GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford College football team (2-7, 1-6 ODAC) fell in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action to Averett University (1-8, 1-6 ODAC), 27-21 at Appenzeller Field in the Armfield Athletic Center on Saturday evening.
Despite the defeat, the Quakers did see a couple individuals continue to rewrite the record books with
Travis Burton (Pikeville, N.C.) rising to fifth in career tackles for a loss with 31.0 and tied for sixth in career sacks with 16.0, plus tied for fourth in single-season sacks with 12.0.
Nick Iannone (Wellington, Fla.), meanwhile, rose to fifth in single-season total tackles with 125 while seizing sole possession of second for career solo tackles with 173.
The Guilford offense out-gained the Cougars, 347-248 with more first downs, 17-11, more rushing yards, 216-77, and a time of possession edge of 34:10-25:50. Unfortunately, their four turnovers against no takeaways ultimately proved costly in the defeat.
Caleb Robles (Wilmington, N.C.) got the start under-center finishing completing 12-of-18 for 81 yards, but took four sacks and threw an interception while adding 45 yards on 18 carries on the ground, scoring two of the team's three touchdowns.
D'Omarion Smalls (Charlotte, N.C.) took over late for his collegiate debut, completing 5-of-8 for 50 yards, also with an interception while taking seven carries for 25 yards and a score.
Evan Sullivan (McBee, S.C.) led GC with a season-high 83 yards on the ground on 14 totes.
Shane Shapiro (Jacksonville, N.C.) hauled in eight catches for 74 yards to lead all receivers.
For the Cougars, Brandon Saunders only completed 12-of-25 but for 171 and three touchdowns while taking 20 carries for 27 yards and a TD. Gaby Soto led them in rushing with 33 yards on six totes. Kayden Jackson paced the Cougars with 42 receiving yards albeit only on one catch. Christian Jones was tied for the team-high with three catches for 40 yards and a score and Amontrae Scott also had a score.
Burton led the GC defense with nine tackles, 3.5 for a loss, and 2.0 sacks. Iannone was behind him with seven takedowns, 1.0 for a loss then a quartet of Quakers were tied with six tackles.
The Cougars were led by a game-high 10 tackles plus an interception from Kent Ray. Bo Blankenship followed with nine tackles followed by a trio of AU players, led by Ivan Williams who had 2.0 sacks.
Despite the finish, Guilford looked like they would run away with it early, receiving the ball first, running directly at the Cougars, maneuvering down the field, including two 30-plus yard runs, with Robles finishing a seven-play, 80-yard trip with a Robles score. After a couple three-and-outs, Robles threw a pick to Ray, setting up AU near midfield, and four plays later, Sounders found a wide-open Jackson on a free play for a 42-yard TD. GC punched right back, however, immediately answering with an eight-play, 67-yard drive finished by Robles on the ground, retaking the lead, 14-7 through one.
Unfortunately, the offense went silent and AU cashed in. Setting up at midfield following a fourth-down sack, they took seven plays to go down and Saunders punched in a tush-push run, leveling the score, where it would remain at the half.
In their second drive of the second half, Averett once again set up near midfield, then needed used just four plays for Saunders to hit Jones from 19 yards away for the go-ahead score, making it 21-14 through three.
Guilford's first play of the fourth ended up as a fumble that the Cougars pounced on. Four plays later Scott took a Saunders pass for a 28-yard TD making it a two-possession edge. Guilford got a spark with Smalls who led them on a scoring drive to counter and cut the deficit, but interceptions on their final two drives snuffed out their rally, finishing the score at 27-21.
GC plays their regular season finale next week against Bridgewater College on the road kicking off at 2:00 PM.
#GoQuakes
