FOOTBALL TIGERS ROAR PAST GUILFORD, 62-21

Game Box Score

              HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA (September 25, 2004)—Hampden-Sydney junior quarterback JD Ricca (Gaithersburg, MD/St. John’s) completed 15-of-16 passes for 316 yards and a record-tying six touchdowns, four going to freshman receiver Drew Smith (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin), in the first half alone to lead the 13^th-ranked (AFCA) Tigers to a 62-21 victory over Old Dominion Athletic Conference-foe Guilford College, Saturday at Hundley Stadium and Fulton Field.  With the win, the Tigers improve to 3-0 as the Quakers fall to 0-3. 

Among Ricca’s feats in the first-half, he set the ODAC record for completion percentage (.938) in a game, tied his own ODAC record for passing TDs in one half (6), and broke the Hampden-Sydney record for yards in a half (316).  Smith meanwhile, tied the Hampden-Sydney single-game scoring record with four TD receptions. 

Ricca and the Tigers scored on seven of their first eight possessions en route to a 56-14 halftime lead.  Ricca hit Smith on scoring passes of 13, 76, 35 and nine yards to give the freshman four catches for 133 yards and four scores.   

Senior running back CW Clemmons (Covington, VA/Alleghany) racked-up his first 100-yard rushing effort of the season as he carried the ball 14 times for 162 yards and two touchdowns, including TD carries of seven and 75 yards.  Clemmons also caught two passes on the day, including a screen that he took 77 yards for a touchdown, leaving him five points shy (236) of Jimmy Ferguson’s all-time career scoring record at Hampden-Sydney of 241 points. 

The Tigers other first-half touchdown came on a 24-yard scoring pass from Ricca to junior receiver Brian Rolander (Exmore, VA/Broadwater), who made a finger-tip grab in the corner of the endzone.  Guilford did manage two scoring drives in the first half, the first ending on quarterback Taylor Baker’s six-yard run in the first quarter and the second ending on Micah Rushing’s 49-yard TD reception from quarterback Eric Del Rio in the second quarter. 

Neither team scored in the third quarter as Hampden-Sydney’s offense was turned over to its reserves.  However, late in the fourth quarter the Tigers’ Johnny Junes (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) punched it in from two yards out to wrap-up a 17-play, 58-yard drive, that gave the Tigers a 62-14 advantage.  On the ensuing kickoff, Guilford’s Desmond Jordan returned the kick 86 yards for a touchdown to finish off the scoring for both teams, making the final, 62-21. 

Overall, Hampden-Sydney racked up a season-high 597 yards, including 484 in the first half, while Guilford finished with 253 yards, thanks to a stingy second-half Tiger defense that limited the Quakers to just 26 second-half yards. With Ricca sitting out the second half, Tiger back-up quarterback Brett Delk (Columbus, MS/Caledonia) completed six-of-eight passes for a career-high 56 yards. Guilford’s Eric Del Rio completed six-of-11 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, while starter Eric Barker finished his day two-for-five for 34 yards.   

Branden Lindsey led the Quakers on the ground with 35 yards on two carries, while Desmond Jordan, who came into the game as the leading rusher in the ODAC through his first two contests, averaging just over 100 yards-per-game, finished the contest with a net total of one yard rushing on 14 carries. 

Hampden-Sydney’s defense limited its third straight opponent to under 100 yards on the ground as the Quakers finished the game with just 70 yards on 31 carries.  Junior linebacker Louis Burrell (Richmond, VA/Highland Springs) and senior defensive tackle Ryan Carroll (Goode, VA/Jefferson Forest) each finished the game with six tackles to lead the Tiger defense, while Burrell had two tackles for a loss of six yards and Carroll had three and one-half tackles for loss and two sacks.  Junior linebacker Wes Hall (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) had three tackles and two fumble recoveries. 

Chase Waterhouse paced the Quakers with ten tackles, while Delvin Newkirk had five tackles and a sack.  Overall, the Quakers came up with five second-half sacks. 

Hampden-Sydney returns to action next Saturday, October 2, as the team travels to Bridgewater, VA, to take on the 19^th-ranked Bridgewater College Eagles at 1 pm.  The game will be broadcast of FM 95.7 WFLO and on the internet at www.hsc.edu/athletics.