SALISBURY – Luke Charles threw for a program-best 362 passing yards, Travis Daniels turned in his fifth-straight 100-yard rushing game and UNCP amassed more than 535 yards of total offense, but penalties, turnovers and special teams miscues doomed the Braves in a 42-33 loss at Catawba on Saturday evening in Shuford Stadium.

Charles threw for a career-best four touchdowns on 21-of-33 passing to become the third quarterback in the five-year history of the football program at UNCP (3-2) to accumulate 300 or more passing yards. Daniels carried the ball 26 times for 124 yards, while also registering career-bests for both pass receptions (4) and receiving yards (98) and his first career touchdown reception. Joe Burnett caught three passes for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Braves as well.

Catawba (2-3), who rolled into the weekend toting the nation's No. 1 rushing defense, allowed a season-high 176 yards on the ground, but rolled through the first meeting between the two squads thanks to 240 rushing yards of their own. Josh Wright carried the ball 28 times for 180 yards and a pair of scores, while quarterback Jacob Charest threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-23 passing. Charest also ran for 47 yards and an additional score.

UNCP turned the ball over three times and was whistled 14 times for 119 penalty yards – its most infractions and penalty yards since committing 17 fouls for 130 yards against Faulkner on Oct. 27, 2007.

"We just had too many mistakes tonight," said UNCP head coach Pete Shinnick. "It's unfortunate because I thought our guys fought really hard. We hurt ourselves early offensively and left too many points on the board. We also gave up a couple big plays on defense that came back to haunt us. I really like how our guys continued to fight and scratch until the final whistle blew."

Wright capped off a short 4-play, 15-yard scoring drive set up by a UNCP fumble with a 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that gave the Indians a 35-9 lead, but UNCP came right back with a 5-play, 71-yard scoring drive that whittled the deficit down to 35-17. Catawba needed just one play on the ensuing drive – a 64-yard scoring scamper by Wright – to stretch the lead back out to 25 points, 42-17.

The Braves used just more than three minutes off the fourth quarter clock to cut the score back to 42-25 a short time later and then, despite not recovering the onside kick attempt, the Braves forced a turnover at their own 35-yard line and scored again four plays later to provide the final.

"We didn't play well enough early on offense and we should have scored a couple of touchdowns in the first half that we didn't. We need to score those points when we have the opportunities," Shinnick said. "Defensively, I think we are a work in progress and need to clean some things up. We gave them seven points on a punt block, and then we fumbled on their 11-yard line, and then we don't get any points when we are 1st-and-goal on their 3-yard line. We just needed more points out of our offense tonight, so I can't put this all on the defense."

A shanked punt attempt by the hosts on the game's opening drive set UNCP up in good field position to put the first points on the scoreboard with a season-long 42-yard field goal by Taylor Baskett. The Indians would answer on the ensuing possession, however, by driving 70 yards in 12 plays before Charest connected with Omar Craig on a 10-yard scoring strike. The Indians would pad their lead just less than five minutes into the second quarter when Tyler Hamilton blocked a punt attempt by Bill Stanley into the waiting arms of Mario Washington who scooped and scored to give the hosts a 14-3 lead.

Charest found Hamilton on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 5:08 left before the halftime whistle to cap the scoring in the opening stanza.

UNCP twice squandered away 1st-and-goal opportunities in the second quarter, the first at the beginning of the period when Charles fumbled the ball away at the 10-yard line and the second when Catawba stuffed Daniels at the 1-yard line on a 4th-and-goal opportunity with less than a minute left before the intermission.

UNCP will return home again on Saturday when the Braves culminate Homecoming week festivities by taking on Tusculum in a 2 p.m. kickoff at Grace P. Johnson Stadium.