Guilford College Football Falters in Tight Conference Clash With Ferrum
Quakers cannot take advantage of Panther miscues in defeat
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications
GREENSBORO, N.C. – In a closely contested Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) matchup at Appenzeller Field, the Guilford College football team was plagued by penalties and could not capitalize on the mistakes by the opposition, dropping a tight one to Ferrum College, 20-7 on Saturday afternoon.
GC had their chances to snap their skid in conference action, but instead dropped to 3-5 and remain winless in league play at 0-5. The Panthers, in their final matchup with the Quakers as Division-III foes for the foreseeable future, get back to .500 at 4-4, 2-3 against ODAC opponents.
Caleb Robles (Wilmington, N.C.) did not throw any interceptions, but did lose a fumble on the day and he was inefficient in general, completing just 9-of-21 for 81 yards, adding 51 yards on 12 totes, scoring GC’s lone touchdown on the ground. Jay Fletcher (Shallotte, N.C.) entered in relief, going 3-for-4 with 30 yards and an interception.
JuJu Rice (Raleigh, N.C.) led all players with five catches on the day, although he only turned them into 27 yards. Jay Daniels (Waycross, Ga.) paced all players with 56 receiving yards across a quartet of grabs. Malik Woodard (Wilson, N.C.) had the most carries of any Guilford running back, finishing with 11 for 28 yards although Evan Sullivan (McBee, S.C.) was more effective turning seven carries into 45 yards.
Malik Hargrove (Warren County, N.C.) accumulated a game and career-high 13 tackles on the day, with seven solo takedowns and 3.5 going for a loss. Jaylan Richardson (Summerville, S.C.) and Ben Finkelstein (Southern Pines, N.C.) were active finishing off plays on the backend finishing with eight tackles each. Eli Davis (Pikeville, N.C.) had a resurgent game with seven tackles, forcing a fumble along the way.
Zach Wyatt was FC’s primary signal-caller, although Kamajay Brackett-Brannon rotated in on some packages. Wyatt only attempted ten passes, completing four of them for 42 yards without a touchdown or an interception. As a result, the only Panther with multiple catches was Marquise Woodruff who had two for 18 yards.
Jahylen Lee accumulated 30 carries for the guests for 211 yards although most came on a single, 59-yard breakaway. He also punched in one score and hauled in one catch for 14 yards. Aiden Vaught added a score on the ground as well.
Fuller Howard and Marquan Martin led Ferrum with nine tackles apiece while Jameson Hackett had 2.0 sacks and a fumble recovery. Ian Ashworth generated a takeaway via an interception to go with five tackles.
Receiving the opening kickoff, the Panthers got a strong return that was buoyed by a penalty granting them great field position and they made swift work of it. In seven plays, they navigated into field goal range, but a couple of incomplete passes on either side of a short rush forced them into a field goal that Seth Deaton cashed in on from 48 yards.
On the ensuing drive, Guilford picked up a single first down before a punt and Ferrum once again got on the move, using a dozen plays, 11 of them on the ground, to traverse 78 yards with Lee ramming it home from five yards away to give them a ten-point lead just over ten minutes in.
A Quaker three-and-out led to a punt and the second of several instances in which the visitors put the ball on the ground this one on a fumble popped free by Jaden Shively (Denton, N.C.). Although Ferrum recovered it, they could not do anything with the new life. Guilford’s drive stalled again but another fumble on the punt, this one a straight muff, gave the Quakers a jolt until it was wiped off the board by an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty for playing after their helmet had come off mid-play. This retracted takeaway and neither offense got traction for a while.
The jolt GC was seeking after the muffed punt instead came a couple of drives later when Wyatt got caught in between on an option play, and put the ball on the turf. Zy’Quan Williams (Stantonsburg, N.C.) scooped the loose ball and rumbled for an 18-yard return, putting the Quakers deep in FC territory. Three plays later, with the big one being a 22-yard scramble by Robles, GC would get on the board with Robles fooling everyone on an option play, scoring from two yards out to cut into the deficit.
Each team moved the ball on their final drive of the half, but neither put points on the board, as unforced errors, a bad snap by FC and penalties by GC, kept the score at 10-7 at the break.
A three-and-out by the home squad preceded a lengthy Ferrum drive out of the locker room. Over 11 plays they went 60 yards, but had to settle for a field goal attempt after being halted in the redzone. Deaton shanked his first attempt, but GC was called offsides and the kicker connected on his second chance from 36 yards out. The visitors got in field goal range again the following drive, but this time the Quakers had an answer with Bo Thompson (Fairview, N.C.) breaking through to get a piece of the kick. Guilford built on this momentum, driving down field and getting to the edge of the redzone but ultimately turned it over on downs.
The Panthers iced it a couple of drives later when Lee broke free for a 59-yard scamper as the big chunk of their four-play, 67-yard march capped off by a Vaught run up the gut, extending their lead to two possessions. The Quakers committed turnovers on their final two drives and the contest finished in a 20-7 score.
Guilford makes the short trek up to Averett University next for their road finale against the Cougars on November 9th starting at 1 PM.
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