Complete Performance Powers Football’s 24-14 Win at Carson-Newman in Season Finale

Jefferson City, Tenn. —- The Catawba College football team completed its 2023 campaign on Saturday afternoon, earning their first road win in South Atlantic Conference play since 2017, defeating Carson-Newman 24-14 at Burke-Tarr Stadium.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba gained 22 first downs to Carson-Newman's 15

- The Catawba Indians were an impressive 9-of-14 on third downs, while holding the Eagles to just 4-of-12

- Catawba out-gained Carson-Newman in total yards 381-314

- The Eagles edged Catawba 234-198 through the air, but the Catawba Indians dominated the ground game with a 183-80 advantage in rush yards

- Carson-Newman committed 12 penalties for a total of 160 yards, while Catawba was flagged just five times for 47 yards

- Catawba lost a fumble for the game's lone turnover

- The Catawba Indians were sacked twice, while taking down the C-N QB once

- Catawba won the time-of-possession battle 38:46 to 21:14

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- LJ Turner rushed for a season-high 117 yards on 24 carries and caught a 48-yard touchdown pass

- Preston Brown threw 198 yards passing and rushed for 39 yards, scoring a touchdown both through the air and on the ground

- Bo Pryor finished the season one catch shy of the single-season program record, hauling in five passes Saturday for 79 yards

- Marquece Williams punched in Catawba's other touchdown with 34 yards rushing

- Luke Raykovicz led the defense with seven tackles

- Jakarri Martin II had six tackles, while Christian Campbell added five more with two tackles for loss

- Chase Rogers recorded the Catawba sack

- Juice Martin broke up a pair of passes on the afternoon

- Bryson Sims made a field goal and all three extra points

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Catawba forced a punt on the Eagles' opening possession

- Turner's 34-yard rush set the Catawba Indians up in the Carson-Newman red zone, before Williams plunged in for the 1-yard score to give Catawba the 7-0 lead

- The teams traded punts before the end of the opening quarter

SECOND QUARTER

- Carson-Newman drove the ball down to the Catawba goal line on their next possession

- The Eagles were unable to punch it into the end zone, as Campbell and Martin stepped up for the tackle at the line of scrimmage on 4th & goal

- Catawba moved out of the shadow of its own goal post, before the Catawba Indians lost a fumble, giving C-N possession in Catawba territory

- But the Catawba defense stood tall, forcing the Eagles to punt

- C-N brought the house on a third down, but Catawba countered with a wheel route to Turner, who took Brown's pass 48 yards untouched to double the Catawba Indian lead with just over a minute remaining in the half

- Catawba's defense kept the Eagles from scoring for their second shutout first half of the season

THIRD QUARTER

- On 3rd & 8, Brown hit Conner McCarthy for 22 yards to set up a goal-to-go situation for the Catawba Indians

- Brown snuck in for the touchdown from a yard out to give Catawba a dominant 21-0 lead at the 8:45 mark

- The teams traded punts in the two drives before the end of the third quarter, as Catawba led 21-0 with 15 minutes remaining

FOURTH QUARTER

- Carson-Newman got on the board on the first play of the fourth quarter, as Zane Whitson's 9-yard pass to Drew Morrison cut the Eagle deficit to 21-7

- After the teams traded punts, Catawba drove 71 yards in nine plays and used a 25-yard Sims field goal to restore their three-score lead, 24-7, with under six minutes remaining

- C-N responded, striking on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Whitson to Jeron Newson to cut the Catawba lead to 24-14 at the 3:27 mark

- Catawba recovered the onside kick and was forced to punt, but a Carson-Newman penalty gave the Catawba Indians a fresh set of downs and they ran out the rest of the clock to earn their fifth win of the year

HEAR FROM COACH HAINES

"Our program has come a long way this season," Haines said. "I couldn't be more proud of our players, coaches, staff, alumni and fans! We played a complete game today against a perennial power. Catawba Football is on the rise!"

Photo by Will Ridenhour. Visit catawbaathletics.com to stay up-to-date with all things Catawba Football over the offseason.