ASHLAND, Va. – The Guilford College football team (1-6, 0-4 ODAC) saw their turnovers prove costly as the multi-time reigning Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Champions Randolph-Macon College (5-2, 3-1 ODAC) took care of business, 62-3, at Day Field on Saturday afternoon.
A bright spot,
Colby Tucker (Winterville, N.C.) knocked through a 50-yard field goal in the second quarter making it the second-longest make on-record in Guilford football program history, only trailing a make from 51 by Don Cupit in 1909 in the record books. It also easily clears the prior NCAA-era program record of 44 yards by Tyler Hunt '16 in 2015. Additionally, after the ODAC saw just a pair of field goal makes in the conference's first 50 years, Tucker now extends a streak of three-consecutive weeks in which a different kicker in the conference has connected from over 50 yards.
Delving into the box score, the hosts nearly doubled-up Guilford in yardage, 397 to 199, reaching that mark in 52 plays to GC's 70. Completing all-11 pass attempts, they gained 183 passing yards to the Quakers' 130 in addition to 214 rushing yards against 69 for their guests. Ultimately, the biggest factor was the turnovers as Guilford threw five interceptions, converting two into scores immediately as pick-sixes.
Nick Danciu (Simpsonville, S.C.) completed 15-of 27 passes in the contest, throwing for 99 yards and three interceptions while also getting sacked five times before getting lifted.
Tristan Gabrels (Buford, Ga.) entered and completed 5-of-10 for 31 yards with two picks, he also ended up as the team's leading rusher, taking four totes for 34 yards.
Shane Shapiro (Jacksonville, N.C.) led Guilford in total offense for the second-straight week, taking eight catches for 42 yards and adding 10 yards on four carries on the ground.
The first of a trio of QBs deployed by the Yellow Jackets, Ryley Justus got the most run, completing 6-of-6 for 102 yards and the single passing score, to Malakiah Moore, who finished as the game's leading receiver, with 69 yards on just two catches. One-of-six R-MC rushers to cross the goal line, Mitchell Johnson took nine carries for a game-high 57 yards.
Jaden Shively (Denton, N.C.) was impressive defensively, making a career and game-high 11 tackles, including eight solo efforts and 0.5 TFL.
Garrett Wilson (Winston-Salem, N.C.) had seven takedowns while
Jordan Thomas (Spartanburg, S.C.) had the lone sack of the game for Guilford. Matthew MacNichol led Randolph-Macon with nine tackles. Thomas Dobias had a tandem of interceptions and Jacob Kyger had one, while Khamari Vaney and Zach Tyler had the R-MC pick-sixes.
Picking up a trio of first downs on their opening drive, the Quakers actually saw early success against the Yellow Jackets vaunted defense, although a turnover on downs was the drive's result. The hosts countered with a 12-play, 71-yard march that took 5:45 and was completed with a Johnson score from one-yard out, making the score 7-0 which is where it stood at the end of one.
R-MC opened it up in the second, as first Detric Brown scored from three away to finish a six-play, 83-yard drive. Tyler picked off a Danciu pass and brought it back 41 yards for another score under a minute later before Vaney brought back his pick-six from 67 yards to increase the lead. Tucker got the Quakers on the board with a field goal, but a huge return on the ensuing kickoff granted great field position and Justus needed just two plays to connect with Moore from 35 yards to up the tallies to 34-3 at the break.
Rushing touchdowns by Josh Bauman, Jackson Landis, and Jayden Howard increased the advantage in the third before a Kevin China rushing score brought the score to the final of 62-3.
Senior Day and the Hall of Fame game is on deck for Guilford, as they finish their home slate against Washington & Lee University next on Halloween, Saturday, October 31, kicking off at 4:00 PM.
#GoQuakes
