GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College's Matt Pawlowski threw for 391 yards and three touchdowns in the Quakers' 33-20 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football victory over visiting Hampden-Sydney College Saturday. The triumph gives the Quakers (8-1, 5-1 ODAC) a school-record-tying eight wins and snaps a 15-game losing streak to the Tigers dating to 1999.
The game saw three ties and two lead changes. Hampden-Sydney (6-3, 4-2 ODAC) started the fourth quarter driving for a third lead change with the score tied at 20-20. Khiry Lytle stripped Tigers' running back Kyree Koonce at Guilford's six-yard line and the Quakers' Karl Roberts recovered the fumble on the one-foot line. After moving off the goal line, Pawlowski threw an 85-yard bubble-screen pass to Rontavius Miller that featured a Miller stiff arm at the start of the run and elusive running to split two defenders at the end. The point-after kick failed, which left the score at 26-20 with 12:02 left in regulation.
A Reggie Bullard sack followed by two Hampden-Sydney incompletions forced a Tigers' punt. On the ensuing drive's second play, Pawlowski pump-faked a defender and hit senior Hayden Read in stride down the sideline for a 78-yard score. Tyler Hunt made the point-after kick and the Quakers led, 33-20, with 9:14 remaining.
Guilford's Robert Smith wrestled a completion away from a Tigers' receiver on the first play of Hampden-Sydney's next drive. Smith's team-leading third interception of the year helped Guilford's offense burn another four-and-a-half minutes before punting the ball back to the Tigers at their own 18-yard line with 4:37 left.
Bullard notched his second sack of the game and Hampden-Sydney suffered a holding penalty, which forced Jordan Chalkley's sixth punt of the day. Guilford took over with 2:48 left, picked up a first down and ran out the clock for its fifth straight win.
Pawlowski completed 21-of-31 passes to seven different receivers in his fifth 300-yard passing game of 2015 and the 18th of his career. Adam Smith made nine catches for 105 yards, both game highs, and notched his sixth 100-yard receiving contest this year. Miller made two grabs for 91 yards, including the 85-yard score, which is Guilford's longest offensive play this season. De'Eric Bell carried a career-high 26 times for 117 yards, his fifth 100-yard rushing game in seven weeks. He had 192 all-purpose yards. Hunter Hoots' game-high 11 tackles paced the Quakers' defense. Teammate Tyriek Able broke up three passes in addition to his nine stops. Ke'Desh Edwards blocked his third point-after kick of the season.
Hampden-Sydney's Koonce ran for a game-best 129 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. He also caught three passes from Moore, who completed 27-of-45 attempts for 307 yards and two scores. The Tigers' Austin Perryman had a club-high seven catches for 64 yards and a score. Teammate Michael Mey added six receptions for 97 yards. Ryan Mallory led the visitors with 10 tackles and became the second opponent to intercept Pawlowski this season. Ben Carson had two of Hampden-Sydney's five sacks among his six tackles and also broke up a pass.
Coach Chris Rusiewicz's Quakers host Emory & Henry College Saturday (11/14) at 1:00 p.m. in their regular-season finale. League-leading Washington and Lee University (9-0, 6-0 ODAC) effectively clinched the ODAC title and the league's automatic NCAA playoff berth with Saturday's 52-33 home win over Catholic University of America. The Quakers are ranked seventh in this week's NCAA Division III South Region ratings and remain in the hunt for one of six available at-large bids to the 32-team Division III playoffs.