Offense Comes Alive, Football Rumbles Past Sewanee
Woodard, Sullivan, each eclipse century-mark on the ground
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Eradicating an early 14-point deficit, the Guilford College football team used an utterly dominant ground attack that saw both Malik Woodard (Wilson, N.C.) and Evan Sullivan (McBee, S.C.) eclipse 100 yards rushing en route to 397 as a team to defeat Sewanee, 44-35 in a Homecoming Weekend clash at Appenzeller Field on Saturday afternoon.
Coming away victorious in the first Southern Athletic Association (SAA)-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) crossover, the Quakers improve to 3-0 on the season, already good for their most single-season wins since 2018 and their first 3-0 start since 2016. Their crossover foes, the Tigers, meanwhile, drop to 1-2.
Guilford’s defense was not as dominant as weeks past, but they stiffened following a quick start by the opposing offense, and really shut it down when it mattered, halting the guests on six of their final eight possessions. However, the offense more than picked up the slack, scoring on seven of their 11 meaningful drives on the day,
The offense ran wild against a Tigers defense that allowed just 42.0 rushing yards per game coming in, with Woodard and Sullivan rumbling for 167 and 118 yards respectively, both setting career-highs in the process and the former leading all players in all-purpose yards, and finding the endzone twice. Josh Campbell (Reidsville, N.C.) pitched in 74 yards and a score in the ground game as well.
Caleb Robles (Wilmington, N.C.) got his first collegiate start under-center and played disciplined football, he only dropped back to pass 12 times and took three sacks, but he went 6-of-9 passing for 130 yards and two scores in addition to 41 yards on nine totes, scoring once on the ground.
Jay Daniels (Waycross, Ga.) and Tegan Griggs (Cheraw, S.C.) each had two catches to lead GC, with the later leading the squad in yardage with 75, scoring once.
Defensively, Jaylan Richardson (Summerville, S.C.) led Guilford with six total tackles. Devin Chavis (Laurinburg, N.C.), Malik Hargrove (Warren County, N.C.), Connor Lowe (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), and Jaylen Moore (Durham, N.C.) followed with four takedowns apiece. Eli Davis (Pikeville, N.C.) had the games lone defensive takeaway with an interception.
The Tigers threw for five touchdowns on the day. Three by Jayden Bragg who went 8-for-19 through the air for 146 yards, and another two by Jacorin Thomas who went 8-of-17 with an interception and two TDs on 100 yards passing. Thomas was also their leading rusher with 157 yards. AJ McLemore had a game-high six receptions for 34 yards and a score with Dyer Barnes hauling in five for 64 and two TDs.
Keegan Glaze led all players with 13 total tackles. Harris Cravens and Balint Rendessy followed with nine tackles and a sack each.
The Quakers appeared to be in danger early in this one as Sewanee received the opening kickoff, drove straight down the field finishing with Thomas connecting with Barnes from 25-yards out. A Quaker three-and-out preceded another Tiger drive with a big-strike score, this one to McLemore from 30 yards away.
It took two plays for Guilford to shift the tide on their following drive. After a run stuff, Robles linked with Griggs for a monstrous strike, going 70 yards on the catch-and-run, immediately shifting the tone of the game in a single play. With the visitors on the move again into Quakers territory, GC got another huge play, with Davis disengaging from his block and leaping out of his pass rush to bring in a huge interception and return, setting the offense up deep in Tiger territory.
The hosts took advantage of the takeaway and evened the score on the opening play of the second stanza with Woodard punching it home from two yards out. After Guilford seized their first lead on an Adriano De Castro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 23-yard kick, the Tigers took it right back, needing just two plays, a 20-yard rush by Thomas, and a 50-yard pass from Bragg to Jalen Hill. Guilford reclaimed the advantage again, as they marched down the field on just seven plays with Shane Shapiro (Jacksonville, N.C.) finishing it off on a 29-yard catch-and-run before forcing a three-and-out as the Quakers secured a 24-21 edge entering the locker room.
Receiving the second-half kickoff and receiving a 35-yard return from Daniels to set them up at their own 45, Guilford took full advantage of the two-for-one opportunity straddling the half, and the great field position. Woodard busted loose for 20 yards before breaking free to find paydirt for the second time on the afternoon, this time from 35 away and despite the missed PAT, it was now a two-possession game.
The visitors pieced together a six-play touchdown drive about midway through the third, but the Quakers countered two possessions later. Split by the quarter change, the hosts had a seven-play drive to score that was highlighted by a 23-yard Sullivan scamper, and polished by Robles tucking it and scrambling in from 16-yards away.
The Tigers would go three-and-out on their next drive, but so would Guilford before Dawson White caught a pass out of the backfield and navigated down his team’s sideline, making a nice move to avoid a tackle about halfway through a 54-yard touchdown romp, although an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty set the kickoff back and gave GC great field position again. Campbell took all five totes on the next possession, going all 41 yards to extend the lead to a couple of scores again, and what would end up being the games final scoring totals, although there would be some tense moments.
The Quaker defense forced a three-and-out, but a muffed punt in a crucial juncture for the second-straight week kept the door open for the Tigers. But Guilford’s secondary held firm forcing three incompletions and dropping a screen for a loss for a turnover on downs and giving the offense the chance to run out the clock, which they did, to seal the 44-35 victory.
The Quakers enter their bye week next before shipping up to Hampden-Sydney College on Saturday, October 5 at 1 PM.
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