Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team closed out its home schedule for the 2025 season with its sixth win in as many games as Shuford Stadium, downing Anderson 44-20 on Senior Night for its seventh win of the campaign.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba out-gained Anderson 495-339
- The Catawba Indians rushed for 265 yards on the ground to 126 rush yards for the Trojans
- Catawba threw for 230 yards, while limiting AU to 213 yards through the air
- The Catawba Indians picked up 27 first downs to 17 for Anderson
- Catawba held the edge in time of possession 32:33-27:27
- The Catawba Indians converted an impressive nine of 12 third downs, while holding AU to 5-for-12 on third down
- Catawba racked up four sacks while not allowing the Trojans to take down their own QB for a loss
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Quece Williams totaled three touchdowns – picking up 82 yards on 11 carries and a score on the ground and adding 79 yards on three catches and two touchdowns through the air
- Kevin Lalin recorded a team-high 126 rushing yards on 15 carries
- Kevon Rivera punched it in for two touchdowns on the ground
- Preston Brown was 18-for-28 with 230 passing yards and three touchdowns
- Jalen Brown was targeted a team-high eight times and hauled in four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown
- Evan Simons led the defense with six tackles with two TFLs and a sack
- Rickey Jones added five stops with a fumble recovery; Joshua Thomas totaled five tackles with a PBU
- Isaiah Herrera tallied a career-high two sacks, one of which was a sack fumble
- Bryson Sims nailed a 40-yard field goal attempt and hit five of six PATs
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- A Catawba sack forced Anderson back to its own 1-yard line, as the Catawba Indians set up shop on Anderson's 40-yard line after it forced a punt on the Trojans' opening drives
- Two 10-plus runs from Williams set up Catawba's opening score, capped by the senior's 12-yard touchdown scamper to take an early 7-0 lead
- On 3rd & 4, Williams picked up 39 yards on a catch out of the backfield; Rivera burst through for a 25-yard touchdown on another third down to push the lead to 14-0
- The Trojans mishandled a handoff and Jones pounced, giving Catawba great field position once again
- Catawba's drive stalled from there; Sims' 40-yard field goal made it 17-0
SECOND QUARTER
- An 18-yard catch on 3rd & 12 extended Anderson's ensuing drive, but Catawba's nationally ranked red zone defense stood tall, forcing Anderson to a successful 34-yard field goal try
- Williams found paydirt once again to cap a 12-play drive for Catawba's response on a 21-yard touchdown reception; Sims' PAT was blocked with Catawba leading 23-3
- The Trojans found the end zone on fourth down to Jalon Warthen-Carr to cut the deficit to two scores
- Catawba converted a successful two-minute drive, finished off by Williams' third touchdown of the half on a 19-yard catch and run, as Catawba led 30-10 at the halftime break
THIRD QUARTER
- Anderson drove into Catawba's red zone with its opening drive of the second half, but settled for three points after a touchdown was called back on an offensive penalty
- The Catawba Indians converted two third downs on its next touchdown drive, including Brown's five-yard TD catch to extend the lead back to 24 points
FOURTH QUARTER
- The Trojans pushed the ball inside Catawba's 10-yard line, but the Catawba Indians stuffed AU on fourth down to turn the ball over
- Catawba scored a touchdown on its fourth straight drive unaffected by the end of a half, as Rivera plunged in for his second touchdown to blow the game open to 44-13
- A 44-yard rush set up JB Seay Jr.'s 13-yard touchdown run for the Trojans
- The Catawba Indian defense turned Anderson over on downs once more before the offense ran out the rest of the clock for its seventh win of the year
UP NEXT
- Catawba travels to Hickory, N.C. on Saturday for the regular season finale in the next chapter of the Catawba-Lenoir-Rhyne football rivalry; kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
