HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Evan King scored a career-high four touchdowns, all in
the first half, in Hampden-Sydney College’s 49-20 Old Dominion Athletic
Conference (ODAC) football win over visiting Guilford College Saturday.
Teammate Travis Lane passed for a career-high 397 yards and four scores as
the Tigers (8-0, 4-0 ODAC) won their 18th straight regular-season game.
Ranked 18th in this week’s American Football Coaches’ Association Division
III Poll and 21st in the D3football.com Poll, Hampden-Sydney defeated
Guilford (0-8, 0-4 ODAC) for the 11th straight year. The victory sets up a
meeting of ODAC unbeatens next Saturday when the Tigers visit Washington and
Lee University (6-2, 5-0 ODAC) at 1:00 p.m.
Hampden-Sydney, ranked first in the current NCAA Division III South Region
Poll, scored touchdowns on all five first-half possessions. King had two
one-yard scoring runs in the first quarter and took a shovel pass from Lane
74 yards for a touchdown midway through the second stanza. The sophomore
capped a 12-play, 84-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run that staked
the hosts to a 35-7 halftime lead.
King finished with a game-high 59 rushing yards on 14 carries. His four
touchdowns mark the most by an ODAC student this season and are the most by
a Tiger since Josh Simpson scored four times against North Carolina Wesleyan
College in 2008.
Thanks to Lane’s fifth 300-yard passing game of the season, Hampden-Sydney
rolled up 535 total offensive yards. The junior completed passes to seven
different receivers, including Sean Cavanagh, who made seven catches for 90
yards and a touchdown. Kyle Vance had five grabs for 118 yards. Andrew
Buckner and Chapin George also caught touchdowns for the Tigers.
Guilford managed 270 total offensive yards, but struggled to run the ball
against the speedy Tigers’ defense. Senior receiver Justin Parker
(Greensboro, N.C./Southern Guilford) caught a game-high nine passes for 109
yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Classmate Billy Watkins (Mebane,
N.C./Eastern Alamance) threw two of the scoring strikes among his 23
completions for 189 yards. Rookie Zac Halbert found Parker in the end zone
from nine yards out on the game’s final play for his first college touchdown
pass. He also led Guilford’s rushers with 42 yards on four carries.
Guilford’s Ben King (Archdale, N.C./Trinity (Appalachian State)) had a
game-high 10 receptions for 51 yards.
Hampden-Sydney’s All-ODAC linebacker Trevor Ikwild made a game-high nine
tackles and had a sack among his 1.5 tackles for loss. The Tigers recorded
five sacks in the game and twice intercepted Watkins. Shane Clarke’s
third-quarter pick at the Quakers’ 44-yard line set up Lane’s 16-yard
touchdown pass to Cavanagh that gave the Tigers a 42-14 lead.
Guilford’s Chris Jessup made eight stops, three for loss, and a sack.
Kenneth Hyman III had two tackles and broke up a season-high three passes.
Brandon Thompson’s second interception in as many weeks came in the Quakers’
end zone and thwarted a Hampden-Sydney scoring opportunity.
The Quakers close out their home schedule next Saturday against league-rival
Catholic University of America at 1:00 p.m. in the Armfield Athletic Center.
The contest is part of the college’s Homecoming Weekend celebration.
Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics