Late Guilford Surge Leads to Catholic Loss

Greensboro, N.C. – Matt Pawlowski was 14 of 22 for 307 yards with five touchdowns to lead the Guilford College Quakers to a 42-21 Old Dominion Athletic Conference win over The Catholic University of America football team on Saturday at Armfield Athletic Center.

With the loss, CUA falls to 2-6 (0-5 ODAC).  GC improves to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

After a first half Catholic lead and two ties, Guilford scored four consecutive touchdowns in the second half of play to notch the win.

The Cardinals quickly marched out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. At the 12:43 mark, Tim Murphy caught a one-yard pass from TJ Tutone to cap four plays for 14 yards, and with the PAT from Peter Rosa, Catholic led 7-0. Matt Perno took a short two-yard run with seven minutes remaining the in the first frame to conclude 10 plays for 69 yards to extend the lead to 14-0.

Guilford answered back at the 4:09 mark of the first quarter, as Matt Pawlowski nailed a 16-yard pass to Adam Smith capping a six-play drive for 71 yards. The pair connected again with 9:54 remaining in the second stanza with a 29-yard pass. Tyler Hunt made good on both field goals to tie the game at 14 points apiece heading into halftime.

After the breather, Tutone regained the lead on an eight-yard run with 10:46 remaining in the third. With the PAT by Rosa, Catholic was ahead 21-14.

The Quakers took the lead two minutes later and never looked back, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter and two in the fourth stanza.

GC's Josh Schow caught a 25-yard pass from Pawlowski capping off a six-play drive for 77 yards at the 8:28 mark of the third quarter. Schow concluded the third quarter with an eight-yard run with 1:51 remaining.

In the final quarter of the contest, Pawlowski threw his longest pass of the day, finding Adam Smith from 78 yards out to cap off two plays of 89 yards at the 10:52 mark.

The final touchdown of the day came from Austen Thompson, who caught a nine-yard pass from Pawlowski with 2:52 remaining for the 42-21 win.

The Cardinals put together 389 yards of total offense with 251 yards through the air and 138 yards on the ground. Tutone was 23 of 33 for 251 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Perno finished with 53 yards rushed and one score on 15 carries, and Murphy caught six passes for 56 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Catholic's Anthony Santo tallied a team-best eight tackles and Ross Sanford registered seven stops.

The Quakers finished with 444 yards of total offense with 307 yards passed and 137 yards rushed for 25:15 minutes of possession.

CUA returns to Cardinal Stadium for the remainder of the season to host Washington & Lee on Saturday, November 8 and Bridgewater (Va.) on Saturday, November 15 both games are scheduled for 1 p.m. Prior to the Bridgewater contest,head coach Dave Dunn will honor the members of this season's senior class.

-CUA-