Football Comeback Comes Up Five Yards Short, Fall to Averett
Quakers force four turnovers but first ODAC win remains elusive
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications
DANVILLE, Va. – Flushed out of the pocket and throwing off his back foot, Caleb Robles (Wilmington, N.C.) looped a great pass and connected with Tegan Griggs (Cheraw, S.C.) in the back of blue endzone at Daly Field, but the official ruled that there was a bit of white under the graduate student’s right cleat as the Guilford College football team came inches away from their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory, but ultimately fell to Averett University, 28-21, on Saturday afternoon.
The Quakers fall to 3-6 on the season, and see their ODAC skid advance to 6-0 on the season. The Cougars, meanwhile, nab their first conference victory, to match GC at 3-6 overall and surpass them in league play at 1-5.
Robles experienced some ups-and-downs on this day, completing two touchdown tosses but also throwing a pair of interceptions. Tasked with a career-high 38 pass attempts, he completed 22 of them for 235 yards although he was constantly under duress getting sacked seven times.
JuJu Rice (Raleigh, N.C.) and Jay Daniels (Waycross, Ga.) each had huge days in the receiving game. Rice hauled in more passes than AU had as a collective with a career-high nine for 85 yards and a score. Daniels had seven grabs of his own, matching Averett’s team receiving yards total with 94 by himself. Griggs’ lone catch in the field of play went for a touchdown. Malik Woodard (Wilson, N.C.) enjoyed an effective afternoon, turning one catch into five yards through the air to go with 50 yards and a score on the ground.
Malik Hargrove (Warren County, N.C.) was in the thick of things all game with a team-high nine total tackles and 1.5 for a loss. Eli Davis (Pikeville, N.C.) added eight tackles and 1.0 for a loss as well. Brandon Howell (Knightdale, N.C.) led GC with six solo takedowns to go with an interception with Jaylen Moore (Durham, N.C.) and Jalen Graves (Greensboro, N.C.) also coming away with picks. Devin Chavis (Laurinburg, N.C.) forced and recovered separate fumbles to go with his five tackles and 0.5 sacks.
Trevor Testerman was not asked to do much for the Cougars in this one, finishing 7-of-18 albeit with three interceptions against one touchdown. He finished with 94 yards through the air while adding 61 yards and a score on the ground.
Gaby Soto finished as the game’s leading rusher with 86 yards and a score on ten carries while Jayden Williams contributed 68 yards on 13 totes, also notching a rushing TD. Tavien Goffigan had a team-high three catches while Shawn Watlington paced the Cougars with 38 yards in the receiving game. Jamahrie Owens hauled in their single receiving score.
Tre’ Maxwell and Anthony Brunelli had a dozen total tackles each to lead all players with Brunelli leading Averett with six solo efforts. Jarrell Williams and Rocco Fazzolari pitched in eight tackles apiece to go with 2.0 and 2.5 sacks respectively. Joziah Campbell picked off his ODAC-leading fifth pass and Ben Mast had an INT of his own.
Receiving the football first, Guilford picked up a first down but advanced no further on their opening drive and Averett set up with decent field position following the punt although they would not be able to take advantage. A drop on a third-down option run resulted in a loose ball with Chavis pouncing on it to grant the Quakers excellent field position. A few run plays with a face mask on AU mixed in preceded a ten-yard pass from Robles to Griggs, capping a five-play, 32-yard drive with a touchdown by the Quakers who scored the games’ initial points for the first time since week two.
The Cougars got a good return on the ensuing kick and it got even better when Adriano de Castro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) chipped the returner late while out of bounds, setting them up in Quaker territory. They would waste little time making it hurt requiring just four plays to traverse 43 yards with the big strike being a throw to Watlington for 20 yards and the score coming on a Testerman keeper from nine yards out.
Six consecutive abbreviated drives ensued across the rest of the first and the start of the second stanzas, with all-but-one of them being five plays or fewer. AU got a pick in GC territory and could not take advantage but in a roundabout way ended up sparking a chain of events ahead of the Quakers next score. The Averett punt pinned Guilford deep, they could not get out of their own endzone and punted, but the Cougars gave it back on downs putting GC at their own 37. A nice pass, a nice rush, a sack, but then a big strike with Robles hitting Daniels for the game’s longest pass play moved the visitors down the field quickly. Ultimately, Woodard took care of the rest, running it in from 11 yards away to put the guests in front again at the end of a five-play, 63-yard march.
Like the first quarter, Averett immediately countered. Pinned deep after a hold on the return, Testerman scurried for 25 on the first play of the drive. A few more successful runs with a big face mask penalty, got them in GC territory before Testerman hit Owens for 32 yards to conclude a five-play, 82-yard drive to even the score at 14-all, which is where it would stand into the locker room.
The Cougars made some good adjustments at the break, as after Chavis forced a fumble on the first play from scrimmage of the half, they retained possession and took advantage of the second life. A bunch of run plays methodically moved them down the field across eight plays before Soto broke free from 17 yards away to cap off the 61-yard drive to grant them their first advantage of the game at 21-14 where it would remain until the fourth.
After 50 minutes of a defensive struggle, the final ten minutes belonged to the offenses. Pinned at their own five after a good punt, the Quakers asserted their will, going to the ground game consistently early in the drive, before switching to an arial attack after crossing midfield. In the end, Rice took a Robles pass and crossed the goal line from 13 yards away on the 16th play of a 95-yard sequence, converting on five third downs in the process to complete their longest drive in terms of plays run all season, and in yardage since the start of league action, evening the score at 21. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct set them back for the kickoff.
Starting near midfield, Soto broke loose for a 40-yard gain on the ground on the first play of the drive and a few rushes later Williams scored from three yards out. The Cougars ended up needing just four plays to go 58 yards to regain the advantage, and one they would end up not relinquishing.
Inside the two-minute timeout, Guilford made things really interesting, going 74 yards on 11 plays, but they would end up needing 79, falling 28-21.
The Quakers return home for their season finale in a week, on Saturday, November 16th, hosting Bridgewater College on Senior Day and Hall of Fame weekend. Kickoff is set for 3 PM.
#GoQuakes