MOBILE: VIDEO PREVIEW WITH HEAD COACH MICHAEL CLARK
BRIDGEWATER, Va. - Two teams coming off of tough losses a week ago will meet up on the gridiron on Saturday in a matchup that will eliminate one team from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title discussion when the Bridgewater Eagles football team tangles with Guilford.
Last week at the Jopson Athletic Complex, the Bridgewater (4-1, 1-1 ODAC) offense struggled to establish itself while the defense couldn't slow a fast-paced Emory & Henry attack in a 34-21 loss to the Wasps. Bridgewater trailed by as many as 27 points late in the fourth quarter prior to scoring two touchdowns in the final minutes for the final 13-point margin.
Guilford (4-1, 1-1 ODAC) is also reeling off of a double-digit loss after the Quakers fell for the first time this season by a 47-31 tally at Shenandoah. The Quakers stared down a 28-point deficit in the third quarter before drawing closer to the Hornets down the stretch run of the game.
Bridgewater's quarterback battle remains up in the air as junior Matthew Pisarcik threw three touchdowns and fellow junior Ross Rushing threw a touchdown pass and rushed for an additional score in the loss. On the year, Pisarcik's completed 61.1% of his passes for 780 yards and nine scores, but the Centreville, Va. native has been intercepted six times. Rushing owns four touchdown passes and just one interception.
The Bridgewater rushing attack got back on track in the conference opener against Shenandoah and turned in a 126-yard effort against the Wasps. Senior Jacob Wright approached the century mark with 88 yards on 16 carries. The Manassas Park, Va. native rushed for a touchdown for the second straight week.
On the receiving end, sophomore Jeffrey Moore leads the squad with 26 receptions for 238 yards. Senior Cliff Woodard adds in a team-high 304 yards and six touchdown receptions in a unit that's had 19 players haul in a pass.
Defensively, the Eagles are led by the play of senior defensive back Darrick Gore. Gore owns 48 tackles on the year and a team-high two interceptions. Linebacker Alex Collins is close behind with 47 stops, including four behind the line of scrimmage.
Guilford's offense continues to move to the beat of junior Matt Pawlowski. Pawlowski owns a substantial lead over the rest of the ODAC in every major passing category as the junior has thrown for 1,863 yards and 22 scores. In last week's loss at Guilford, Pawlowski threw for 460 yards and three scores but he was intercepted three times, which marked his first interceptions of the season.
Despite missing the last two games, Josh Schow leads the squad with 333 yards on 79 carries. In Schow's absense, De'Eric Bell's rolled up 274 yards and three scores while being named the ODAC Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 6.
Adam Smith and Austen Thompson pace the Quakers with 24 receptions each. Smith leads the squad with 533 receiving yards and a league-high 10 touchdowns. Thompson chips in 271 yards and a pair of touchdown catches.
Senior defensive back Satiir Stevenson leads the squad with an ODAC-leading 53 tackles. Stevenson's also picked off three passes.
Saturday's matchup marks the 41st meeting in a series history that dates back to 1936 when the Quakers defeated Bridgewater by a 20-13 tally. Guilford owns the series with a 23-17 mark against the Eagles after last season's 21-14 victory over the Eagles at the Jopson Athletic Complex. The victory marked the second in a row for Guilford after Bridgewater claimed five games in a row in the series with the Quakers.
Kick off on Saturday afternoon is set for 1 p.m. at the Armfield Athletic Center. For fans who are unable to attend, the game will be aired live on 95.5 WBOP FM with the pregame show starting at 12:30 p.m.
