LEXINGTON, Va. – Josh Schow rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown in Guilford College’s 16-7 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football win at Washington and Lee University Saturday night. The victory over the two-time defending league champs snapped Guilford’s four-game losing streak to the Generals (2-2, 0-1 ODAC) and gives the Quakers (2-2, 1-0 ODAC) their first 1-0 start in league play since 1999.
Schow entered the game as the fourth-leading rusher in NCAA Division III and cleared the 100-yard plateau for the fourth straight week. His one-yard scoring run on fourth-and-goal midway through the second quarter opened the game’s scoring. The run capped a 13-play, 45-yard scoring drive that consumed over six minutes and featured a successful conversion on fourth-and-nine from the Generals’ 30-yard line.
Sophomore kicker Tyler Hunt (Gibsonville, N.C./Eastern Guilford) contributed three field goals and narrowly missed a fourth. He connected on a 39-yard kick with 1:37 left in the opening half and a 41-yarder to start the second half. A 43-yard kickoff return by JerMario Gooch and a 23-yard Schow run set up the second field goal, which opened a 13-0 Quakers’ lead.
Washington and Lee answered on the ensuing possession with a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped by quarterback Nick Lombardo’s seven-yard run. Guilford responded with a 15-play, 59-yard drive that used another 6:10 and ended with Hunt’s third field goal, a 31-yarder.
Hunt nearly connected on a 46-yard attempt early in the fourth quarter, but the ball hit the crossbar and Washington and Lee took over.
Aided by a pair of fourth-down conversions and a pass interference penalty on Guilford, Washington and Lee moved to the Quakers’ 14-yard line before stalling. A 31-yard field goal attempt fell short and returned the ball to Guilford. The Quakers were able to run the clock out as Washington and Lee twice roughed Hunt in punt formation, extending Guilford’s possession.
“If someone told me we would hold them to seven points, I would’ve said they were crazy,” said Guilford head coach Chris Rusiewicz. “We had a bye week, so we had some extra preparation. The kids played disciplined, which we preached all week. I’m proud of them.”
The Quakers held the Generals to 247 rushing yards, well shy of their league-leading average of 387 yards that ranks near the national leaders. Guilford enjoyed over a four-minute advantage in time of possession and had four drives of at least five minutes. The Quakers’ Robert Smith (Winston-Salem, N.C./Reynolds) led all tacklers with 12 stops and Satiir Stevenson added nine. Gooch’s interception just before halftime marked the game’s lone turnover.
Guilford quarterback Matt Pawlowski (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) completed 15-of-29 passes for 146 yards, including six to senior Nick Mearite (High Point, N.C./Ragsdale (UNC Pembroke)). He also ran four times for 19 yards.
Matt Hollerith’s gained a game-high 133 rushing yards on 24 carries. Lombardo finished with 38 rushing yards on 14 totes, but completed just three of seven passes for 16 yards. Brandon Taylor paced Washington and Lee’s defense with nine tackles (6 solo), one for loss.
Guilford hosts Shenandoah University Saturday (10/12) at 1:00 p.m. in an ODAC game.