Football Release (2005-06) - Records Fall in Guilford Football Win at Catholic - Guilford College

 

      Washington, DC (11-05-05) -- Redshirt-freshman quarterback Josh Vogelbach completed 45 passes for 582 yards and five touchdowns in Guilford College's record-setting 49-42 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football win at Catholic Saturday.

 The Quakers (4-5, 3-2 ODAC) notched their third straight win and fourth win overall, feats not accomplished by a Guilford football team since 2001. The Cardinals (2-7, 1-4 ODAC) dropped their third straight ODAC decision by a touchdown or less.

Catholic trimmed a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to seven points on touchdown passes by John Jacobs and Keith Ricca.  Ricca's 12-yard scoring strike to senior Nick Bublavi with 2:05 left provided the game's final margin, but not the final excitement.

Catholic recovered the ensuing onside kick and Jacobs completed a 30-yard pass to Bublavi down to the Quakers' 26-yard line. Two Ricca incompletions later, Guilford's Devon White picked off his second pass of the game and returned it 31 yards to the Quakers? 46-yardline with 58 seconds left to play. The interception preserved the victory and let Guilford run out the clock.

      The Quakers scored on its last four possessions of the first half and held a 35-21 edge at intermission. The offenses stalled a bit in the third quarter before Guilford scored on successive drives at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter. Catholic controlled the momentum in the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns and intercepting a Vogelbach pass in the end zone with 3:59 left that may have sealed the game.

      Vogelbach, a transfer from Division I-A East Carolina, set ODAC records for completions (45) and pass attempts (72) in a game. His 582 passing yards shattered the Quakers' previous record of 406 yards, which Vogelbach set earlier this year. He threw a school record-tying five touchdowns for the fifth time in six games and has 33 passing touchdowns on the year.

      Guilford junior receiver Chris Barnette tied an ODAC record with 17 receptions for 233 yards and a career-best three touchdowns. His 233 receiving yards set the Guilford record and stand third on the ODAC's all-time list. One of his touchdown catches was a 24-yard halfback pass by junior Micah Rushing. Rushing, who had nine catches for 119 yards, ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown, threw for a touchdown and caught a touchdown in the game.

      In addition to the single-game marks, Vogelbach broke three NCAA Division III freshman passing records. He surpassed the records for completions (245), passing yards (3,109) and total offense (3,203) set by Juniata's Greg Troutman in 2001.

      Catholic's offense produced impressive numbers in its own right. Ricca completed 25 of 46 passes for 452 yards and two scores. Jacobs finished with eight completions in 14 attempts for 106 yards and two touchdowns.  Ricca hooked up with Ryan Bowman on a school-record 96-yard touchdown pass five minutes into the game, which set the tone for the fireworks to come.

      Bublavi, who entered the game as Division III's leader in receptions and receiving yards per game, made 12 grabs for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Bowman finished with seven receptions for 168 yards and two scores. Chris Whitehead added six grabs for 138 yards.

      The marathon game lasted three hours and 29 minutes, without television coverage. The teams combined for 27 penalties worth 276 yards, which also prolonged the contest.

      Guilford bids for its first .500 season since 1997 Nov. 11 when it hosts league-rival Emory & Henry in both teams' season finale.  Catholic closes the 2005 season Saturday at ODAC champion Bridgewater.

 

-Photos courtesy of Jim Schlosser