On Nov. 22, the Guilford football team traveled to Daniel Hand for the annual Thanksgiving week clash. The Grizzlies took a 36-20 loss to finish the season with an overall record of 8-2.

In the contest, senior Tyler Hilgert went 19-for-30 on 222 passing yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. In the run game, junior Caden Hillier had 16 carries for 120 yards, while Hilgert added eight carries for 44 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Alex Tafro contributed with one carry for 13 yards, and junior Kevin Smith had one carry for one yard.

Senior Jake Jahnige recorded seven receptions on 139 receiving yards, also scoring a touchdown. Hillier (six receptions,

43 yards) and senior Brady Hallihan (one reception, six yards, one touchdown) also helped to move the chains on offense. Senior Joe Tafro had two receptions for nine yards, senior Jaco Corso added one reception for 14 yards, and senior Trevor Ridley had two receptions for 20 yards. Corso and Hilgert each recorded a fumble in the game. Hilgert led the team in total yards with 266, followed by Hillier with 163, and Jahnige with 139.

A variety of players recorded tackles in the contest to help keep Guilford in it. Jahnige had 10 total tackles (two solo, eight assisted) and Hallihan also had 10 (seven solo, three assisted). Senior Vinny McGill (two solo, one assisted) added three total tackles, and Corso recorded four (all solo). Senior Buddy Gambardella contributed with two solo tackles and three assisted for five total, and junior Rocco Barbera delivered with nine total tackles (two solo, seven assisted). Junior Kevin Smith (10 total tackles) had two solo and eight assisted.

Aiding even more to shutting down the opposing players, sophomore Aiden Ruotolo recorded two total tackles (one solo, one assisted) and junior Jake Hedge had three total tackles (all assisted). Sophomore Alex Uzzo had one solo tackle, and sophomore Aiden Connelly added nine total tackles (three solo, six assisted). Junior Logan Murphy (three assisted tackles) and senior Timothy Hastings (four assisted tackles) helped contribute to the team’s 73 total tackles on the evening.

The SCC recently announced the 2023 All-Conference players for football, and despite coming up short in the big annual rivalry game, the Grizzlies still had quite a few players stand out in the conference for their efforts on the gridiron. Guilford’s offensive linemen Tim Hastings and James Oberg were named to the Tier 3 team for offense. Also named to that list were wide receiver Trevor Ridley, running back Caden Hillier, and quarterback Tyler Hilgert. On the Tier 3 defensive side for All-SCC, Guilford’s defensive linemen Logan Murphy and Buddy Gambardella earned the honors, as well as defensive back Jake Jahnige.