Cody Rau
Senior Cody Rau hauls in a 77-yard touchdown reception in Limestone's loss to Mars Hill.
51
Winner Mars Hill MHU 2-3 , 2-1
41
Limestone LC 0-5 , 0-2
Winner
Mars Hill MHU
2-3 , 2-1
51
Final
41
Limestone LC
0-5 , 0-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
MHU Mars Hill 10 14 7 20 51
LC Limestone 21 7 3 10 41

Game Recap: Football | | Ernest Meyers, Assistant A.D. for Media Relations

Limestone Football Remains Winless Following Homecoming Loss

GAFFNEY, S.C. – Senior wideout Cody Rau (Litchfield, Minn.) finished with seven catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore JoJo Watson (Camden, S.C.) added five receptions for 116 yards and a score, but it was not enough as the Limestone College football team dropped a high-scoring affair, 51-41, to Mars Hill University on Homecoming Saturday at The Reservation at Gaffney High School.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Mars Hill 51, Limestone 41
Records: Mars Hill (2-3, 2-1), Limestone (0-5, 0-2)
Location: The Reservation at Gaffney High School
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 
  • Sophomore QB DJ Phillips (Fayetteville, N.C.) registered his third career 300-yard game
  • He went 16-of-30 for 329 yards and three touchdowns
  • Rau and Watson combined for 12 catches for 291 yards and three touchdowns
  • Sophomore RB Jerko'ya Patton (Charlotte, N.C.) added 83 yards on 17 carries
  • Sophomore LB D'Meko Pryor (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted a career-high 11 tackles
  • Sophomore DB Grant Coleman (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in a special teams touchdown
  • Graduate DB Justin Wyatt (Suwanee, Ga.) returned an interception 55 yards for a score
  • Limestone posted a season-high 417 yards of total offense
  • The Lions accumulated 501 yards of offense, including 371 yards through the air
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First Quarter
 
Limestone took the opening kickoff and quickly moved down the field, capping a 5-play, 75-yard drive when Phillips found Rau streaking down the middle of the field for a 49-yard touchdown. Patton added 13 yards on the ground while adding a 13-yard reception as the Saints grabbed a 7-0 lead just 1:33 into play.
 
The Lions countered with a 13-play, 75-yard drive, tying things up a 7-all midway through the first, before adding a field goal on their next possession. Following a blocked punt, Limestone's defense forced the field goal attempt when senior DB Destinn Middleton (Lithonia, Ga.) ended the drive with a 10-yard sack.
 
That lead did not last long, however, as the Blue and Gold regained the lead, 14-10, one play later when Phillips connected with Rau behind the defense for a 77-yard touchdown. After the Limestone defense made a stop, a snap over the punter's head was recovered and returned 25 yards for a TD by Coleman.  
 
Second Quarter
 
Limestone was flagged with two unsportsmanlike penalties following the touchdown, giving Mars Hill great starting field position after the home team had to kick off from its own 10-yard line. Mars Hill needed just seven plays to find the end zone as the visitors cut the margin to 21-17 with 12:45 left in the half.
 
The Lions moved back in front, 24-21, on the next drive when Austin Brown hit Craig Rucker for a 19-yard touchdown on 4th-and-12. MHU would get the ball back shortly before the half, but Wyatt stepped in front of a pass in the flat and took it to the house – 55 yards – to give Limestone a 28-24 halftime advantage.
 
Third Quarter
 
Mars Hill struck fast to start the second half, needing just four plays to retake the lead, 31-28, as Rucker turned a quick-hitter in a 64-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Limestone tied things up late in the period when senior Griffin Martin (Goose Creek, S.C.) split the uprights from 20 yards out.
 
Fourth Quarter
 
The back-and-forth affair continued as Limestone and Mars Hill exchanged two long TD tosses early in the fourth quarter. Phillips hit Watson in stride down the visiting sideline for a 67-yard touchdown reception, staking the Saints to a 38-31 lead, but Rucker scored on a 70-yard bomb a few plays later.
 
The Saints moved back on top, 41-38, on a 33-yard field goal by Martin late in regulation, but the Lions went right back down the field to retake the lead on a 44-yard touchdown reception by Tyler Ferguson.
 
With less than three minutes remaining, Mars Hill put the game away as Jaden King picked off Phillips, who was hit on his release, and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. Rau then pulled in a 13-yard catch on the next possession, but a fumble on the play allowed the Lions to run out the clock on the 51-41 win.
 
TURNING POINT
 
In a game that featured three ties and nine lead changes, Mars Hill was able to post its second straight win after a defensive score followed up the go-ahead touchdown. Limestone turned the ball over just twice on the night, but both came in the final minutes of the game.  
 
NOTABLES
 
  • Limestone and Mars Hill combined for 918 yards of total offense and 92 total points
  • Rau's 175 receiving yards was the fourth highest single-game total in program history
  • His 77-yard touchdown is also the fourth longest pass play in team history
  • Watson's 67-yard touchdown catch is tied for the eighth longest pass play
  • The Saints scored 40 or more points in a game for the first time since beating Mars Hill in 2017
  • The Lions avenged their 56-49 double overtime loss to Limestone a year ago
  • Phillips registered just the fourth 300-yard game in team history – he has three of those records
 
UP NEXT
 
Following two straight home games, the Saints start a two-game road trip when they travel to face Carson-Newman University on Saturday, October 6 at 1 p.m.
 
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