Emory, Va. — The Catawba College football team suffered a 35-7 loss in its South Atlantic Conference opener on Saturday at Fred Selfe Stadium in Emory, Va.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Emory & Henry out-gained Catawba 340-304
- The Wasps recorded 175 yards passing to the Catawba Indians' 144
- E&H edged out Catawba on the ground as well, 165-160
- Emory & Henry recorded 15 first downs to Catawba's 13
- The Wasps were 6-for-11 (55 percent) on third down, while the Catawba Indians were 7-of-17 (41 percent)
- Catawba were unable to convert a fourth down on three attempts
- E&H was penalized twice for 15 yards; Catawba was flagged five times for 44 yards
- The Wasps gained 109 yards on punt returns to Catawba's nine
- Both teams lost a fumble
- The Catawba Indians held a 32:53-27:07 edge in time of possession
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Dee Mitchell caught two passes for 37 yards and a touchdown
- Preston Brown was 12-of-24 for 144 yards and a touchdown
- Bennett Galloway took 14 carries for 85 yards on the ground
- Jaylen Hinton tied a team high with eight tackles with one for a loss
- Evan Simons added eight stops
- Alex Evans recorded a sack and forced a fumble; Braylon Baker recovered it
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- The teams traded punts before E&H's Cam Peoples' 83-yard punt return set up the Wasps inside the Catawba 10-yard line
- Charles Mutter rushed in from seven yards out to give the Wasps an early lead
- After a Catawba three and out, Catawba's defense picked up a stop, but the punt was muffed and recovered inside E&H's 10-yard line once again
- Mutter's pass to Austin Talley gave the hosts a 14-point early advantage
SECOND QUARTER
- Catawba answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by Mitchell hauling in a 36-yard pass from Brown over the top of the defense to get back within one score
- The Catawba Indian defense forced a stop and the offense drove the ball in E&H territory, but was stuffed on fourth and short
- Catawba's defense forced another stop and the visitors threatened to tie it up before the end of the half, but got behind on the sticks and was forced to punt just before the teams entered the halftime locker room
THIRD QUARTER
- The teams traded punts to start the half before Mutter found paydirt again from four yards out to return the Wasps' lead to 14
- A 43-yard Galloway rush kicked off a drive that got down to the E&H 1-yard line, but a fumbled snap forced a loss and a try for the end zone from the 5-yard line fell incomplete
- A Peoples 61-yard completion preceded Mutter's 34-yard touchdown run to push the E&H lead to 28-7 with less than two minutes to go in the period
FOURTH QUARTER
- After another Catawba punt, Emory & Henry drove the ball inside the Catawba 10-yard line, but Evans came up with a crucial sack fumble that was recovered by Baker
- Catawba drove the ball into E&H territory, but once again turned the ball over on downs
- The Wasps took advantage, embarking on a 10-play drive that burned over six minutes of clock and ended in an 8-yard Jordan Jackson touchdown
GAME NOTES
- Catawba is winless in their last four SAC openers
- The Catawba Indians held possession for over 21 minutes in the first half
- Catawba is 1-1 versus E&H under Haines (did not play in 2024)
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Shuford Stadium next Saturday, Sept. 13, hosting UVA Wise for a 6 p.m. kickoff over Family Weekend
