SALEM, Va. – In their first matchup since World War II, the Guilford College football team (2-6, 1-5 ODAC) and Roanoke College (5-3, 2-2 ODAC) battled in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) thriller at Salem Stadium on Saturday night, falling 21-20.

Guilford was right in the game thanks in large part to special teams and defensive contributions. Most notably, Jonathan Brown (Wendell, N.C.) had the team's first defensive score of the season on a pick-six while Tristan Bailey (Statesville, N.C.) returned a pair of kicks in the contest, both going for over 45 yards, totaling 115 return yards. Travis Burton (Pikeville, N.C.), meanwhile, reached a significant milestone, with his one sack of the evening, his season total rose to 10.0 to become the sixth Quaker in program history to reach double-digit sacks in a season, including just the second in the NCAA-era and the first since 2016.

Luke Hyatt (Wadesboro, N.C.) was hit-or-miss under-center, orchestrating some good drives, but struggling to finish when reaching Roanoke territory. He completed 14-of-22 for 125 yards and a TD while also taking a trio of sacks. Caleb Robles (Wilmington, N.C.) only went 1-of-6 passing but finished as GC's leading rusher, breaking away for over two-thirds of their rushing yards on a single, 51-yard play, finishing with 65 yards overall and one TD. Shane Shapiro (Jacksonville, N.C.) was effective in his return, bringing in five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. Ben Parry (Chapel Hill, N.C.) continued establishing himself as a reliable receiving option with five grabs for 35 yards.

Kam Hill was limited by the Quaker defense as he completed just 17-of-37 going for 166 yards with two TDs against one interception. He also finished as the game's leading rusher taking nine carries for 74 yards. Ethan Graves was his top receiver through the air, bringing in five catches for 74 yards and a score.

Defensively, Nick Iannone (Wellington, Fla.) was all over the place with 16 total tackles, 13 of them solo efforts including a pair of individual tackles for a loss. Burton pitched in seven takedowns, with two for a loss. Bailey had five tackles including 1.5 TFLs while breaking up a trio of passes while Avery Lilly (Mount Gilead, N.C.) matched his total tackles figure and Ben Finkelstein (Southern Pine, N.C.) equaled Bailey's PBU's.

Charlie Davis paced the Maroons with seven tackles, five solos, and had a big forced fumble that was recovered by Lane Shoemaker. Shoemaker, Isaac Rivera, Javier Waldron, and Luke Connor were all tied for second in total tackles with five. Ethan Mapstone has 2.0 sacks for the hosts while Connor has 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.

Overall, Roanoke out-gained Guilford 323-204 and surpassed GC in time of possession with 36:04 thanks to controlling the ball for over 14 minutes in the final frame. Despite completing just 19-of-41 collectively, RC threw for more yards, 202-131 while going 7-for-17 against GC's 6-of-16. In the end, however, it was a trio of missed kicks that ultimately sunk the Quakers.

Receiving the ball first, Guilford moved the ball well, but saw their drive stall out just outside the redzone resulting in an Asher Frisbee (Statesville, N.C.) field goal attempt from 48 yards away that fell just short, hitting the crossbar and bouncing back into the endzone. With the strong field position, Roanoke had a negative run and an incompletion to set up a third-and-14 but Hill escaped and ran for 24 yards for the first, building offensive momentum and eventually he hit Hill for a four-yard score. Bailey broke loose for a massive return on the ensuing kickoff, setting the Quakers up in deep into RC territory and two plays later Hyatt connected with Shapiro for a 24-yard touchdown to level things at seven-all.

The teams traded punts on the following five drives into the second stanza before GC got the ball moving down field again, getting as far as they did on their first drive, to the 31, and again Frisbee could not convert, pulling his kick wide left. The Maroons then got some help to get their second score in their two-minute offense. Guilford jumped offsides to hand the hosts a first down on a third down then a few plays later a pass interference call set them up just outside the redzone. Hill linked up with Graves on the following throw, for a 22-yard score and again, GC got momentum in their direction with a monstrous return from Bailey. A couple of throws to Shapiro and Alex Wilson (Four Oaks, N.C.) advanced them to the 21, but a sack, a near sack and then intentional grounding caused the clock to run out and nothing come of the chance into the locker room.

The Quakers and Maroons traded punts their first four drives of the second half with the guests getting pinned deep on their chances, but a big run on the second play of Roanoke's third drive of the half built them some momentum. A few plays later, Guilford came inches away from a takeaway inside their five, as Iannone punched the ball free, however, KJ Bratton was ruled down prior. The very next play, Linwood Johnson rushed it in from five yards away and Roanoke had a two-possession lead but GC trimmed it right back. On a do-or-die feeling fourth down conversion attempt, Robles broke tackles, and broke away, taking it 51 yards for the score. The third frame would end with some fireworks, too. With a 50-50 ball thrown up by Johnson. Bailey had positioning, and depending on the rooting interest of your team of choice, the interception. However, the officials ruled the play a completed pass instead into Quaker territory.

On just the second play of the fourth, Guilford left no doubt on an interception as Brown picked off a pass at the 15 and brought it back the distance for the pick-six, and while Frisbee could not convert on the PAT, like lightning, it was a one-point game in Salem. Unfortunately, the distance between the ball and the upright would be as close as GC got, as a great many tense moments ensued over the final 14-and-a-half minutes, but the Quaker offense could not get going and get into a position to take the lead, as the game finished in a 21-20 final.

Senior Day Saturday is on deck for Guilford in Week 10 on Saturday, November 8^th, when Averett visits Appenzeller Field for a 3:00 PM kickoff.

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