Guilford College Defense Superb as Football Stifles Methodist
Quakers pile up eight sacks, hold Monarchs under one yard per carry
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications
GREENSBORO, N.C. – For the second-consecutive week, the less glamorous side of the football, and specifically the Quakers’ front-four, stole the headlines under the Appenzeller Field lights, holding the opposition to just 3.2 yards per play to lift the Guilford College football team to a 14-12 victory over Methodist University on Saturday evening.
With the win, their second-straight against MU, Guilford improves to 2-0 on the season now in back-to-back years. The Monarchs, on the other hand, drop to 0-2.
The GC defense was simply stellar at all three levels in this one, but it all stemmed from their dominance at the line of scrimmage, piling up eight sacks, distributed across nine players with at least a share of a takedown of the QB, while also holding Methodist to just 0.6 yards per carry. Malik Hargrove (Warren County, N.C.) and Eli Davis (Pikeville, N.C.), led this group, with the former finishing with six tackles, but he made the most of them finishing off a trio of TFL’s and a sack. Davis matched the team-lead with seven tackles, among them 2.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks, stripping the ball free on one occasion.
Avery Garner (Denton, N.C.) collected a team-best seven takedowns including four solo, one for a loss, and one sack. Brandon Howell (Knightdale, N.C.) and Devin Chavis (Laurinburg, N.C.) were each in on six tackles each as well with Chavis adding a tackle for a loss. The GC secondary did not make an interception, but only permitted 14 completions on 42 pass attempts on the night, and did finish with 16 pass breakups collectively by the initial rulings, with Jalen Graves (Greensboro, N.C.) racking up seven on his own.
Jaelan Brown (Burlington, N.C.) and Caleb Robles (Wilmington, N.C.) split time under center for the Quakers. Brown was more effective in the air, connecting on 9-of-11 for 153 yards and a score while also throwing an interception. Robles was more dynamic, pairing 16 rushing yards with his 35 through the air including a touchdown.
JuJu Rice (Raleigh, N.C.) and Jay Daniels (Waycross, Ga.) led the receiving group with Rice hauling in four catches for a game-high 81 receiving yards and a long touchdown grab. Meanwhile, Daniels brought down five grabs for 64 yards. No other GC receiver had more than one catch, although Drew Winkler (North Wilkesboro, N.C.) hauled in a TD. Evan Sullivan (McBee, S.C.), was GC’s most effective option on the ground for the second-straight week, leading all rushers with 77 yards.
Airing it our early, and often, Brennan Brucato dropped back to pass on 50 occasions on the night, finishing 14-42 for 215 yards. His receiver of choice on this evening was Mikhail Baldwin who had three grabs for 56 yards. The Monarchs really struggled to find traction in the ground game with Sajari Love leading the way with 59 yards, albeit on 18 totes. He also caught three passes for 43 yards to be the only player with over 100 all-purpose yards.
Omar Goodwin made 11 total tackles to lead all players defensively while Dacarris Jacobs made an interception and was also credited with a fumble recovery.
Methodist opened with a solid drive, but it stalled just into GC territory although a great punt pinned GC inside their five, and a Malik Woodard (Wilson, N.C.) fumble put the Monarchs on the doorstep of the endzone. The Quakers held firm, however, stuffing a rush for a minimal gain before a sack by Hargrove and a strip-sack by Davis that Travis Burton (Pikeville, N.C.) pounced on to mitigate the threat. Just a handful of plays later, Guilford made it hurt, as on a second-and-19 following a holding penalty, Brown dropped one into a bucket over the defender’s outstretched right arm, and into the waiting cradle of Rice who did the rest down the right sideline for a massive, 62-yard touchdown strike.
MU went on a long drive to try to counter, but a missed field goal made it fruitless in the final significant drive in an eventful first quarter of play, a frame that ended with the hosts on the move. Chipping their way down the Armfield turf, Guilford got into the redzone, but an interception inside the five halted the march. Three drives later, MU would finally break through on the GC defense. With some nice, double-digit yard plays, they swiftly moved into the redzone with Love punching it in from two-yards away for the first points scored on Guilford this season. Although the second missed kick of the game, this one a PAT by Samuel Andrea likely would prove painful by altering decisions later in the game. A couple uneventful drives finalized the half with a 7-6 score.
The third stanza was dominated by a singular drive with the home squad taking over their second possession of the half at the 10:40 mark, and saw eight minutes of game clock tick off the timer. Starting at their own two, GC used 15 plays, with the big ones being a crucial grab by Tegan Griggs (Cheraw, S.C.) for nine yards on a third-and-eight, a roughing the passer penalty on the defense, and a 20-yard rumble by Sullivan, eventually getting to the guest’s two. With the entire stadium falling for a Robles play-action, the freshman connected with Winkler in the flat for the score to extend the lead to eight after the PAT.
Methodist made things really interesting in the fourth with Andrae connecting from 32 and 29 yards away, but the offense came up with enough plays, and the defense, enough stops, including one inside their own redzone after a strange, rolling muffed punt off the GC return’s leg, after which they limited MU to one of those field goals. Eventually they locked down the win, 14-12.
Guilford remains at Appenzeller Field to host Sewanee in their Homecoming contest next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 PM.
#GoQuakes