Roanoke Football in their last home game found themselves in a thrilling close matchup with a common theme: How frequently Guilford was on the cusp of capitalizing before ultimately coming up short in the end. Guilford kicker Asher Frisbee was what felt like a mere foot away from converting a 48 yard field goal to take an early lead. However, the kick was just short, bouncing off the uprights back into the field of play.
After the opening drive, momentum quickly swung in Roanoke’s direction. Roanoke quarterback Kam Hill led a touchdown drive by completing four of six passes and the Maroons took an early 7-0 lead. Part of the reason for the offensive success was Hill’s ability to improvise as he made multiple plays under pressure.
Another sustained drive from the Roanoke team and a quick score from Guilford made the game 14-7 at the half. Defensively, Roanoke played quite well as defensive back Javier Waldron (who entered the game with six interceptions) continued to be a difference-maker making key tackles. Roanoke scored about midway through the 3rd quarter to extend the lead with a Linwood Johnson run. Although Roanoke’s lead seemed potentially insurmountable, Guilford was able to quickly respond with a touchdown of their own coming on a 51-yard run.
At the start of the 4th quarter, Hill threw an interception that Guilford returned back the other way for a score. With an opportunity to tie the game, Guilford’s kicker missed the extra point, meaning Roanoke still had a one-point lead. The lead remained intact for the rest of the 4th quarter, but Guilford certainly had their chances. Roanoke’s defense continued to thrive forcing incompletions on third down and not allowing Guilford’s offense to gain any momentum.
The game finished with Roanoke narrowly pulling out a 21-20 victory in an extremely tight game. Roanoke was able to do this in large part due to their win in the time of possession battle, as they held on to the ball for a whopping 36 minutes and four seconds. This helped wear down Guilford’s defense while also keeping the Maroon defense fresh enough to make key stops. Another key reason for the victory was a reason attributed by head coach Bryan Stinespring. This allowed the Maroons to get pressure on the quarterback. Roanoke finished with an impressive five sacks. Overall, it was a solid win by Roanoke football in spite of how close and nervewracking it was.
Ruben Krishna
Staff Reporter
