Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team defeated the final unbeaten team in South Atlantic Conference play in Mars Hill on Saturday night in Shuford Stadium for the Catawba Indians' fourth straight win.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-gained Mars Hill 425-366
- The Catawba Indians rushed for 218 yards while keeping the Lions to 59 yards on the ground
- MHU passed for 307 yards compared to Catawba's 207 yards through the air
- The Catawba Indians picked up 25 first downs; Mars Hill gained 17 first downs
- Catawba was 8-of-13 on third down while holding the Lions to 4-for-12 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down
- The Catawba Indians recorded three sacks while MHU got to Catawba's signal caller just once
- Both teams turned the ball over once on an interception
- Catawba led the time-of-possession battle 34:03 to 25:57
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Kevin Lalin rushed for 173 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown on the ground in addition to a 13-yard touchdown grab
- Bennett Galloway ran for 50 yards and his 11th touchdown of the season
- Preston Brown was 17-for-27 for 207 yards with three touchdowns and an interception with another touchdown on the ground
- Bo Pryor hauled in a team-high seven catches for 72 yards
- Jalen Brown and Quece Williams caught touchdowns
- Evan Simons racked up 12 tackles with three TFLs, two sacks and an interception
- Alex Evans added seven tackles; Isaiah Herrera picked up a sack
- Bryson Sims was 6-for-6 on PATs; Kylan Odean averaged 41 yards on three punts
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Mars Hill forced a Catawba to a three-and-out on its opening possession, but Simons intercepted Mars Hill quarterback JR Martin on third down of the Lions' first possession and returned inside the red zone
- Catawba rushed it four times and two Galloway rushes finished the deal as his 1-yard plunge gave Catawba a 7-0 lead
- Martin's deep pass to Ed Louis Jr. on third down was hauled in for a 62-yard Lions' touchdown to tie the game at 7
- Back-to-back 14-yard carries from Lalin pushed the Catawba Indians into Mars Hill territory; on 3rd & 10, Brown lofted a pass to Lalin in the end zone and the Catawba back wrestled it away for the touchdown
- The Mars Hill offense drove into Catawba territory, but on their pass on fourth down sailed high to return the ball to the Catawba Indian offense
SECOND QUARTER
- A 19-yard reception from Jalen Brown on 3rd & 10 extended Catawba's ensuing drive; Preston Brown kept the ball on an option play to scamper in from a yard out to take a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter
- A pass interference on Catawba on 3rd & 20 extended the next Lions' drive; MHU took advantage with a 3-yard touchdown pass to cut into the deficit
- Preston Brown's pass was intercepted near midfield on the next drive
- The Lions tied the game on Charlie Guinade's 31-yard catch in the end zone just before the end of the first half
THIRD QUARTER
- After the teams traded punts to start the second half, Simons came up with a sack for an 18-yard loss on 3rd & 2 in field goal range to force a punt
- On 3rd & 8 in the Mars Hill end, Williams slipped out of the backfield and caught Brown's pass and took it the rest of the way, scoring from 26 yards out to return the lead to the Catawba Indians
- Catawba's defense stood tall on the next drive, forcing an MHU three-and-out
FOURTH QUARTER
- Catawba once again drove the ball into Mars Hill territory and punched it in on a play-action lob to Jalen Brown for the 18-yard touchdown to take a two-score lead
- The Lions responded with a seven-play scoring drive capped by Martin's 8-yard touchdown run
- Mars Hill forced a Catawba punt with the chance to tie the game
- The Catawba Indian defense came up with two incompletions to force a Lions' punt around the 7-minute mark
- Lalin punched in the exclamation mark with a score from 26 yards out with under three minutes to go
- The Catawba defense turned the ball over on downs twice in Mars Hill's final two possessions to hold on for the statement win
UP NEXT
- Catawba travels to reigning SAC champion Wingate for another big test in the SAC; kickoff from Wingate is set for 6 p.m.
