, a 24-yard scoring run by Ke’Von White, came with 9:41 left in the game and restored Averett’s lead to two touchdowns. Guilford had pulled to within 28-21 on a Josh Williams one-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

White finished with a team-high 83 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Averett. Jeff Redd carried 13 times for 57 yards. Philip Kwiatkowski completed eight-of-14 passes for 149 yards and two scores, including a nifty 45-yard strike to Tim Lovick on a double reverse that opened a 21-0 Averett lead late in the first quarter. Roderick Doggett and Robslin Emmanuel both thwarted Quakers’ drives with interceptions in the Cougars’ end zone. Teammate Isaac Green sealed the win with a theft on the Averett five-yard line with 64 seconds remaining.

The Quakers played minus 11 regular starters due to injury, including sophomore quarterback Zac Halbert, who has an injured foot. Sophomore Sam Griffin made his college debut as the starter, but gave way in the first quarter to Grady Gamble, a senior who saw very limited time under center in Guilford’s first two games. Gamble, who did not play for the past two seasons, completed 17 of 48 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown, with four interceptions. Williams rushed for a game-high 85 yards on 23 carries and Mike Williams added 63 rushing yards and a score. Sophomore Lawrence Blake enjoyed a career night with nine catches for 136 yards. Teammate Ben King added seven grabs for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Following a bye week, Guilford opens Old Dominion Athletic Conference play at Washington and Lee University Oct. 1 at 1:30 p.m.

Box Score (Final)
Averett vs Guilford (Sep 17, 2011 at Greensboro, NC)

  Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score
  -----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
  Averett............. 21  7  0  7  - 35       Record: (1-2)
  Guilford............  0  7  7  7  - 21       Record: (1-2)

Scoring Summary:
1st 09:25 AU – Anthony Bowles 35 yd pass from Kirkland Brown (Brad Scott kick), 6-59 2:36, AU 7 – GC 0
04:34 AU – Ke’Von White 2 yd run (Brad Scott kick), 8-59 2:22, AU 14 – GC 0
01:58 AU – Tim Lovick 45 yd pass from Philip Kwiatkowski (Brad Scott kick), 1-45 0:11, AU 21 – GC 0
2nd 08:31 GC – Ben King 6 yd pass from Grady Gamble (Owen Bridges kick), 9-38 3:55, AU 21 – GC 7
02:33 AU – Wynton Stephens 4 yd pass from Philip Kwiatkowski (Brad Scott kick), 6-72 1:31, AU 28 – GC 7
3rd 03:32 GC – Mike Williams 24 yd run (Owen Bridges kick), 2-29 0:31, AU 28 – GC 14
4th 14:27 GC – Josh Williams 1 yd run (Owen Bridges kick), 4-47 0:58, AU 28 – GC 21
09:41 AU – Ke’Von White 24 yd run (Brad Scott kick), 2-32 0:37, AU 35 – GC 21

                                       AU       GC
  FIRST DOWNS...................       16       29
  RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   43-112   41-139
  PASSING YDS (NET).............      211      288
  Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  23-12-2  51-19-4
  TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   66-323   92-427
  Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
  Punt Returns-Yards............      0-0     3-32
  Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     4-75     4-80
  Interception Returns-Yards....     4-15     2-43
  Punts (Number-Avg)............   9-34.0   7-36.3
  Fumbles-Lost..................      2-0      4-1
  Penalties-Yards...............    11-77    11-93
  Possession Time...............    26:52    33:08
  Third-Down Conversions........  4 of 13  6 of 15
  Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 0   0 of 3
  Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      2-2      2-7
  Sacks By: Number-Yards........     2-17     3-16

RUSHING: Averett-Ke’Von White 19-83; Jeff Redd 13-57; Team 3-minus 5; Kirkland Brown 5-minus 7; Philip Kwiatkowski 2-minus 7; Malcolm Johnson 1-minus 9. Guilford-Josh Williams 23-85; Mike Williams 10-63; Team 1-minus 1; Grady Gamble 6-minus 3; Sam Griffin 1-minus 5.
PASSING: Averett-Philip Kwiatkowski 8-14-2-149; Kirkland Brown 4-9-0-62. Guilford-Grady Gamble 17-48-4-280; Sam Griffin 2-2-0-8; Team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Averett-Wynton Stephens 3-62; Tim Lovick 2-60; Anthony Bowles 2-47; Owen Hayden 2-30; Justin Gillespie 1-8; Anthony Terry 1-7; Ke’Von White 1-minus 3. Guilford-Lawrence Blake 9-136; Ben King 7-126; Rod Walker 2-5; Kevin Tiller II 1-21.
INTERCEPTIONS: Averett-Isaac Green 1-15; Robslin Emmanuel 1-0; Roderick Doggett 1-0; Calvin Williams 1-0. Guilford-Tony Marsh 1-43; Alex Smith 1-0.
FUMBLES: Averett-Jeff Redd 1-0; Kirkland Brown 1-0. Guilford-Team 1-0; Mike Williams 1-0; Grady Gamble 1-1; Lawrence Blake 1-0.