HICKORY – The 24^th-ranked Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne racked up nearly 500 yards of offense and scored four times in the opening period alone on the way to a 51-3 victory over the UNC Pembroke football team on Saturday afternoon at Moretz Stadium.
 
The setback kept the Braves (2-5) off the board in road games this season, while also marking the first series loss for the Black & Gold in their 3-game-old history with the Bears. It was the eighth-straight victory for Lenoir-Rhyne (8-1) whose only loss this season came in its season opener at then-No. 12 West Alabama.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Lenoir-Rhyne 51, UNC Pembroke 3 RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 2-5; Lenoir-Rhyne 8-1 LOCATION: Hickory, N.C. (Moretz Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Lenoir-Rhyne took over at their own 39-yard line after the Braves turned it over on downs and put together a 4-play, 61-yard scoring drive that was capped on Grayson Willingham's 46-yard scoring strike to Xzavion Huff. LRU 7, UNCP 0   The running game did most of the work for the hosts on a 6-play, 48-yard scoring drive. Grayson Willingham found Dareke Young on a 19-yard pass on a 3rd-and-7 situation, and Young followed that up with a 4-yard touchdown drive on the next play. LRU 14, UNCP 0   Tyshawn Carter began the ensuing drive with a 5-yard loss on a run around end, and Sherrod Williams intercepted a pass on the following play and returned it 23 yards for a score. LRU 21, UNCP 0   Kyle Dugger's 22-yard punt return set the Bears up at the UNCP 39-yard line and the run game did all the work in putting the Bears up 28-0 late in the first quarter. Dareke Young capped off the short drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. LRU 28, UNCP 0

2ND QUARTER

After forcing a fumble deep in their own territory, the Bears went 81 yards on five plays, including a 41-yard touchdown pass from Grayson Willingham to T.J. Smith. That would mark the final score before the halftime break. LRU 35, UNCP 0

3RD QUARTER

Lenoir-Rhyne added two points to its lead thanks to an intentional grounding by the Braves in their own endzone. LRU 37, UNCP 0   A short punt by the Black & Gold set the Bears up near midfield and the hosts put together a 6-play, 60-yard scoring drive that was capped on Xzavion Huff's 6-yard touchdown run up the middle. LRU 44, UNCP 0   The Braves used just three plays on the ensuing possession before Eric Jackson picked off a pass from Josh Jones and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown. LRU 51, UNCP 0

4TH QUARTER

The Black & Gold bridged the third and fourth quarter with a 9-play, 42-yard scoring drive that was culminated on a 39-yard field goal by Alex Alvarado.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Joshua Dale threw for 179 yards on 16-of-25 passing with one interception. His performance produced season-highs across the board for the redshirt freshman. He also ran for 33 yards (six carries) as well. +  Shammond Hicks registered a career-high 108 receiving yards and matched a season-best with five receptions. + Colton Weeks logged a career-best 12 tackles for the Braves on defense, including four solo stops. + Tajai Liles logged a pair of tackles for loss on the day, including a 3-yard sack, and forced a fumble. + Shawn Everett recorded his seventh career interception to move into a tie for third with Quentin Pate (2010-13) on UNCP's all-time list. + Isaac Parks tallied a 42.1 yard average on seven punts, including two kicks that pinned the Bears inside their own 20-yard line. He recorded a 56-yard punt in the second quarter, and a 60-yard boot in the third quarter. + UNCP was just 4-of-15 on 3rd Down conversions on Saturday, and 10 of their 15 possessions lasted four plays or less.

NOTABLES

+ Saturday's loss was UNCP's first in their 3-game-old series with the Bears. UNCP posted a 36-20 victory on their last trip to Hickory in 2016, and then defeated the Bears to cap Homecoming Week last season. + The Braves have now dropped eight-straight road games, including a 0-3 mark away from Pembroke this season. UNCP's last win away from Pembroke was a 66-14 triumph at Elizabeth City State on Sept. 9, 2017.

UP NEXT

The Braves will begin a season-ending 2-game home stand on November 3 when they battle Mars Hill (2-6) on American Indian Heritage Day at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED

Follow UNCP Football on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Football on Facebook.

JOIN THE BRAVES CLUB

Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Football program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu.