Former Rosewood stars help Guilford College

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 12, 2006 1:48 PM

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GREENSBORO -- A trio of former Rosewood High standouts, now all teammates at Guilford College, helped the Division III program record its second consecutive non-losing season.

Junior Troy Smith (5-foot-11, 255 pounds) played exclusively on special teams and played just five games after sustaining a season-ending injury.

Danny Langston, a sophomore free safety, started all 10 games for the Quakers on defense. The 6-4, 190-pound converted quarterback emerged the team leader in tackles (74) and ranked second in both interceptions (3) and pass breakups (5).

Langston ranked fourth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with 7.4 tackles per game. He recorded a career- and team-high 12 tackles on Sept. 2 against Ferrum (Va.) College and led the team in tackles on three occasions.

A 5-10, 225-pound freshman, Markas Brunson started at defensive end but made his mark at linebacker. Brunson appeared in nine games and finished ninth on the team in tackles (33) and second in sacks (3.5).

Brunson posted a team-high nine stops in Guilford's upset of nationally-ranked Bridgewater (Va.) College on Oct. 14. He received the ODAC defensive player of the week after that game.

The threesome helped the Quakers fashion a 6-4 record, including a 3-3 worksheet against ODAC opposition. It was the best finish for the football team since 1997 when Guilford obtained a share of the ODAC championship, and finished 8-2 overall.

The Quakers recorded back-to-back non-losing seasons for the first time since 1990 and 1991.