GAFFNEY, S.C. – Trailing by 14 points late in the fourth quarter, the Limestone University football team mounted a furious comeback by scoring two touchdowns over the final three minutes of regulation but would fall in overtime, 42-35, to visiting Mars Hill University on Saturday, April 10, at The Reservation.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Mars Hill 42, Limestone 35
Records: Mars Hill (1-2, 1-2), Limestone (1-3, 1-2)
Location: The Reservation
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Freshman QB Dustin Noller (Rock Hill, S.C.) threw for 187 yards and a season-high four TDs
- Junior WR Jadarius Hector (Stapleton, Ga.) posted four catches for 51 yards and two scores
- Graduate RB Anthony McAfee II (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown
- Junior WR Demond Ellison (Canton, Ga.) hauled in a touchdown reception
- Sophomore TE Jawan Dukes (Sandersville, Ga.) caught his second career touchdown pass
- Freshman RB Sebastian Lach (Fort Mill, S.C.) added six carries for 60 yards
- Sophomore LB Will Kelley (Seabrook, S.C.) tallied a team-high 10 tackles and two forced fumbles
- Sophomore LB Dedric Lewis (Evans, Ga.) chipped in eight tackles
- Sophomore DB Ray'Quan Ryant (Orangeburg, S.C.) finished with seven tackles
- Sophomore DB Kris Williams (Clinton, N.C.) logged two tackles and an interception
- Limestone finished with 382 yards of total offense, but turned the ball over twice
- Although the defense collected a pair of turnovers, Mars Hill put up 534 yards of offense
- A week after giving up over 500 yards passing, the Saints were gashed for 373 yards rushing
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Starting the game in a driving rain, the Limestone offense quickly went three-and-out before the Lions benefited from a short field following a 30-yard punt. Mars Hill used a pair of face mask penalties to move 48 yards on seven plays, but the defense stiffened up to end the drive and force a 33-yard field goal miss.
Following another three-and-out and a 25-yard punt, the Lions turned the excellent field position into points as they went 47 yards for the go-ahead score. However, after the extra point was blocked and a surprised onside kick failed, Limestone moved in front, 7-6, behind a 40-yard touchdown run by McAfee.
Second Quarter
Limestone and Mars Hill traded interceptions to end the first, but a pick by Williams would put the Saints in business early in the second. Lach powered the drive with 58 yards on the ground, including a 35-yard rush on the first play of the quarter, before Noller found Ellison for a 15-yard TD strike to make it 14-6.
The Lions followed up by moving the ball inside the Limestone 15 behind a long 72-yard drive, but the defense again came up big with a stop on 4
th-and-4. The Saints could not generate another stand on the ensuing possession as Mars Hill tied the game at 14-all behind a 68-yard drive right before the half. The visitors punched the ball in on 4
th-and goal at the 1 on a QB keeper before getting a two-point conversion.
Third Quarter
Mars Hill regained the lead, 21-14, midway through the third, again taking advantage of a short field, as a 25-yard touchdown run punctuated an 8-play, 53-yard drive. Limestone responded with a good-looking march, getting 37 yards on the ground from McAfee, but a sack ended the threat heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Limestone pinned the Lions inside their own five to start the fourth, but the visitors easily moved the ball 96 yards on just nine plays to extend the margin to 28-14 with 10:51 left. The Saints went nowhere on offense but got a momentum-shifting play on the resulting punt as Mars Hill muffed it at the 12-yard line.
The Blue and Gold cut the lead to 28-21 on the very next play as Noller hit a wide-open Dukes in the back of the endzone on a hard play-action. MHU then moved the ball to midfield with six straight runs, but the Limestone defense got the stop it needed, and the offense took over inside the 20 with 4:27 remaining.
It appeared that disaster had struck when the Lions intercepted a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage and then scored one play later to make it a 35-21 game. That was not the case, however, as the Saints responded with a furious comeback, scoring twice down the stretch to tie the game and force overtime.
Noller started the rally with a 23-yard pass to freshman TE
Terrence Walker (Commerce, Ga.) before hitting junior WR
Juwan Scott (North Charleston, S.C.) for a 30-yard gain to the MHU 5. Two plays later, Hector hauled in his first career TD reception to pull Limestone to within 35-28 with three minutes left.
The Blue and Gold attempted an onside kick that went out-of-bounds, giving the ball to the Lions on the plus side of the field, but the defense stopped them cold on 4
th-and-2. Starting at the Limestone 30, Noller scrambled twice for 21 yards before hooking up with Hector for gains of 12 and 15 yards. With 18 ticks showing on the clock, Noller then hit Hector at the front pylon for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Overtime
Mars Hill faced a fourth-and-1 from the 16-yard line on its first possession in overtime, but instead of kicking a field goal, it picked up 13 yards on a QB scramble. The Lions scored on the very next play – a three-yard run right up the gut – to move in front, 42-35, before giving Limestone an opportunity to tie.
Senior RB
Jerko'ya Patton (Charlotte, N.C.) started the drive with a hard seven-yard run, but a false start before the next snap pushed the ball backwards. Following an incompletion, Noller tossed a pass to Walker for six yards to set up a 4
th-and-2 from the 17. Limestone had the perfect play drawn up to force a second overtime, but a pass to a wide-open Walker was ruled out-of-bounds by an inch to end the game.
TURNING POINT
After falling behind by two touchdowns in the closing minutes after Mars Hill converted a turnover into points, Limestone put together a tremendous rally by scoring twice in the final three minutes of regulation. However, the Lions would steal the win in overtime after getting a break on an incompletion on 4
th-and-2.
NOTABLES
- Saturday's loss was the first time Limestone had ever lost an overtime game
- The Saints had been 4-0 in overtime games, including a double OT win at Mars Hill in 2017
- Noller tied the program's single-game record with four touchdown passes
- He has nine touchdown passes in the first four games of his career
- Limestone has allowed 40+ points in each of its past two games
- The Saints allowed two 100-yard games by Mars Hill running backs
- The Blue and Gold registered a special teams turnover for a second straight week
UP NEXT
Limestone will bring an unique spring 2021 season to a close next weekend when it travels to take on Erskine College on Saturday, April 17 at 12 p.m.