Football Dispatched by (RV) Hampden-Sydney
Shapiro eclipses 100 total yards, Woodard also solid in defeat
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – The Guilford College football team (1-5, 0-3 ODAC) was defeated by (RV) Hampden-Sydney College (5-1, 3-0 ODAC), 64-3, in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play at Fulton Field at Lewis C. Everett Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers marched up-and-down the field on the Quaker defense, finding paydirt on nine of their 11 full drives with the only-two stops coming via interceptions. GC actually won the turnover battle, forcing two while not committing one themselves, but their offense was stagnant. The hosts out-gained Guilford 649 to 307 overall, gaining more yards through the air, 262 to 209, and on the ground, 387 to 98. H-SC also won the time of possession, 38:47 to 21:13.
The Quaker scoring came courtesy of a Colby Tucker (Winterville, N.C.) made field goal from 40 yards away, the first make of 40-plus by a Guilford player since Burke Nettles ’24 connected from 43 against Washington & Lee University on October 7, 2023. It was also the program’s first turnover-less outing since October 4, 2025 against Gallaudet, despite the result.
Making his first start since week two of last season, Nick Danciu (Simpsonville, S.C.) went the distance under-center and was okay, completing 18-of-32 for 209 yards, but he also took six sacks accounting for 45 yards, stalling multiple drives in the game. Shane Shapiro (Jacksonville, N.C.) eclipsed the century mark for total yards of offense, leading all players with four catches for 97 yards, adding 20 yards on four carries on the ground. Camo Campbell (Flowery Branch, Ga.) matched Shapiro’s catch total of four, going for 40 yards. Malik Woodard (Wilson, N.C.) also enjoyed his best performance in over a calendar year, leading GC in rushing by taking 13 totes for 63 yards.
Quarterbacking the first-half, Wendell Thompson was sharp, completing 12-of-15 for 224 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. The Tigers saw 11 different contributors in the receiving game with no player bringing in more than two grabs. One of them was the team-leader in receiving yards, Tyler Hendley, who picked up 61 yards and a TD. Narrowly held under 100 rushing yards for just the second time this season, Terry Hicks still dominated, taking nine carries 97 yards, scoring twice. Xavier Howard-Morris and Will Foley also rushed for two scores apiece, gaining 90 and 84 yards respectively.
Owen Whelan (Asheboro, N.C.) and Ben Finkelstein (Southern Pines, N.C.) headlined the defense, each making an interception in the game. Whelan led the Quakers with six tackles while Finkelstein was one-of-three GC defenders with five takedowns, including four solo efforts, also adding a PBU. Colton Bogan had a game-high 10 tackles, was one-of-six Tigers with a solo sack, and had 1.5 TFLs.
This game got out of hand quickly, as the Quakers went three-and-out and the hosts made quick work of the GC defense in response, needing just four plays including Thompson connections of 28 yards to Manning Lasso and 15 yards to Hicks, before Kam Mahoney hauled in a score from seven yards out, opening the scoring less than three minutes in, with a two-point conversion on top. Guilford got a first down and pinned H-SC deep, but that just slowed things as the hosts went 94 yards in eight plays before Will Foley punched it in from four away. Another short drive by the guests did precede GC’s lone defensive stop of the half as Finkelstein picked off Thompson, but the offense did little with it, reaching the quarter break with the score 15-0.
The Tigers ran it up in the second. First, Hicks scored from one yard away, then Thompson linked up with Hendley for a 47-yard strike, Foley busted free for an 80-yard scoring rush, and Hicks completed the bookend with his second rushing score from one yard away again as the lead ballooned to 43-0 at the half.
Tucker’s made field goal divided a tandem of Hampden-Sydney rushing scores by Xavier Howard-Morris from one yard away in the third quarter. Finally, in the fourth, Tanner Ballou threw to John Bishop from 19 out, finalizing the score at 64-3.
Things do not get any easier for Guilford next week, as they head up to Ashland, Va. and clash with the four-time defending ODAC Champions, Randolph-Macon College next week. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM at Day Field.
#GoQuakes