Weekly SAC Football Notes, November 18, 2007

Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games of Saturday, November 17:

CATAWBA -- The Catawba Indians put up post-season highs of 66 points and 643 yards in winning their first round playoff game against Albany State on Saturday … In the 66-35 win, Brad Roach set a new school mark by firing five touchdown passes … The senior was 18-of-34 for 340 yards with most of the damaging going to Brent Johnson (9 catches, 155 yards 3 TDs) and Antwan Strong (4 catches, 130 yards, 2 TDs) … Jamelle Cuthbertson eclipsed the 100-yard mark, rushing for 149 yards on nine carries for a 16.6 average … Catawba scored on its first possession and cashed in a second first-quarter score after a Cortez Best interception for a 14-0 lead just over six minutes into the game … Albany State would rally to tie the score at 21-21, but Roach led the Indians 80 yards in the final minute of the opening half to take a 28-21 edge at the break … Catawba would pull away in the final half, gaining nearly 400 yards … After Albany State pulled within 31-28 on an 84-yard kickoff return, Catawba jumped up by 17 points in a span of 1:20 … Two plays after the kickoff return, Roach threw a 63-yard pass to Strong and two plays later Ron Ellington returned a fumble 15 yards for a 45-28 lead … In the fourth quarter, Kory Fisher scored on a short run, Johnson caught a reverse pass from Lee Page and Travis Landrum hauled in Roach's record breaking scoring toss for a 66-28 edge … Thomas Presley had 11 tackles on defense for Catawba, while Ellington had 10 stops with the fumble return for a score, another forced fumble, a sack and an additional stop for a loss … Tyrone Moore forced the key fumble and also had an interception … The 66 points was the forth highest in school history and the first time since a 73-0 win over Guilford in 1987 that the Indians had scored 60 or more points … The 643 yards was just short of the season-high 651 yards Catawba had in its win over Carson-Newman … The playoff win was the first for Chip Hester after first round losses in 2002 at Valdosta State (24-7) and 2004 at Arkansas Tech (24-20) … Catawba improved to 4-1 in home playoff games and a perfect 4-0 in home first round games … The Indians advance to face Valdosta State, the Southeast Region's top-seed … it marks the third meeting of the schools in football, all in the playoffs … Catawba won a 2001 meeting against then No. 1 Valdosta State 37-34 in overtime for the South Region Championship … In 2002, Catawba again traveled to Valdosta and fell 24-7 in Hester's first year as head coach.