GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford College Football Team (6-4, 5-2 ODAC) scored 35 unanswered points in the final 19:22 of the game en route to a 35-31 upset of Emory & Henry College (5-5, 2-5 ODAC) Saturday afternoon at the Armfield Athletic Center in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play. The Quakers scored touchdowns on their final five possessions.
After forcing Guilford to punt on the first drive of the game, E&H went 55 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) was three-for-three on the drive for 46 yards including an 11-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver Lucas Kirby (Covington, Va.).
The Wasps made it 10-0 at the 4:36 mark of the first quarter as junior Austin Breed (Atlanta, Ga.) converted a 19-yard field goal. Boden found senior wideout Cleo Cooper (Raleigh, N.C.) on third down for 33 yards to set up first and goal.
E&H stretched the lead to 17-0 when junior linebacker Joe Lewis (Conyers, Ga.) recovered a fumble forced by junior linebacker Sami Khabir (Capitol Heights, Md.) and returned it 39 yards to paydirt. The Wasps made it 24-0 just over five minutes later when Boden linked up with Cooper for a 57-yard touchdown. Cooper also had an 18-yard reception on the drive.
The Wasps held the 24-0 lead through the remainder of the first half, forcing two punts and an incomplete pass on fourth down to go into the break.
Emory & Henry came out of intermission and kept on the pressure, driving 75 yards in 13 plays and draining 5:39 off the clock. Boden notched his third touchdown of the day, this time finding senior tight end Kenton Williams (Madison, Ind.) from five yards out on third down for the score. Kirby had a 24-yard catch to set up first and goal and keep the drive alive.
Guilford took their first possession of the second half and went down the field to make the score 31-7. Matt Palowski had 45 yards through the air on the drive while Josh Schow notched 12 yards including a one-yard plunge for the touchdown.
After the Quakers' defense got their hands on an interception, Palowski went on the attack again. The sophomore was five-for-five for 47 yards, finding Adam Smith for a 10-yard touchdown. Guilford elected to go for two and Trey Dill got the conversion, catching a pass from Palowski.
On the next drive, Palowski kept the Quaker machine rolling and closed the gap to 31-21 with a 15-yard touchdown to Nick Mearite. Palowski was six-for-seven for 60 yards during the strike.
Guilford made it four-straight possessions with a touchdown as Palowski continued to run the Quaker offense. After getting the ball at the E&H 48, GC needed only eight-plays and 2:42 to draw the contest within one score. Palowski got his third touchdown of the day, this one a 14-yard score to Chad Christopher.
After forcing the third straight punt by the Wasps, the Quakers got the ball with 2:26 to go in the game on their own 11 yardline. Palowski accounted for all 89 yards on the drive including a key five-yard rush for a first down early in the drive. Smith put Guilford up 35-31 with a 42-yard catch and run for his second touchdown of the game with just 19 seconds remaining.
The Wasps had one final shot and found themselves with 58 yards to go and five seconds on the clock after a pair of completions by Boden. Guilford's prevent defense held on as Boden was unable to find a receiver as time expired.
The Quakers' offense was led by Palowski with 358 yards on 37-for-52 passing and four touchdowns. Hayden Reed had 12 catches for 102 yards while Smith caught six balls for 100 yards and two scores. Josh Schow added 59 all-purpose yards scoring a touchdown on the day. Guilford's defensive effort was paced by Hunter English, who had eight tackles while Satiir Stevenson and Robert Smith had seven stops. Four other Quakers had five or more tackles on the day.
Boden led the way for E&H with 245 yards and three touchdowns on 20-for-31 passing. Cooper had 114 yards on four catches while Kirby caught five balls for 69 yards. Junior running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) rushed 13 times for 48 yards while junior running back Kasey Jones (Jacksonville, Fla.) had 30 yards on the ground.
Defensively for the Wasps, junior linebacker Paul Forney (Newton, N.C.) had 15 tackles while no other player had more than five. Lewis had the 39-yard fumble return for a touchdown and a tackle for loss while senior corner DeMikael Burse (Charlotte, N.C.) notched five tackles and a pair of pass breakups.
Emory & Henry finishes the season with a 5-5 record for the third time in four years. The Wasps will await the announcement of the 2013 All-ODAC Teams, which will be released on Friday, November 22.
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