11/22/1901 - Guilford

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After putting up a lopsided yet decent fight against the Tar Heels the week before, the Farmers met up for the second time with the Quakers. The Crimson and Gray, who had fared decently well in 1900, had an abysmal 1901 season. After losing their season opener to Davidson 0-24 and Clemson the next day 0-122, and their previous game against A&M 6-12, the Quakers lost to UNC 0-42 before seemingly dropping off the grid-iron map. Though Guilford's official list of recognized games has only those four games played in 1901, the Quakers actually played in a few more, including this rematch on Friday, November 22nd.

Despite having not played a game for nearly a month, the Quakers' coaches decided to play two games on November 23rd. In a game that started at 1 PM, Guilford's team lost to UNC's scrub team at Chapel Hill by a score of 16-0 in a sham of a football game. Played on a torn-up field through a torrent of pouring rain, the game went for only 23 minutes of play time (15 minutes in the first half and 8 minutes in the second half) so that the Carolina faithful could follow along with the "telegraphic report" of their Varsity team's out-of-state matchup against Virginia. The game was watched by an estimated crowd of 50 people (Charlotte Daily Observer, November 24th, 1901, p. 1; The Tar Heel, November 27th, 1901, pp. 1-2). Thankfully for A&M, most of the rain missed Raleigh, as the city reported only 0.34 inches of rainfall and a mean temperature of 60 to make for a somewhat decent day for football (News and Observer, November 24th, 1901, p. 8).

Most pre-game reports emphasized that both teams had improved greatly since their last meeting. Guilford's team had been "materially strengthened" since their last meeting, while A&M had improved "in every respect" since they last met. They also focused on the fact that "The A. & M. has an old score to settle," emphasizing the Red and White's two losses to the Quakers the previous year (News and Observer, November 21st, 1901, p. 8; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 22nd, 1901, p. 5; News and Observer, November 22nd, 1901, p. 5).


Roster

A&M Guilford
Kennedy RE Yelverton
Gardner RT Patterson
Carpenter RG McNairy or Doak
Council C Millikan
Neal LG Doak or McNairy
Turner LT Albright
Gulley LE Gurley
Asbury QB Morton
Welch RHB Short
Richardson LHB Leak, R.
Wooten FB Ragan

Source 1, Source 2


Period Time Description NCSU GUIL
1st 24 NCSU - Welch - 50-55 yd Run (Turner kick) 2 plays, 78-80 yards, TOP 1 6 0
1st 9:15 NCSU - Richardson - ~1 yd Run (Turner kick) 2 plays, ~23 yards, TOP unk 12 0
2nd 18 NCSU - Welch or Wooten - 10-14 yd Run (Turner kick failed) 4-5 plays, 30-36 yards, TOP unk 17 0
2nd 7:40 NCSU - Richardson - 10-14 yd Run (Turner kick) 4 plays, 48-55 yards, TOP unk 23 0
2nd ~2 NCSU - Wooten - 4 yd Run (Turner kick) 14 plays, 74-75 yards, TOP 6 29 0
2nd ~1 NCSU - Asbury - 90-95 yd Kickoff Return (Turner kick failed) 0 plays, 90-95 yards, TOP 0:18-0:30 34 0

NCSU Opponent
Rushing TDs Richardson (2), Welch (1 or 2), Wooten (1 or 2), Asbury (1) none
Passing TDs N/A prior to 1906 N/A prior to 1906
Receiving TDs N/A prior to 1906 N/A prior to 1906
Defensive TDs none none
PATs Turner (4/6) none
2PT: N/A/ prior to 1958 N/A/ prior to 1958
FGs none none
Safety: none none
Game Notes:
Kick Off Time: 3:30 or 4 PM - 11/22/1901 - Guilford
Length: 45 (25 / 20) - Duration: unk
Attendance: unknown
Location: Fair Grounds - Raleigh, NC
Temperature: ???
Weather: ???
Wind: ???

The game was played in two halves, the first lasting 25 minutes and the second lasting 20 minutes. The game was reportedly "repeatedly delayed by injuries to players," which likely caused the second half to be shortened, on top of the lopsided score.

Guilford started the game with the ball, Ragan punting off 35 yards to either Kennedy or Turner; whoever caught the ball returned the ball 10-12 yards. After that, "Richardson played the wizard" and ran the ball 25-32 yards. Welch then carried the ball the remainder of the 50-55 yards down the field for a touchdown, and after one minute of play Turner kicked the goal to put the Farmers up 6-0.

Guilford kicked off a second time, kicking the ball 25 yards to Richardson, who either matched the distance or ran 14 yards. From there, Welch, Richardson, and Turner ran for 50-60 yards, with each of them making runs of 10 or more yards. When "The goal was almost in sight," Turner fumbled the ball, where it was recovered by Guilford. Morton immediately used this time to shine and tore off a 40-50 yard run; "a touchdown was only prevented by a splendid tackle by Welch." From there, Short, Patterson, Yelverton, Ragan, Leak, Alright, and Doak all combined to carry the ball for about 26 yards before Patterson lost the ball for the Crimson and Gray. Welch recovered the ball for the Red and White, and the Farmers then drove the ball 8 yards, mostly on a 7 yard run by Richardson, but then lost 10 yards for being off sides. Richardson carried the ball another 7 yards, but was unable to secure the first down, and kicked the ball away for 15 yards, where it was caught by Short, who ran the ball back 2 yards. Leak advanced the ball 22 yards, but Short subsequently lost 5 yards after being tackled by Gulley. Patterson gained another 2 yards, but Patterson then lost 12 yards after being tackled by Turner. The Red and White got the ball back, and Turner, Wooten, Richardson, Welch, and Gardner advanced the ball about 32 yards but then lost 4 yards on a fumble. Unable to convert for their down, Richardson kicked the ball 35 yards away to Leak, who immediately lost 4 yards. Patterson soon gained it back, but Doak elected to kick the ball 25 yards away to Wooten. Wooten, Turner, Welch, and Richardson carried the ball to within a few inches of the goal. From there, Richardson carried the ball over the goal line and Turner kicked the goal after 15 minutes and 45 seconds of play.

Guilford then delivered a booming kick, sending the ball over the line and giving A&M a free kick from the 25 yard line. Richardson himself had a good kick of 30 yards to Albright, who advanced the ball 6 yards. After that, Leak and Albright ran the ball twice for no gain, but then Doak ran for 25 yards to give the Quaker drive a new life. Shortly thereafter, though, the ball went over to A&M. Asbury immediately ran for 13 yards, followed by a fumble and a 4 yard run for no total gain. After that, Richardson kicked the ball 20 yards away to Morton. The Quakers then advanced the ball a short distance before the half ended with the ball on A&M's 45 yard line with the score still at 0-12.

A&M kicked the ball to open the second half with Wooten kicking the ball about 40 yards. Short caught the kick for the Crimson and Gray and carried the ball 1 yard upfield. On his second carry Short ran for 4 more yards, and on their third play of the second half the Quakers' Ragan fumbled the ball away to A&M. Welch carried the ball 3 yards, and then the Farmers ran away with it; following Welch's run, Richardson and Wooten carried the ball about 10-15 yards each towards the Quaker goal line. The News and Observer wrote "Wooten made a ten yard spurt for a touchdown" while the Morning News wrote "Welch gains 14 yards for a touchdown." Whoever earned the touchdown, Turner's goal kick missed, and after two minutes of play the Farmers were ahead 17-0.

Ragan of Guilford then kicked off 20 yards to Turner, who advanced the ball 7-10 yards. A fumble lost the Farmers about 2 yards, but Richardson then made a 15-18 yard run, and a second run of 7-9 yards by Welch advanced the bal further. From there, reports vary on exactly who carried the ball and what distance the ball was carried, but some combination of Richardson, Welch, Wooten, and Gardner advanced the ball to about 5 yards from Guilford's goal line, with most of the plays being 5-10 yards each run. One of the plays in that drive was described as follows: "Gardner breaks through the line for 8 yards practically dragging the whole opposing team with him for half that distance." The Quakers braced up, however, and after three tries to advance the ball to the first down line the ball went over to Guilford. After 7 runs of less that 5 yards each by Leak, Ragan, Patterson, Morton, Doak, and Short, Leak broke free for a 17-20 yard run, but "in the midst of all this good work" Short fumbled the ball and possession was recovered by A&M. After the Red and White got the ball, nothing could stop them from scoring: Richardson ran the ball for 14-15 yards, Welch advanced the ball another 14-15 yards on "the same trick," followed by a 10-11 yards run by Richardson where he leapt over the Quaker line, and then another carry by Richardson for 10-14 yards which brought the ball across the goal line. After 12 minutes and 20 seconds more of play the score was 23-0 in favor of the Farmers after Turner made the goal kick.

Guilford kicked off to Turner, who advanced the ball 10 yards. Richardson, Gardner, Wooten, Turner, and Welch carried the ball at a decent speed across the field in mostly 5 yard chunks aside from a 14-15 yard dash by Turner and an 11 yard run by Richardson. Finally, Wooten carried the ball the last 4 yards over the goal line to earn A&M's fifth touchdown, and Turner made his goal kick to put the score at 29-0 after 6 more minutes of play.

The next drive lasted between 18 and 30 seconds according to the News and Observer and was described as the "star feature of the game." Guilford kicked off 35-40 yards to Asbury, who ran the ball the length of the field. "Aided by magnificent interference" Asbury made his way across the field "dodging and squirming" all the way. Turner missed the goal kick and the score sat at a resounding 34-0 with very little time remaining in the game.

Though the cumulative time lengths of the drives already added up to more than the 20 minutes the second half was reported to be, Guilford kicked the ball off for one last time. A&M's drive, which was reported to be two minutes long, started with Richardson returning the kick 25 yards, followed by a 12 yard carry by Welch, a 17 yard run by Richardson, a 5 yard pickup by Gardner, an 11 yard gain by Turner, a 24 yard run by Richardson, a pair of 7 yard runs by Welch and Turner, and finally a 3 yard run by Richardson. Time was called with the ball just 10 yards from a seventh touchdown (News and Observer, November 23rd, 1901, p. 5; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 23rd, 1901, p. 5).

The Red and White would go on to play one more game that season, against Davidson. Guilford's season would continue on its downward spiral. After losing to both A&M and UNC's scrubs on November 23rd, the Quakers played a game on November 30th against the High Point Graded School by a score of 12-6. 1901 would be the second winless season in Quaker history, the first being their 1898 season.

Last updated: 6/4/2024