TIGERS OUTLAST GUILFORD, 47-45, TO IMPROVE TO 3-0

Game Box Score

GREENSBORO, NC (September 24, 2005) —Hampden-Sydney freshman receiver/running back Josh Simpson (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) racked up 231 all purpose yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the 21st-ranked Tigers to a 47-45 victory over the Guilford Quakers. With the win, the Tigers improve to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, while the Quakers fall to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Hampden-Sydney held a 37-15 advantage at the half, but Guilford rolled up 299 yards and quarterback Josh Vogelbach tossed four of his five touchdowns in the second half to rally the Quakers to within two points of the Tigers before the end of the contest.

The Tigers scored on special teams, defensively and offensively in the first half, while three different freshmen scored touchdowns as the team racked up 37 points. Junior receiver Michael Brooks (Glen Allen, VA/Hermitage) scored his first career touchdown to open scoring for Hampden-Sydney as he caught a 41-yard pass from tight end Ben Dull (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) with 12:41 remaining in the first quarter.

Guilford tied the game with 3:25 to play in the first on Demetrius Snead’s four-yard carry. On the ensuing kickoff, Tiger freshman Aaron Williams (Burke, VA/Fairfax) took the kick back 83 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. Then the Tigers took a 22-8 advantage moments later on Simpson’s first touchdown of the game on an 11-yard pass from quarterback J.D. Ricca (Gaithersburg, MD/St. John’s). Just under 90 seconds later, Tiger freshman corner Jamie Edlow (Williamsburg, VA/Bruton) picked off a Vogelbach pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

The Tigers wrapped up scoring in the first half on J.D. Ricca’s second touchdown toss of the half, this time connecting with sophomore receiver Drew Smith (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) with 8:26 remaining in the half, to cap off a 29 point barrage for the Hampden-Sydney over a span of 9:45. The Quakers answered one more time before the half as Vogelbach tossed a 35 yard TD pass to Micah Rushing, cutting the Tiger lead to 22 points (37-15) at intermission.

In the second half, Guilford dominated the action as Vogelbach hit Chris Barnette on scoring tosses of 15, 12 and ten yards, while the Tigers countered with freshman kicker Reed Westra’s (Chester, VA/Lloyd Bird) 24-yard field goal and another Simpson touchdown, this one on a four-yard scramble with 1:41 to play that made the score, 47-37.

The Quakers marched 80 yards on three plays and used just 27 seconds off the clock before Vogelbach connected with Joe Joyner from 29 yards out for his fifth TD toss of the contest with 1:14 to play in the game. The two-point conversion was good as Vogelbach found Micah Rushing in the back of the endzone to cut the Tiger advantage to just two, 47-45. However, on the ensuing on-side kick, Michael Brooks recovered for the Tigers, preserving the win for Hampden-Sydney.

Overall, the Tigers out-gained Guilford, 505-405, as Ricca completed 27-of-43 passes for 294 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His 294 yards pushed him over the 6,000-yard barrier for his career while giving him over 1,000-yards passing in three games on the season with 14 touchdown tosses. Simpson caught a game-high nine passes for 76 yards and a score, while rushing for 155 yards and another score, while Drew Smith led the Tigers with 111 yards receiving on eight catches.

Vogelbach ended his day with 265 yards as he completed 14-of-25 passes to go with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Joyner finished the game with 151 yards receiving on five catches, while Barnette had eight catches for 119 yards and three TDs.

Defensively, Tiger senior safety Jeff Inman (Virginia Beach, VA/Ocean Lakes) led the way with eight tackles, while Jamie Edlow finished the contest with six stops and the interception. The Quakers meanwhile, racked up five sacks on the afternoon and we led by linebacker Charlie Stroup with a game-high ten tackles, while Bryan Cook had eight tackles to go with a forced fumble and a sack.

Hampden-Sydney returns to action next Saturday, October 1, as the Tigers host 24th-ranked Bridgewater in a Family Weekend showdown at Hundley Stadium and Fulton Field at 1 pm. The contest will be broadcast live on FM 95.7 WFLO and on the internet at www.hsc.edu/athletics.