EMORY, VA – The Catawba College football team was unable to recover from a big second quarter by the Emory & Henry Wasps in a South Atlantic Conference matchup at Fred Selfe Stadium on Saturday. Catawba scored twice late but fell by a final score of 38-23.
Friday's game began with a fumble on Catawba's initial kickoff return, but Runye Norton was able to recover at the 21-yard line. The Catawba Indians (1-4, 0-3 SAC) came out in more of a spread attack as quarterback Ridge Jacobs completed his first three pass attempts and Marquece Williams added a 4-yard rush up the middle to get things started. Williams also added a 26-yard grab down the near side to put Catawba in Wasps' territory.
Catawba got to the E&H 27-yard line before the drive stalled on a third and eight. The Wasps jumped offsides on the initial field goal attempt to bring up a 38-yard attempt. Clayton Crile's second attempt was blocked from an extended hand in the middle of the rush to keep Catawba off the board and 10:22 left in the quarter.
Emory and Henry (3-2, 2-1 SAC) looked to take advantage of the missed opportunity and drove down to Catawba's goalline in nine plays. Despite allowing gash plays for 33 and 18 yards, the Catawba defense stood firm when Jordan Gregg popped the ball out just before Emory & Henry's running back, Grayson Overstreet, crossed the plane. Izaiah Taylor came up with the loose ball in the end zone to force a touchback.
Catawba's next two drives ended in three-and-outs, and the defense got back-to-back stops to end the first quarter in a defensive stalemate.
The tide turned early in the second quarter when Emory & Henry quarterback Kyle Short connected on a 72-yard pass on the outside to set up the Wasps just outside the red zone. Five plays later, the E&H got on the board with a three-yard rush with 9:31 left before halftime.
On the ensuing Catawba drive, Jacobs threw a crucial interception across the middle of the field on third and long which was returned to the house for a touchdown. The Wasps went up 14-0 and had all the momentum.
Catawba's offense was stood up on fourth down and four yards to give the ball back to the Emory & Henry offense. The Wasps kept their foot on the gas and scored on a quick 57 yard strike on third and six to make it 21-0 with 4:14 left in the half.
Both teams went three-and-out when Catawba got the ball back with about two minutes left. Jacobs was able to bounce back and threw for 43 yards including a 26-yard connection to Kujuan Pryor to put the Indians in field goal range. Clayton Crile converted on a 42-yard field goal to bring the score to 21-3 at the break.
The three-touchdown advantage was too much for Catawba to overcome in the second half despite a pair of passing touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.
Emory & Henry kicked a 22-yard field goal after burning 7:24 off the clock on their first drive to make the score 24-3. Catawba got a spark from Kujuan Pryor when he returned a short kickoff 79 yards to the E&H four-yard line. Marquece Williams punched in a short run to make it a two-touchdown game, 24-10.
The Wasps kept it on the ground and chewed up another five and a half minutes of clock on their next possession. The nine-play drive ended in an eight-yard rushing score to put things out of reach at 31-10. Emory & Henry added a fourth quarter passing touchdown to bring it to 38-10.
The Catawba Indians scored twice in the final six minutes on passing scores from Jacobs to Williams and Kobe Christian. It was too little, too late as Catawba fell by a final score of 38-23, dropping their fourth straight game.
Ridge Jacobs ended the day 20-38 for 263 yards, two TD's, and an interception. Kujuan Pryor had five catches for 64 yards as well as 98 return yards for 162 all-purpose yards on the day. Jordan Gregg led the defense with 9 tackles, seven solo stops, a forced fumble, and a pass break up.
Catawba will play next Saturday on the road against Wingate at 6:00 p.m.
