Greensboro, NC (11/06/99)  -- Junior running back Andrew Notarfrancesco (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) rushed for a season-high 187 yards and a touchdown and sophomore Derek McGee (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) passed for three touchdowns as visiting Catholic captured the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football championship with a 31-13 win at Guilford Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals, ranked 13th in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III poll, receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Catholic rejoined the ODAC this season after 16 seasons independent of any conference affiliation and are making their third straight NCAA playoff appearance

"I'm so thrilled to be part of this conference," said Catholic coach Tom Clark. "To be picked to win it (in the preseason coaches poll) and then to fulfill that is really a special feeling. It means a lot to me."

Catholic improved to 8-1 overall (5-0 ODAC) with its eighth straight win, while the Quakers fall to 3-6 (2-4 ODAC) after starting the season 3-0.

Guilford had two scoring chances in the opening quarter, but failed on four tries inside the Cardinals' four-yard line and missed a 38-yard field goal. Catholic finally went ahead 3-0 early in the second quarter on a 23-yard field goal by freshman Greg Stokes (Lafayette Hill, PA/Plymouth-Whitemarsh).

The Cardinals took a 10-0 halftime on Notarfrancesco's 11-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds left in the second quarter. Junior safety Drew Interdonato (Washington, DC/Gonzaga) set up the scoring drive with a diving one-handed interception at the Guilford 47-yard line with 1:22 left in the quarter.

Notarfrancesco scored his second touchdown on the second play of the third quarter on a neat 46-yard hook-and-ladder play. McGee threw a short pass to senior Aaron Ybarra (Hudson, NH/Bishop Guertin), who lateralled the ball to a streaking Notarfrancesco as he rambled 46 yards down the left sideline for the score. Notarfrancesco raised his season point total to an ODAC-record 126 and broke the league's single-season rushing TDs mark with his second-quarter score. He also surpassed the 1,000 rushing yard plateau (1,038) for a school-record third straight year.

McGee connected with freshman Jim Jankiewicz (Philadelphia, PA/St. Joseph's Prep) from nine yards out on the Cardinals' next possession. The play capped a 10-play, 74-yard drive in which McGee completed four of five passes for 55 yards. McGee, who also threw a 36-yard scoring pass to Ybarra, finished with 22 completions in 34 attempts for 285 yards.

Guilford got on the board in the third quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback David Hessler (Rockville, MD/Walter Johnson) to classmate Oren Robinson (Anderson, SC/Westside). Robinson's first collegiate touchdown made the score 24-6 with 9:20 left in the third quarter.

Guilford sophomore quarterback Darby Morgan (Camden, SC/Camden) came off the bench to direct a 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. Junior running back Marques Williams (Riviera Beach, FL/Suncoast) scored from three yards out with 45 seconds left to provide the final margin.

Catholic closes out the regular season next week at ODAC-rival Bridgewater, while the Quakers end their season at crosstown rival Greensboro College in the third annual Gate City Soup Bowl.