Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team scored touchdowns on each of its first nine offensive possessions in a 63-23 win over Southern Connecticut State in non-conference action at Shuford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba amassed 638 total yards, while Southern Connecticut State totaled 435 yards

- The Catawba Indians had 379 yards on the ground; the Owls picked up 116 rush yards

- SCSU threw for 319 passing yards, while Catawba had 259 yards through the air

- Catawba earned 24 first downs to SCSU's 20

- The Owls led in time of possession, 32:59 to 27:01

- The Catawba Indians were 8-of-9 on third down while limiting SCSU to 4-for-13 on third down

- Catawba racked up four sacks on the day while keeping their own quarterback without a sack

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Bennett Galloway took just eight carries for 87 yards and four touchdowns

- Marquece Williams averaged 25.2 yards per carry in five carries – totaling 126 yards and two touchdowns

- Kevin Lalin had a team-high 140 yards on eight carries with a score

- Preston Brown was an efficient 20-for-22 for 259 yards and two touchdowns

- Amari McArthur hauled in three passes for a team-high 94 yards and a touchdown

- Bo Pryor caught a team-leading six passes for 63 yards and a score

- Evan Simons recorded seven tackles with two TFLs and a sack

- Jaylen Hinton also had seven tackles and a sack

- Braylon Baker and Rickey Jones were the other sack-recorders

- Bryson Sims was a perfect 9-for-9 on PATs

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Catawba won the toss and chose to receive

- A Lalin 16-yard reception on 3rd & 7 extended the opening drive, allowing Galloway to punch it in on a six-yard touchdown run

- After the Catawba Indians forced an SCSU punt, Lalin caught another pass on third down, which allowed Galloway to break free for a 56-yard touchdown sprint

- The Owl offense reached a first & goal at the Catawba 3-yard line, but the Catawba Indians stood tall, forcing a successful 22-yard field goal try right at the end of the opening quarter

SECOND QUARTER

- Lalin matched Galloway's long run with a 59-yard touchdown of his own to put the hosts up 21-3 early in the second

- A 47-yard reception preceded Seth Westover's 29-yard touchdown grab to get the Owls in the end zone for the first time at the 12-minute mark

- Catawba responded with an 11-play scoring drive, highlighted by Brown's 8-yard scamper on 3rd & 5 and Brown's 15-yard completion to Jalen Brown on 3rd and long; Galloway's 1-yard TD plunge restored Catawba's three-score lead

- Two 20-yard plays from the Owls allowed them to get into threatening territory, but the Catawba defense forced SCSU to settle for the 35-yard field goal

- The Catawba Indian offense stayed hot; Pryor caught a Brown pass at the 20-yard line and juked his way to the end zone for the 33-yard strike

- SCSU once again drove the ball down near the Catawba end zone, but with three seconds left in the half and the ball on Catawba's one-yard line, the Catawba Indian defense got the sack to close the half and hold the 28-10 lead into the halftime locker room

THIRD QUARTER

- After a nearly 30-yard play to open the second half, the Owls' offense stalled and was forced to punt

- On a 3rd & 8, Brown found McArthur over the top for a 78-yard touchdown strike for Catawba's sixth touchdown in the game's opening 20 minutes

- SCSU responded with an 11-play scoring drive, capped by Divine Edwards' 17-yard touchdown grab to cut the Owls' deficit to 42-20

- Back-to-back 32-yard rushes from Lalin zoomed the ball into SCSU territory; Galloway once again finished the drive with a scoring run, his fourth of the day

FOURTH QUARTER

- Williams' 61-yard run near the end of the third quarter set up his two-yard touchdown score in the opening minutes of the final period, leading 56-20

- After a SCSU three and out, Williams ripped off another 49-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 63-20

- In the first Catawba offensive drive of the night that did not result in a touchdown, the Owls blocked a punt to get the ball deep in Catawba territory

- Catawba's defense bent but did not break for the final time on the afternoon, forcing SCSU to its third field goal of the night

GAME NOTES

- Catawba's most points in a game since the playoff victory over Albany State in 2007

- 37 yards shy of the program team yardage record set back in 1962

- 4-1 for first time since 2017; third time since 2010

- First three-game win streak of Tyler Haines era

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to SAC play next week, hosting Mars Hill at Shuford Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m.