Guilford football rallies to win annual Soup Bowl clash

Guilford College outscored rival Greensboro 27-8 in the second half to win the annual Gate City Soup Bowl game.

Bailey Baker threw a couple of touchdown passes and ran for another score, helping the Quakers past the Pride 36-21.

The Soup Bowl game has been a staple among the Greensboro schools at the beginning of the season since the late 1990s. Guilford, which has claimed the last seven Soup Bowl trophies, now leads the overall series 14-8. The game also serves to benefit Second Harvest and Greensboro Urban Ministries, with fans encouraged to donate canned foods as part of admission.

Greensboro took a 13-9 lead into halftime thanks to a pair of Alec Williams-Carr touchdown passes to Deaven Hawkins and Anthony Hreiz covering 31 and 9 yards, respectively. Guilford’s opening half scoring came courtesy of a Joseph Brown 2-yard run and a Burke Nettles 41-yard field goal.

The Quakers owned much of the second half, though. Baker’s first TD strike covered 64 yards to Parker DeHart. A Baker two-yard run and a Cory Casilac 1-yard plunge pushed Guilford ahead to stay, 29-13. The final TD of the night came on an 11-yard Baker to Jay Daniels throw.

Guilford rushed for 211 yards as a team, led by Casilac’s 84-yard effort. JuJu Rice didn’t find the end zone but caught five passes for 60 yards.

The Quakers converted on eight of 13 third-down plays. Greensboro converted four fourth-down attempts but came up short on the scoreboard.

Nick Iannone paced the Quakers defense with nine tackles, including a pair of sacks.

Williams-Carr finished with 218 passing yards on 19 completions. He also rushed for 71 yards. Hreiz had six catches for 85 yards. Da’shun Scott, Tyler Alston and Derrick Smith picked off passes for the Pride. Dejuan Robinson and Andrew Burgess had QB sacks. Darius Benton and Imanuel Ellis combined for another sack.

Linebacker Max Steele, a veteran presence in the Greensboro lineup, added nine tackles and a sack.

“The key to the game is discipline,” Greensboro coach Tyler Card said after the game. “We had a couple crucial mistakes but I’m proud of the way these men came out and refused to lay down. While the outcome wasn’t what we had hoped for, we’ll learn from this experience and come back stronger.”

Next up for Guilford: A road trip to Methodist on Saturday. Greensboro will visit Averett University in Danville, Virginia.

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Eric Lusk Publisher & Editor

Eric Lusk started NC Football News in 2023. He's an old newspaper guy with a fondness for underdogs, redemption stories and the triple-option offense. He's a proud graduate of Jesse O. Sanderson High School and UNC's School of Journalism. He's thankful for God's mercy, family and second chances.

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