Football falls at #16 Lenoir-Rhyne

Hickory, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team tied 16th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne 7-7 in the second half, but could not make up their first half deficit, falling 28-7 at Moretz Stadium in Hickory in South Atlantic Conference football action Saturday afternoon.

TEAM STATS

- Lenoir-Rhyne gained 18 first downs to Catawba's 15

- Catawba held LR to 4-of-11 on third downs, but was just 4-of-17 on third downs themselves

- The Bears out-gained the Catawba Indians 418-232

- Lenoir-Rhyne held a slight edge in passing yards 190-188; the Bears dominated the ground game, leading 228-44

- Catawba forced and recovered two fumbles; LR forced and recovered one

- The Catawba Indians won the time of possession battle 34:45 to 25:15

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Bo Pryor caught seven passes for 37 yards and rushed for a touchdown

- Preston Brown completed 19 of 33 passes for 188 yards

- Kobe Christian and Conner McCarthy tied team-highs with 50 receiving yards apiece

- Malcolm Wilson rushed for a team-high 39 yards on 10 carries

- Jakarri Martin II led the team with 10 tackles and added a pass breakup

- Evan Simons had seven tackles and forced two fumbles

- Khalil Stimpson and Chase Rogers recovered the two fumbles

- Christian Campbell chipped in eight tackles

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- The Catawba Indians forced a three-and-out on the opening possession, but the Bears' defense forced a punt

- DeAree Rogers caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Sean White to give LR the early lead

- Lenoir-Rhyne drove the ball inside Catawba's 10-yard line, but the Catawba defense stood strong on a 4th and 2 to turn the Bears over

- LR struck for a 48-yard touchdown on White's pass to Deondre Lester to go up 14-0 with just over two minutes left in the quarter

SECOND QUARTER

- The teams traded points until LR drove into Catawba territory, but missed a short field goal try

- Lenoir-Rhyne got the ball back with under a minute to go in the half at their own 46-yard line

- White plunged in for a 1-yard score with just five seconds left to take a 21-0 lead into the halftime locker room

THIRD QUARTER

- Catawba took its opening drive of the second half 70 yards, capped by Pryor's 3-yard touchdown run

- The Bears answered with a 7-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, as Malakei Sumner's 11-yard touchdown grab gave LR a 28-7 lead

FOURTH QUARTER

- LR's Andre Jefferson forced a sack fumble early in the fourth quarter

- Catawba got the ball back on Simons' forced fumble on the second play of their ensuing drive

- After a Catawba punt, Simons forced another fumble with just over nine minutes left

- Catawba's 11-play drive ended with a loss on 4th & 1

UP NEXT

- Catawba closes its 2023 season next Saturday, traveling to Carson-Newman for a matchup with the Eagles at 1 p.m.