FERRUM, Va. – Quarterback Zack Clifford passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns in Ferrum College’s 45-23 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football win over visiting Guilford College Saturday afternoon.
Frank Ross carried 15 times for 115 yards and a score as the Panthers (2-3, 1-2 ODAC) earned their first league win of the season. Guilford falls to 1-5 (0-4 ODAC).
Clifford threw all three of his touchdowns in the opening half, which staked the hosts to a 35-3 lead. His 68-yard pass to Rah’Quan Payne opened the scoring late in the first half. He capped a nine-play, 81-yard scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown toss to Quentin Wallace and capped the period with a four-yard scoring pass to Austin Pennington 25 seconds before halftime. Joe Burris scored on a 22-yard touchdown run and Tyler English threw a 71-yard touchdown to Ryan Beidleman in Ferrum’s 28-point second quarter.
The Quakers moved 72 yards in 79 seconds and scored on the first of two Derrien Phillips touchdown passes to Jermaine Russell. The Panthers answered however, with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown run by Frank Ross. Brad Green’s point-after kick opened a 42-16 Ferrum lead.
Ferrum enjoyed a nearly 11-minute edge in time of possession and rolled up 558 total offensive yards, compared to Guilford’s 369 yards. Clifford completed 16-of-25 passes and added 68 rushing yards. Burris carried nine times for 73 yards and a score. Beidleman made three grabs for 136 yards. Ferrum’s Christian Johnson made a game-high nine tackles.
Guilford’s Phillips completed 17-of-38 passes for 230 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Jermaine Russell was his favorite target as the junior made seven grabs for 117 yards. He moved into fourth place in school history with 12 games of 100 or more receiving yards. Russell also passed Henry McKay ’68 for seventh place in school history with 181 career receptions. Guilford’s Desmond McDowell carried 13 times for 92 yards. The Quakers’ Khayree Lundy and Ty Walker both made eight tackles.
Coach Chris Rusiewicz’s Quakers host Hampden-Sydney October 26 in an ODAC game at 1:00 p.m.