EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (6-4, 3-4 ODAC) earned its first winning season since 2009 Saturday afternoon as it defeated Guilford College (5-5, 4-3 ODAC) in a rout, 38-10, at Fred Selfe Stadium. The contest served as Senior Day for the Wasps as 14 players and four cheerleaders were honored prior to the contest for their contributions.
Also in attendance was the undefeated 1962 Emory & Henry Football Team, on the 50th Anniversary of their 8-0-1 season. The team was introduced at halftime on the field.
Guilford got out to a 7-0 lead just 1:55 into the game. A four-play 51-yard strike highlighted by a 42-yard catch and run by Adam Smith set up first and goal. Mike Williams ran it in from two yards out three plays later.
The Quakers made the score 10-0 at the 9:04 mark of the second quarter. After a nine-play 50-yard drive stalled at the Emory & Henry 13, Guilford's Tyler Hunt kicked a 30-yard field goal for the score.
On the next possession, the Wasps bounced back with an eight-play, 90-yard drive to cut the margin to 10-7. Sophomore running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) accounted for over 40 yards and scooped up a fumble and went in for the touchdown.
After forcing Guilford to punt, E&H went back on the attack to take a 14-10 lead. Junior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) found sophomore wide receiver Lucas Kirby (Covington, Va.) on a slant pattern and Kirby out-ran the Quaker secondary for a 79-yard touchdown. It the Wasps' longest scoring play of the year.
The Emory & Henry defense forced a three-and-out by Guilford but a special teams mistake put more points on the board for the Wasps. A bad snap sailed over the GC punter's head and out of the end zone for a safety and a 16-10 lead for E&H. The score would remain 16-10 through the end of the half.
On the first possession of the third quarter, the Wasps' offense picked up where it left off before the break. E&H put together a 10-play, 49-yard drive highlighted by a 21-yard shovel pass to Vaughn. Boden found junior wideout Cleo Cooper (Raleigh, N.C.) in the end zone to make the score, 23-10.
Later in the quarter, Emory & Henry got another quick score. After Vaughn opened the drive with an eight yard rush, Boden linked up with sophomore wide receiver Sam Edmonds (Roanoke, Va.) over the middle for a 47-yard touchdown. The Wasps went for two to make it a 21-point advantage (31-10) as Vaughn caught Boden's conversion pass.
Emory & Henry got a final score for the 38-10 margin early in the fourth quarter. Boden worked with his feet and his arm as he scampered for a 38-yard gain, setting up his fourth touchdown pass of the day to sophomore Brandon Terry (Roanoke, Va.) from two yards out.
Boden finished the day 22-for-35 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns, rushing for 65 more. His 388 yards of total offense ranks sixth all-time for yards in a game by an Emory & Henry player.
Vaughn had 99 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 80 yards. Kirby led the Wasps' corps of receivers with seven catches for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Junior linebacker Paul Forney (Newton, N.C.) had a team-high nine tackles including 2.5 sacks for 20 yards. He also forced a fumble, broke up a pass and had a quarterback hurry. Seniors Tyler Houk (Galax, Va.), Ross Ellis (Abingdon, Va.) and Devan Sproles (Norton, Va.) each made eight stops with Houk picking off a pass. Junior cornerback DeMikael Burse (Charlotte, N.C.) had seven tackles, an interception which he returned for 27 yards, and four passes defended.
As a team, Emory & Henry put up 537 yards of total offense. The Wasps won the time of possession battle, holding the ball for 30:15, a gain of over 20 minutes from last week's contest as they racked up 21 first downs.
Guilford was led by quarterback Matt Pawlowski with 323 yards on 26-for-46 passing. He found eight different receivers on the day with Smith as his favorite target (nine receptions for 170 yards). Williams finished the game with 60 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Hunter English led all players with 11 tackles while Jaylan Martin made 10 stops and had an interception with a 16-yard return. Daytwyn Rascoe and Satiir Stevenson each made eight tackles for the Quakers.
Emory & Henry will now await the announcement of the All-ODAC Teams which will come after the annual coaches meeting in two weeks.
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