ASHLAND, Va. - Burke Estes threw four first-half touchdown passes in Randolph-Macon College's 63-34 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) football win over visiting Guilford College Saturday. Estes completed 12-of-14 passes, all in the first half, for 166 yards and helped the Yellow Jackets (4-1, 2-0 ODAC) open an insurmountable 42-0 halftime lead.
Randolph-Macon took a 14-0 lead just over five minutes into the game. Tre Frederick scored on a 71-yard touchdown run on the game's fourth offensive play. Bryan Sullivan recovered a Quakers' fumble on their second play from scrimmage, which set up Estes' first touchdown pass, a 27-yard strike to tight end Sam Tanner.
Guilford's Will Kilgo returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to the Yellow Jackets' 25-yard line, but failed to advance the ball before turning the ball over on downs. A Trevon Simmons sack forced the Yellow Jackets' lone punt of the first half, but Randolph-Macon reclaimed possession on the very next play as Tyler DeBerry stepped in front of a Quakers' screen pass at the Guilford 31 and returned it 11 yards to the 20. Three plays later Eric Hoy carried the ball into the end zone out of the wildcat formation for a 21-0 Randolph-Macon edge.
Estes led scoring drives of 85, 59, and 56 yards in the second quarter and capped each with a short touchdown pass. Christian Redman, Tanner, and Jordan Foster caught the touchdowns as Randolph-Macon scored touchdowns on seven of their first nine possessions.
Guilford's (1-3, 0-2 ODAC) offense came to life in the third quarter as the Quakers scored on three straight possessions. Alex Manley found London Duvall for a 44-yard catch and run, followed by scoring runs of two and 78 yards by redshirt senior De'Eric Bell. Bell broke Guilford's career rushing record on the 78-yard run jaunt, passing Reggie Kenan '77, whose mark of 3,486 yards had stood since 1976. Bell finished the game with 134 rushing yards and two scores, which gives him 12 rushing touchdowns on the year, one shy of his school standard set in 2017. He tied Kenan for second place on Guilford's career 100-yard rushing games (15).
Both teams substituted liberally in the second half. Randolph-Macon's Jordan Hall scored on third-quarter runs of four and 61 as the Yellow Jackets' reserves moved the ball effectively in the second half. Zion Dennis picked off a Quakers' pass at the Guilford 11, which led to Marcus Bazala's two-yard score, Randolph-Macon's final points of the game.
Guilford senior quarterback Joe Ferrick threw his first college touchdown pass, a 59-yard strike to Desmond Marshall early in the fourth quarter. Ferrick completed five of 11 passes for 94 yards and a score before giving way to classmate Taylor Kickler. Kickler moved the Quakers downfield in the final minute to set up Eryk Brandon-Dean's three-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds left. Jordan Smith's two-point conversion run capped the game's scoring. Brandon-Dean had a season-high 70 rushing yards on seven carries. Guilford's Bryce Smith paced the defense with 11 tackles.
Hall led Randolph-Macon's running backs with 110 yards and two scores on 13 carries. Frederick ran five times for 83 yards and Shaheed Adeyola added 54 rushing yards. Randolph-Macon ran 51 times for 294 yards and rolled up 563 total offensive yards compared to Guilford's 520.
Coach Chris Rusiewicz's Quakers host Ferrum College in a Thursday night league game October 11 at 7:00 p.m.