GREENSBORO, NC – The Greensboro College football team opened their 2015 season under the lights on Saturday night in the 19th Annual Gate City Soup Bowl against Guilford College. The Pride found themselves down early in the game and could not recover falling by 77-13 score.
 
Guilford jumped out to a 42-0 lead before Greensboro was able to get on the board with a touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter of play. Mac Graham got the first scoring drive of the day started with four straight completions to move the ball to the Guilford College fifteen yard line.
 
Once Greensboro got into the red zone, Guilford was flagged for a defensive pass interference to give the Pride the ball first down and goal from the Quakers six yard line. After the Guilford penalty, running back Cortez Vernon chipped the ball down to one yard line following a five yard run before plunging into the end zone the next play making the score 42-6 follow a blocked point after attempt.
 
Guilford then responded back with a strike just before intermission to take a 49-6 lead into the break.
 
In their first possession of the third frame of play, Greensboro was not able to get the offense going as they were forced to punt the ball back to the Quakers following three straight plays. Guilford then found the end zone once again extending the Pride deficit to 56-6.
 
However, Greensboro did not give up and was able to cap off an eight play 78 yard drive with their final score of the day. Following a four yard rush by sophomore running back Famous Roberts from his own 22 yard line, Graham completed his longest pass of the day (62 yards) to Tavares Thomas to move the ball to the Quakers twelve yard line. Following a pair of short runs, Graham was able to run into the end zone on a bootleg run to the left side making the score  56-12. Scott Gaston then connected on the point after attempt making the score 56-13.
 
Guilford would then score the game's final 21 points to come away with the victory.
 
"Guilford was the better team tonight," Head Coach Bill Young remarked following the game. "This was not a great showing of who we are as a team and what we are about. We have to regroup as a team and have each other's back. We have a good football team that I care about, believe in, and trust in."
 
"We are going to crank it back up tomorrow and find a way to get better as we have a tough Bridgewater College team coming in next weekend."
 
Denzel Martin led the way for the Pride in the rushing category with 67 yards on four carries while Markez Brown rushed for 24 yard. Quarterback Mac Graham finished the day with 212 yards through the air on twelve completions. Raymond Bridges finished the day with 70 yards receiving.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Micah McMaster led the way with eight tackles while freshman Alante Tilley and Carlton Williams each recorded six. Corner Herbert Bridges also had a strong day for the Pride defense. Bridges finished the evening with five total tackles and four pass breakups.
 
The Pride will return to Jamieson Stadium again next Saturday night when the welcome the Golden Eagles of Bridgewater College. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM. For the latest on Pride athletics, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.