GREENSBORO, N.C. – Adam Smith caught 10 passes for a school-record 253 yards and three touchdowns in Guilford College's 55-38 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football win over Shenandoah University Saturday.
Teammate De'Eric Bell compiled a school-record 326 all-purpose yards and ran for a career-high 153 yards and a touchdown in the Quakers' (4-1, 1-1 ODAC) fourth win in five games.
Playing without First Team All-ODAC running back Cedric Delaney, Shenandoah freshman quarterback Hayden Bauserman completed 37 completions in 65 attempts for 450 yards, all school records. He also threw three touchdowns and set another record with 67 total offensive plays.
Bauserman's one interception was returned 18 yards for a touchdown by Guilford senior Robert Smith late in the first quarter. The Quakers' first defensive touchdown of the season put Guilford in the lead for good after a topsy-turvy first quarter that saw 34 points and four lead changes.
Jacob Newton's 22-yard field goal 33 seconds into the second quarter drew the Hornets (3-2, 0-2 ODAC) within 20-17. He missed a 32-yard kick later in the period and Guilford answered with a five-play, 80-yard drive capped by Matt Pawlowski's second scoring pass to Smith, which went 21 yards.
The play triggered a sequence of four touchdowns in the final 3:31 of the opening half between the two teams. Pawlowski hit Rontavius Miller from 17 yards out to cap a three-play, 87-yard drive that last 67 seconds. Aided by a 24-yard carry by Jalen Hudson and a drive-extending personal-foul penalty, the Hornets answered with a quick drive of their own. Bauseman hit Michael Ashwell from seven yards out, which capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive that lasted only 50 seconds. Guilford's Bell returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown 22 seconds before halftime for a 41-24 Quakers' advantage.
Shenandoah came up empty on two trips deep inside Guilford territory to start the third quarter. Newton missed a 42-yard field goal on the Hornets' first possession and Bauserman missed Ashwell on a fourth-and-3 pass from the Quakers' seven-yard line.
Kye Hopkins one-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds lef t in the third quarter made it a 41-31 game, but Guilford responded with its best drive of the day, a 14-play, 85-yard march that ate up over six minutes. The Quakers converted three fourth-down plays on the drive, including Bell's one-yard touchdown run that made it a 48-31 Guilford lead.
Delaun Richardson returned the ensuing kickoff out to midfield, but Guilford's Chad Christopher jarred the ball loose and Nathan Campbell recovered it, which set up Pawlowski's fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 36-yard strike to Smith on yet another fourth-down play.
In addition to his career- and team-season high 153 rushing yards, Bell added 172 kickoff return yards, which stands eighth in ODAC history and second all-time at Guilford. Smith's 253 receiving yards rank fifth in ODAC history and broke Ben King's '11 former mark of 251 yards set in 2010. Pawlowski completed 18-of-36 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns, his third 300-yard passing game this year and his fourth contest with at least four passing touchdowns. Karl Roberts and Hunter Hoots both made a game-best 15 tackles for the Quakers' defense.
In addition to Bauseman's record-setting day, rookie Jalen Hudson filled in admirably for Delaney with 12 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown. Deshon Brown caught 11 balls for 106 yards and Leonard Scott added five grabs for 76 yards and a score. Linebacker Michael Messick contributed seven tackles.
Guilford visits ODAC-rival Bridgewater College next Saturday (10/17) at 1:00 p.m.