PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke football team amassed nearly 380 yards of offense and scored on four of five trips to the red zone as the Braves finished off a perfect season at home with a 31-14 victory over visiting Limestone on Saturday afternoon at Grace P. Johnson Stadium.
The victory successfully put the cap on a 6-4 season for the Braves who managed a 4-game turnaround from last season under second-year head coach Shane Richardson. It was the fourth-straight setback for the Saints who finished out their second season of varsity football with a 2-8 record.
Patrick O'Brien threw for 272 yards and a pair of scores on 29-of-44 passing, while newcomer JoJo Spann tallied a school record 13 receptions for 91 yards. Rontonio Stanley rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries for the Braves as well. B.J. Bunn caught three balls for 64 yards to pass former teammate Te'Vell Williams for the top spot on UNCP's single season receiving yards list, but left the game early with a leg injury.
Senior Mike Keck turned in a team-best eight tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss, to lead a defense that sacked Limestone quarterback Jonathan Clark five times. Clark threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-33 passing with three interceptions. D'Anta Fleming caught 11 passes for 168 yards and one score for Limestone as well.
The Saints got on the board first on Clark's 75-yard scoring strike to Fleming, but the Braves scored on each of their next two possessions, including a 5-play, 20-yard drive later in the period that was capped on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Stanley. The lead was short-lived, however, as Limestone knotted things up at 14 apiece on Clark's 74-yard touchdown toss to Vyncint Smith.
The Black & Gold would take the lead into halftime though as Stanley capped off a 10-play, 82-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with just more than three minutes left before the break.
The Braves would score twice more in the second half, first on a 21-yard pass from O'Brien to Mack midway through the third quarter, and then on a 35-yard field goal by Matt Davis in the final stanza.
