Guilford Claims 27-7 Soup Bowl Win at Greensboro
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Chris Rusiewicz era at Guilford College started with a convincing 27-7 football win at Greensboro College in the 15th annual Gate City Soup Bowl Saturday at Jamieson Stadium.
The rookie head coach picked up a Gatorade shower and his first coaching victory as his Quakers rolled up 483 total offensive yards and held the Pride to 126 yards. Guilford controlled both lines of scrimmage and enjoyed over a 15-minute edge in time of possession.
Guilford also won the canned-food drive between the cross-town rivals. The schools combined to donate 9,774 items to Greensboro Urban Ministry. Guilford students collected 6,398 cans, including over 1,100 from the Quakers' football team alone.
Redshirt-junior Ben King had 10 catches for 187 yards and two scores, which earned him the Quakers' Soup Bowl Most Valuable Player honor for the second straight season. His 69-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in the second quarter gave Guilford a 14-0 halftime lead. King hauled in his second score from sophomore Zac Halbert in the third quarter, a 41-yard screen pass that he carried through at least three Greensboro defenders.
Halbert completed 21-of-37 passes for 298 yards and three scores, all career highs, in his starting debut. His fine pump fake freed up Lawrence Blake for a 40-yard scoring play that opened a 27-0 third-quarter edge.
Guilford's defense kept Greensboro off the scoreboard until Kwame Petty broke through for a 32-yard run with 68 seconds left. The play helped the Pride finish with 43 team rushing yards on 20 attempts. The Quakers did not allow their rivals a successful third-down conversion in 12 attempts.
By contrast, Guilford moved the ball effectively on the ground, with the tailback tandem of Josh Williams and Bailey Crego combining for 147 rushing yards and a score. Williams picked up 84 yards and scored the game's first touchdown, a two-yard run in the second quarter. Crego averaged over five yards per carry with 63 yards on 12 totes.
The victory gives Guilford possession of the Soup Bowl trophy for the first time since 2008 and an 8-7 lead in the all-time season series between Greensboro's two NCAA Division III football teams.
Allen Stallings made a game-high nine tackles and was Greensboro's game MVP.
