PEMBROKE – Senior
Josh Sheridan ran for 84 yards and a pair of scores, including a go-ahead touchdown with less than three minutes left, and the UNC Pembroke football team capped off a busy Homecoming Week on campus with a 36-29 victory over Mars Hill on Saturday evening.
The triumph snapped a two-game skid for the Braves (3-3) who improved to 11-2 in Homecoming games, while also picking up their first win in the series with the Lions. It was the second loss in the last three outings for Mars Hill (3-3) who racked up 555 yards of total offense, including 380 yards through the air.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: UNC Pembroke 36, Mars Hill 29
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (3-3); Mars Hill (3-3)
LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Grace P. Johnson Stadium) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
The Braves wasted little time in lighting up the scoreboard, utilizing a flea flicker on their second play from scrimmage to go out in front early. A 64-yard touchdown pass from Josh Jones to Marcus McDonald came just 46 seconds into the game. UNCP 7, Mars Hill 0
The Lions needed less than two minutes on the ensuing possession to even things back up. Quarterback Collin Sneed completed both of his pass attempts on the 5-play, 79-yard drive, including a 51-yard touchdown strike to Gilbert Johnson. UNCP 7, Mars Hill 7
A 31-yard punt return from Devin Jones set the Black & Gold up at the 25-yard line late in the period, and the hosts capitalized. A 5-yard pass from Josh Jones to Quay Threatt on a key 3rd-down conversion kept the drive alive, and Josh Sheridan finished off the touchdown drive with a 14-yard scoring scamper. UNCP 14, Mars Hill 7
The Lions put together an impressive drive on the ensuing possession, driving 64 yards on 10 plays. C.J. Thompson ran for 20 yards on a key 4th-down conversion, and Collin Sneed finished off the possession with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Redshirt freshman Jack U'Ren blocked the point-after attempt, however, to help UNCP retain the lead. UNCP 14, Mars Hill 13 |
| 2ND QUARTER |
The Lions took their first lead of the afternoon midway through the second quarter thanks to a 6-play, 61-yard scoring drive. Collin Sneed went 2-for-3 on the possession, including a 26-yard touchdown pass to Craig Rucker. The Braves snuffed out the 2-point conversion attempt, however. Mars Hill 19, UNCP 14
UNCP took over with 2-1/2 minutes left before the break and retook the lead with nine seconds left in the opening half. Josh Sheridan ran for 43 yards on four carries to fuel the drive, and Josh Jones finished it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tyshawn Carter. Jones and Marcus McDonald connected on the ensuing 2-point conversion try to pad the advantage. UNCP 22 Mars Hill 14
Mars Hill reached into its bag of tricks and gained a big chunk of yards on the following play from scrimmage, and then utilized a costly penalty by the Braves to set up an untimed down. Steven Sanchez's 33-yard field goal moments later knotted the score up heading into the break. UNCP 22, Mars Hill 22 |
| 3RD QUARTER |
The Braves got a big 4th-down stop to stall Mars Hill's opening possession of the second half, and then drove 74 yards the other way to retake the lead. Josh Jones completed all five of his pass attempts on the possession for 55 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown pass to Trey Dixon. UNCP 29, Mars Hill 22
The Lions needed just more than a minute on the ensuing drive to even things back up. Elijah Jett ran carried the ball twice for 12 yards to move the visitors to midfield, and Collin Sneed capped the drive with a 50-yard scoring pass to Craig Rucker. UNCP 29, Mars Hill 29 |
| 4TH QUARTER |
The Lions took possession with just more than 12 minutes left in the game and put together a time-consuming 13-play drive that looked destined for points. However, senior Shawn Everett stepped in front of a pass from Collin Sneed to swing the momentum back to the hosts.
UNCP tacked up points off of the turnover with a 9-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. Josh Jones completed four of his five pass attempts for 62 yards on the drive, but it was Josh Sheridan's 2-yard run with 2:55 left that put the final points of the night on the board. UNCP 36, Mars Hill 29
Mars Hill used 14 plays to drive all the way down to the UNCP 11-yard line with just one second showing on the scoreboard, but Tyreke Hill sacked Collin Sneed moments later to ice the outcome. |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Sophomore Josh Jones threw for 253 yards and a best three touchdowns on 23-of-29 passing with no interceptions. The three touchdown passes matched a career best for Jones who also threw three touchdown passes at Catawba in the 2018 season finale.
+ Senior Josh Sheridan carried the ball 14 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns. It is the fifth time this season that Sheridan has registered 10 or more rushing attempts. His two rushing touchdowns matched a career-high (vs. Elizabeth City State, 2018).
+ Junior Isaac Parks averaged a school record 52.5 yards on four punts against the Lions, including a 67-yard boot in the fourth quarter.
+ Shawn Everett moved into a tie for second place on UNCP's all-time interception leaders with his eighth career pickoff on Saturday. Everett now has two interceptions this season. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ The Braves improved to 11-2 in Homecoming games with Saturday's victory over the Lions. The Braves have now won five-straight Homecoming outings.
+ UNCP moved to 3-1 in Pembroke this season with Saturday's victory. The three wins are the most home victories for the Black & Gold since the 2016 season. |
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| UP NEXT |
| UNCP will open up a month-long road trip next weekend when they make the short trip up U.S. 74 to battle 17th-ranked Wingate (6-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Irwin Belk Stadium. The Bulldogs posted a 34-3 home win over Limestone on Saturday. |
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| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow UNCP Football on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Football on Facebook. |
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| 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. |
