HICKORY – Senior
Josh Jones threw for 382 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the UNC Pembroke football team to its best offensive day in more than three years, but seventh-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne scored a pair of key fourth quarter touchdowns to hold off a potential upset bid with a 45-31 victory over the Braves on Saturday.
The Braves (3-7) totaled a season-best 502 yards of offense on the day, its most since registering the same amount in a win over Fayetteville State on Sept. 10, 2016. It was the 13
th-straight home win for the Bears (10-0) who wrapped up at least a share of the South Atlantic Conference title with a win over Wingate last week.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: #7 Lenoir-Rhyne 45, UNC Pembroke 31
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke (3-7); Lenoir-Rhyne (10-0)
LOCATION: Hickory, N.C. (Moretz Stadium) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
The Bears took the opening possession of the contest and marched 66 yards in six plays to grab the early lead. Grayson Willingham completed both of his passing attempts for 32 yards, and Dareke Young capped off the scoring drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Lenoir-Rhyne 7, UNCP 0
The Braves answered just 4-1/2 minutes later when Josh Jones found Faheem Diaab in the back of the end zone on a 4-yard scoring strike. Jones went 4-for-4 for 33 yards on the methodical drive, and the Braves got some momentum with a costly personal foul by the Bears on the first play of the possession. Lenoir-Rhyne 7, UNCP 7
Michael Clark forced a big turnover on the ensuing possession to set the Braves up near midfield. The visitors used a handful of short-yardage plays to drive down inside the red zone, but ultimately settled for a 37-yard field goal from Hunter Braswell. UNCP 10, Lenoir-Rhyne 7
It did not take long for Lenoir-Rhyne to regain the momentum as the Bears used a couple of chunk plays to fuel a touchdown drive on the ensuing possession that used just 1:17 off the clock. Grayson Willingham connected with Ryan Carter on a 30-yard pass play, and then found Demarious Hampton on a 22-yard scoring strike two plays later. Lenoir-Rhyne 14, UNCP 10 |
| 2ND QUARTER |
The Braves bridged the first and second quarters with an 8-play, 69-yard scoring drive that was capped with a 5-yard touchdown drive by Josh Jones. The Braves keyed the drive with a 36-yard pass from Jones to Quay Threatt, but much of the drive's success came on the ground. UNCP 17, Lenoir-Rhyne 14
The rollercoaster affair continued just more than 2-1/2 minutes later when Cal Dickie capped a 6-play, 61-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run. The play-calling on the possession was one-sided for the Bears who stuck to the ground attack on all six plays. Lenoir-Rhyne 21, UNCP 17
Lenoir-Rhyne stuffed UNCP on a 3 rd-and-1 situation on the ensuing drive and took over possession at their own 20-yard line. Grayson Willingham's 50-yard pass to Drake Starks moved the Bears deep into UNCP territory, but the Braves held tough and surrendered just a 33-yard field goal from the foot of Chase Allbaugh. Lenoir-Rhyne 24, UNCP 17
The Braves held onto the ball for much of the remainder of the first half, and put themselves in a 1 st-and-10 situation at the hosts' 12-yard line. Josh Sheridan ran for short yardage on first down, and the following two plays fell incomplete before a 28-yard field goal attempt from Hunter Braswell sailed wide left. |
| 3RD QUARTER |
A 42-yard return from Devin Jones on the second half kickoff set the Braves up in good field position. Josh Sheridan ran for three yards on the opening play of the possession to set up a 33-yard touchdown pass from Josh Jones to Sean Brown. Lenoir-Rhyne 24, UNCP 24
The Braves forced a rare 3-and-out on the next possession for the Bears, and then marched 80 yards in 10 plays to retake the lead. DeAngelo Blair-Young and Josh Sheridan combined to rush for 51 yards on the possession, including an 8-yard scoring scamper by Sheridan that put the Black & Gold in front. UNCP 31, Lenoir-Rhyne 24
Lenoir-Rhyne needed just more than three minutes to knot things back up, driving 56 yards on seven plays on the ensuing possession that was capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass from Grayson Willingham to Dareke Young. Willingham went 2-for-2 on the drive, including a 13-yard pass on a 3rd-and-8 situation near midfield. Lenoir-Rhyne 31, UNCP 31 |
| 4TH QUARTER |
The Bears bridged the third and fourth quarters with an 11-play, 53-yard scoring drive that would give them the lead for good. Grayson Willingham's 2-yard quarterback keeper on 4th-and-1 at UNCP's 34-yard line kept the drive alive, and Ameen Stevens eventually closed it out with a 4-yard touchdown plunge. Lenoir-Rhyne 38, UNCP 31
UNCP looked to have all the tools for a game-tying drive minutes later when it used a 37-yard pass from Josh Jones to Marcus McDonald to set itself up at the 12-yard line. Lenoir-Rhyne snuffed out a 4th-down conversion attempt, however, to keep the Black & Gold off the board.
Grayson Willingham went backwards for three yards on the opening play of the next possession, but recovered moments later when he found Jaquay Mitchell on a 99-yard touchdown pass that all but iced the outcome. Lenoir-Rhyne 45, UNCP 31 |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Sophomore Josh Jones threw for a career-best 382 yards and two touchdowns on 34-of-46 passing with no interceptions. He also added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter. It was the first 300-yard passing day of his collegiate career.
+ Redshirt sophomore Marcus McDonald caught a career-high seven passes for a career-best 142 yards. His previous career-high outing was an 8-catch, 88-yard performance against Mars Hill earlier this season.
+ Freshman Sean Brown hauled in a career-best seven catches for a career-high 100 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
+ Senior Quay Threatt finished his day with eight catches for 75 yards. It is the third time this season that he has tallied eight or matches in an outing. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ UNCP totaled more than 500 yards of offense for just the 14th time in the 13-year history of the program. Saturday's output was the most offensive yards since the Braves put up 502 yards in a win over Fayetteville State in 2016.
+ UNCP's 34 pass completions was the most for the Braves since registering 34 completions against North Greenville in 2016.
+ The 382-yard passing night by Josh Jones is the ninth-best passing performance in school history. Only two quarterbacks have thrown for more yards in a game.
+ Marcus McDonald's 142 receiving yards on Saturday is the most for a UNCP player since former running back Rontonio Stanley posted 142 receiving yards at Valdosta State in 2013. |
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| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will close out the 2019 season on November 16 when they battle UVa.-Wise (2-8) on American Indian Heritage Day at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. |
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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. |
