Salisbury, N.C. —- A short-handed Catawba College football team fell in its final road regular season game on Saturday afternoon to Barton College, 49-35, in South Atlantic Conference football action.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Barton converted 23 first downs to Catawba's 20
- The Bulldogs were 8-for-14 (57 percent) on third down, while the Catawba Indians were 7-of-15 (47 percent)
- Catawba converted two of the three fourth-down conversion attempts in the game (67 percent)
- BC recorded 539 yards of total offense compared to 443 yards for Catawba
- The Catawba Indians had 348 yards passing versus 263 yards in the air for the Bulldogs
- BC tallied 276 yards rushing, while Catawba was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season with 95 yards on the ground
- Barton was flagged nine times for 95 yards, while Catawba had just two penalties on the game for 30 yards
- Both teams committed two turnovers; the Catawba Indians threw two interceptions, while Barton threw a pick and lost a fumble
- The Bulldogs held an edge in time of possession, 30:32 to 29:28
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Quece Williams had four touchdowns on the day, running for 41 yards on 11 carries with three touchdowns on the ground and seven catches for 69 yards and another score through the air
- Kobe Christian hauled in six passes for a team-high 144 yards receiving
- Amari McArthur grabbed a team-best eight passes for 96 yards
- Kevon Rivera added 30 yards on the ground with another rushing score
- Mason Fortune was 28-for-45 with 348 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in his first career start under center
- Luke Raykovicz recorded a team-high nine tackles and an interception in his return to game action
- Khalil Stimpson added eight stops; Evan Simons had 1.5 tackles for loss
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Catawba's offense stalled on its opening drive and was forced to punt
- Barton drove the ball into the Catawba red zone, but a 35-yard field goal attempt missed wide right
- Fortune was intercepted by Mike Webb on the next drive, setting up the Bulldogs near midfield
- BC's Jackson Parrish rushed for a 25-yard touchdown on third down, giving Barton the early 7-0 lead
SECOND QUARTER
- After the teams traded punts, the Catawba Indians drove the ball 69 yards, capped by a three-yard Williams touchdown score to tie the game at 7 at the 10:21 mark
- The Catawba defense forced another Barton punt; McArthur's 35-yard reception allowed Williams to score again from 15 yards out to take a 14-7 lead near the four-minute mark
- Barton answered on the first play of its ensuing drive, as Al Lee found Zakvil Smith for a 75-yard touchdown catch and run
- A Catawba fumble gave the Bulldogs possession deep into Catawba territory
- Parrish plunged in for a two-yard score with under three minutes left in the half
- After the Bulldogs forced a punt, the Barton offense drove nearly 70 yards, but the 49-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half was blocked by Jymiek Sampson to keep the Catawba deficit to 49-35 entering the halftime locker room
THIRD QUARTER
- Catawba forced a punt on Barton's opening drive of the second half
- Two plays later, Fortune's pass was intercepted by Nasir Winston and returned 32 yards for a touchdown to extend Barton's lead
- The teams traded punts until Raykovicz intercepted Barton's Al Lee to stop a Barton drive that started in Catawba territory
- A pass interference call and a 43-yard catch and run by Christian set up Rivera's two-yard touchdown score just before the end of the third quarter with Catawba trailing 28-21
FOURTH QUARTER
- Barton struck for a 53-yard touchdown catch by Jaylen Flood-Brown to extend their lead to two scores, but the PAT attempt failed
- Catawba answered, as Christian turned in a 54-yard catch to set up Williams's two-yard score to cut the Catawba Indian deficit to six points
- An impactful third-down pass interference penalty and another 3rd & long conversion highlighted Barton's 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive capped by Parish's seven-yard touchdown run; the two-point conversion was successful, returning Barton's lead to 14 points with five minutes left
- Fortune found Williams for an 11-yard touchdown on 4th & goal to cut the deficit back to a single score at the 2:17 mark with timeouts still in their back pocket
- Barton recovered the onside kick and Dakauri Davis broke free for a game-sealing, 45-yard touchdown run
- Catawba drove the ball inside the Bulldogs' 25-yard line, but the Barton defense stood tall on fourth down to solidify the result
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Shuford Stadium next week for the first of two November home games; they'll face 12th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne in the Hall of Fame Game on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.
