Greensboro, NC (9/25/99) -- Guilford's defense recorded eight sacks and senior safety Stephen Wilcosky (Miami, FL/Palmetto) returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to lead the Quakers to a 17-15 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) win over Hampden-Sydney Saturday afternoon.

The victory gives the Quakers their second straight 3-0 start and improves the team to 2-0 in the conference. Hampden-Sydney drops to 1-2 overall, 0-1 in the ODAC.

The Tigers rallied from a 10-0 second-quarter deficit and pulled within 17-15 on a three-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Walt Bondurant (Smithfield, VA/Nansemond-Suffolk) to sophomore tight end Matt Niemaseck (Chesterfield, VA/Lloyd Bird). Bondurant's two-point conversion pass failed, which kept Guilford's lead at two points.

Hampden-Sydney threatened early in the fourth quarter as freshman running back Stephen Martin (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) (8 carries, 41 yards) led the Tigers into Guilford territory with a series of good runs. Martin had a 25-yard touchdown called back due to a penalty on the first play of the final quarter. The Quakers' defense stiffened as Sean Glarner recorded his third sack of day on a third-down play and forced a Tigers' punt.

Guilford kept the ball in the hands of junior running back Marques Williams (Riviera Beach, FL/Suncoast) for most of the second half in an effort to run down the clock. Williams set a personal rushing best for the second straight week with 120 yards on a career-high 29 carries. Although the Quakers recorded just one first down in the final quarter, solid defense and a couple good punts by freshman John Alt (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Nova) kept Hampden-Sydney off the board.

"We're doing just what we thought we would do," Guilford coach Mike Ketchum of his team's start. "I'd like to be a little bit more consistent on offense, especially running the football, but its hard to ask freshmen quarterbacks and sophomore receivers to make play after play. In the second half we restricted what we would do because we were ahead and because the defense was playing so well."

The Quakers managed just 11 first downs and 148 total offensive yards, but took a 17-9 halftime lead when freshman quarterback David Hessler (Rockville, MD/Walter Johnson) completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Chris McKinney (Apex, NC/Apex) with four seconds left in the second quarter. Williams set up the score with a 36-yard run with 19 seconds remaining in the half.

Bondurant completed 20 of 39 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown for Hampden-Sydney. He also scored on a 19-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Sophomore receiver Neal Herndon (Dry Fork, VA/Tunstall) made a game-high eight catches for 79 yards. Sophomore running back Ernest Cheatham (Richmond, VA/Lee-Davis), who entered the game as the ODAC's top rusher averaging 120 yards per game, gained just 21 net yards on 12 carries against the stingy Guilford defense.

Wilcosky scored his second touchdown with an interception in three games on the Tigers' first possession to stake the hosts to an early 7-0 lead. Sophomore Luke Southam (Miami, FL/Miami Country Day) kicked a career-long 31-yard field goal to help the Quakers to a 10-0 second-quarter advantage.