Durham, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team looks to bounce back from its opening-week loss at FCS Davidson with another non-conference road test at Shaw. The matchup concludes Catawba's non-conference slate for the 2024 season.

THE MATCHUP

Who: Catawba (0-1, 0-0 SAC) at Shaw (2-0, 0-0 CIAA)

Where: Durham County Memorial Stadium, Durham, N.C.

When: Saturday, Sept. 14, 6 p.m.

How to Follow: CIAA Sports Network | Live Stats

THE HISTORY

- Catawba and Shaw have only met once before, a 32-21 Catawba win on Sept. 18, 2010 at Shuford Stadium

- Patrick Dennis threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns in the Catawba win, while Josh Wright ran for over 100 yards on the ground

LAST TIME OUT

- Catawba fell to FCS foe Davidson in the opening game of the season, 49-14

- The Catawba Indians matched a game-opening Wildcat touchdown with a 10–play, 75-yard touchdown drive of their own, but DC scored the game's next four touchdowns to grow a sizable lead by the end of the third quarter

- Davidson ran for 399 rushing yards in the game and did not commit a turnover

- Senior tight end Kobe Christian caught a team-high six passes for 31 yards; Evan Simons led the way defensively with 12 tackles

- Despite the loss, the Davidson game does not affect selection criteria for the NCAA Division II Play-offs

- Haines at Catawba Football Coaches Radio Show: "We didn't play well. That was our first game. It was a big atmosphere, with them opening up their stadium, but that's not an excuse… They didn't make very many mistakes against us. They executed at a high level and credit to their staff and their players. They out-played us and they definitely out-coached us… We put that one behind us… and we're looking forward to week two."

THE TAILBACK CORRAL

- Catawba spread the carries across its four main tailbacks at Davidson in a similar way it did much of last season

- Quece Williams led the way with nine carries, but it was LJ Turner who made most of his opportunities, averaging 19 yards per carry for a team-high 76 yards on the ground

NEXT MAN UP

- Catawba lost all-conference wide receiver Bo Pryor for the season due to injury at Davidson, but Haines described a "next man up" mentality at the position

- Haines on Pryor's injury: "He's the best player in the conference, so it affects us, but the show goes on, and we're looking forward to next week."

- The likely replacements for Pryor's production are mostly new to the Catawba football program, as over half of the receptions for Catawba at Davidson were recorded by players making their Catawba debut

- Freshman and Salisbury High graduate Mike Geter led that group with four receptions, while North Carolina A&T transfer Nick Wilds-Lawing broke through with a 42-yard catch

SCOUTING THE BEARS

- Shaw has two victories already on the season, both coming in very contrasting styles, as the Bears topped Elizabeth City State in a Week 0 opener, 17-14, before scoring 27 points in the fourth quarter to beat Albany State on the road in a shootout, 43-40

- Shaw quarterback and Butler HS grad Christian Peters threw for 322 yards and five touchdown passes, earning HBCU National Player of the Week honors as a result

- Catawba's defense will likely see more of a pass-heavy attack than it did a week ago, as Shaw recorded 26 pass attempts in its win over ECSU despite leading the entire way. The attempts jumped to 42 in the comeback victory over Albany State

- Haines on Peters: "Shaw's whole team is predicated on its quarterback. He's very athletic, he escapes the pocket and extends plays. I would say he's kind of like a Patrick Mahomes-college version, but he is very fast. We have our hands full."

- Shaw also runs the ball at a good clip, as starting tailback Traveon Tensley has recorded 19 or more carries in both of his starts; another Butler High grad, Tensley ran for 121 yards in the opener vs. ECSU

- A season ago, Shaw played two common opponents to Catawba, defeating ECSU on the road in late September, 20-17, before falling at Livingstone by a single point in mid-October, 27-26

UP NEXT

- Catawba wraps up its non-conference play this week; the Catawba Indians will turn its attention to South Atlantic Conference play next week, traveling to UVA Wise for the league opener at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21