Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team clinched a winning campaign and improved to a perfect 5-0 record at home when it rolled to a 38-3 win over Tusculum during Homecoming in South Atlantic Conference play at Shuford Stadium on Saturday night.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-gained Tusculum 433-187
- The Catawba Indians earned 194 yards on the ground to 142 for the Pioneers
- Catawba passed for 239 yards while holding TU to just 45 yards passing on three completions
- The Catawba Indians racked up 22 first downs while holding Tusculum to 10 first downs
- Catawba totaled 115 yards on just two kickoff returns with a touchdown
- The Catawba Indians held a 33:58 to 26:02 in time of possession
- Catawba converted nine of 13 third downs, while holding TU to 2-for-13 on third downs
- The Catawba Indian defense recorded three sacks while the offensive line kept their own quarterback clean
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Quece Williams totaled 56 yards on the ground with a touchdown along with a team-high five catches for 73 yards and another touchdown through the air
- Preston Brown was 15-for-24 for 239 yards through the air and two touchdowns with another 28 rushing yards and a score on the ground with no turnovers
- Bo Pryor hauled in three passes for a team-best 83 yards
- Jaylen Hinton logged a team-high nine tackles and a QB hurry
- Nigel Gay added five tackles with two PBUs
- Tre Fields took a kickoff return 97 yards for a touchdown
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Catawba took the opening kickoff and marched 81 yards down the field in 12 plays, capped by Jalen Brown's toe-tap touchdown from five yards out to go up 7-0
SECOND QUARTER
- After forcing a three and out, Catawba went on another 12-play scoring drive; Preston Brown scampered for a nine-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to go up 14-0
- Tusculum embarked on its own 13-play drive, converting on a third down and a fourth down before settling for a 44-yard Max Turan field goal
- Catawba responded right back when Fields returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to lead 21-3
- The Catawba Indians forced a punt and added a score on Williams' 31-yard touchdown catch and run to take a 28-3 lead in the halftime locker room
THIRD QUARTER
- Tusculum went on a six-minute drive but it stalled when the Catawba Indians stood tall on a fourth down near their 40-yard line
- Catawba and TU traded drives that ended in a failed fourth down conversion
FOURTH QUARTER
- A 10-play drive from the Catawba Indians finished in a successful 26-yard field goal from Sims to take a 31-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter
- Catawba forced a punt and fired a 66-yard long ball to Pryor to set up Williams' six-yard touchdown plunge to go up 38-3
GAME NOTES
- Clinched a winning season, the first in the Haines era and the first six-win season since 2017
- Catawba improves to 5-0 at home; the Catawba Indians have scored 38 points or more in each of its home games
- The Catawba Indians stand in a three-way tie for second place in the SAC with Carson-Newman and Wingate; the teams are 1.5 games back of Newberry with a game in hand
UP NEXT
- Catawba heads to Jefferson City, Tenn. next week for a huge matchup in the SAC title race on the road at Carson-Newman; kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
