FLORENCE, Ala. – Rontonio Stanley carried the ball 13 times for a career-best 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns to provide a bulk of the offensive highlights for the UNC Pembroke football team, but 17th-ranked North Alabama used a runaway first half to fuel a 62-28 victory over the visiting Braves on Saturday evening at historic Braly Stadium.
The setback marked the second loss in the last three outings for the Braves (4-2) who fell to 0-3 all-time against a tradition-rich North Alabama (5-1) program that climbed as high as No. 5 in the national polls this season before a loss at Western Oregon last Saturday. It was the 11th-straight Homecoming victory for the Lions who established a season-high point total for Gulf South Conference teams in 2015.
Stanley scored on runs of 84 and 27 yards to tally his fourth career multi-score game, while B.J. Bunn hauled in five catches for 49 yards and a late touchdown for the Braves as well. Kendall Jacobs and Elijah Williams turned in a team-best seven tackles apiece to pace Code Black, which also got a 49-yard fumble return for a touchdown by newcomer Chris Phipps.
Luke Wingo threw for 178 yards and four touchdowns on 11-of-14 passing for North Alabama who finished the game with 557 yards of offense. Diamond Simmons ran for 117 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries for the hosts as well.
North Alabama scored touchdowns on its first six possessions of the first half, and added a special teams score early in the second quarter after blocking a punt by Ben Utter and jumping on the loose ball in the end zone. Stanley cut a 14-0 deficit in half with an 84-yard scoring scamper midway through the first quarter, but the Lions led 28-7 by the end of the opening period, and eventually took a 48-14 lead into the locker rooms.
Stanley would account for the other score for the visitors in the first half as well on a 27-yard scoring jaunt with just more than 90 seconds left before intermission.
The Braves will wrap up a season-long two-game road trip on Saturday when they make the short trip to Salisbury to lock horns with Catawba (5-2). Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Shuford Stadium.
