GUILFORD – Guilford soccer opened with two landing drives and went on to close out Xavier 19-0 on Friday night time at Kavanaugh Turf Discipline.
Operating again Shane Connelly broke off a number of huge runs and scored twice. He credited his offensive line for opening operating lanes.
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Connelly put the Grizzlies on the board with a 7-yard landing run on their opening drive. After Guilford’s protection pressured a three-and-out, quarterback Ryan Lynch discovered Reed Hovick broad open for a 72-yard landing, making it 13-0.
“It was big [to get two touchdowns on our first two drives] not understanding what the climate was going to be,” Guilford head coach Brian White mentioned. “Beginning early was one thing we’ve not actually carried out this 12 months, so we wished to attempt to get out of the gate a little bit earlier and doing that on our first two drives undoubtedly helped us.”
Quickly after Hovick’s landing, the rain got here down exhausting and the wind picked up, turning the second quarter right into a defensive battle.
The rain let up within the third quarter, and Connelly broke free for a 78-yard landing run on a quarterback draw.
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“Truthfully, I [was just trying to] make it to the tip zone,” Connelly mentioned. “I used to be drained. I virtually ran out of fuel on the finish, however I made it.”
Xavier seemed to reply instantly. On the primary play from scrimmage, quarterback Maxwell Murphy scrambled for a 42-yard acquire.
The Falcons drove into the purple zone, however Hyde Jacobson intercepted Murphy’s move after it was deflected.
Guilford then moved into the purple zone behind a collection of runs by Connelly, however Xavier obtained the ball again when Carmine Balogh intercepted Lynch’s move ultimately zone.
After one other lengthy Xavier drive, Guilford pressured one other turnover. Benjamin Mennone made a formidable one-handed interception.
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“I noticed the man operating a submit on the surface; I seemed up – the ball was coming my approach, and I simply made a catch,” Mennone mentioned.
Guilford remained undefeated, however White mentioned his crew is aware of the schedule will get more durable and is concentrated on taking it one recreation at a time.
Connelly credited his teammates for his efficiency and mentioned the crew nonetheless has work to do.
“I feel we’re doing nice,” Connelly mentioned. “We simply obtained to maintain doing what we do.”
Participant of the sport
Shane Connelly, Guilford: Ran for 2 touchdowns, one for 78 yards and the opposite for 7, to assist maintain the Grizzlies unbeaten.
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Quotable
“Shane is electrical. He can actually break it at any time. We’ve some actually good receivers, however we knew the climate was going to be a problem with the wind, so throwing the ball was going to be type of troublesome for us. I believed, for essentially the most half, it was a very good crew effort with protection and offense mixed.” – Guilford coach Brian White.
Guilford 19, Xavier 0
XAVIER 0 0 0 0- 0
GUILFORD 13 0 6 0-19
G- Shane Connelly 7 run (Owen Andrews kick)
G- Reed Hovick 72 move from Ryan Lynch (kick blocked)
G- Connelly 78 run (kick blocked)
Guilford 3-0; Xavier 2-1.
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This text initially printed at Guilford soccer stays unbeaten after shutout of Xavier; Connelly scores twice.