ROCKFORD — Guilford’s defense collected seven turnovers and dominated Auburn in a 45-6 victory Friday night at Swanson Stadium.

Auburn could must only six first downs and 144 yards of total offense.

“It’s always the goal to not give them a lot of yards, not many first downs,” junior linebacker Austin Wearsch said. “We knew our game plan and stuck to it.”

Wearsch scored a second-quarter touchdown for Guilford (2-2) when Nate McGuire blocked a punt and Wearsch pounced on the ball in the end zone.

“It’s always fun when you get an opportunity like that,” he said.

Wearsch also had a team-high six tackles and a sack in the first half as Guilford moved to a 31-6 lead by the intermission. He also added a second-half interception.

Auburn’s offense took a major hit late in the second period when quarterback Nick Montgomery injured his hand on a sack and didn’t return. He was 4-of-5 passing for 75 yards and had the lone touchdown for the Knights (1-3) on a 52-yard screen pass to Eddie Cade.

Guilford scored four rushing touchdowns and ran for 201 yards. Junior tailback Tim Hill rushed for a game-high 115 yards on 19 carries, which included a 4-yard TD run.

“I give all the credit to the line,” he said. “The holes were there. Sometimes I had to bounce it out a little bit because (Auburn) was reading the play. But I just followed my blocking and made a few cuts.”

Zane Gilfillan (2 yards), Devian Zachary (13 yards) and quarterback Jeff Janusevic (18 yards) also ran for Guilford touchdowns. In addition, Janusevic threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Avery Sherman on the Vikings’ first second-half possession on a fourth-and-9 play.

Tyler Anderson hit a 27-yard field and five point-after kicks.

- Doug Goodman, rrstar.com