Catawba Struggling to Get Started

SalisburyPost.com
Mike London

Kicker Thomas Trexler had to make the tackle on the opening kickoff, an early sign that Catawba's SAC opener against Mars Hill on Saturday was not going to follow the standard script.

Catawba (3-1) usually wins at home, usually beats Mars Hill, usually manhandles opponents in the trenches, usually deals with whatever the weatherman offers, but none of that stuff happened in Saturday's 14-12 loss to the fired-up Lions at soggy Shuford Stadium.

"Every play is huge, and Mars Hill made a lot more plays than we did," Catawba head coach Chip Hester said. "It's a total team loss. We got beat everywhere. Now we've got to regroup."

Catawba had vigorously stuck it to Mars Hill the last two seasons, the nationally televised game at Shuford in 2007 and Hester's 50th win at the helm of the Indians in the mountains in 2008.

"Catawba flat wore us out last time we came down here," Mars Hill coach Tim Clifton said, referring to a 45-21 pasting. "Catawba is always hard to beat. They're especially hard to beat when they're at home so this is a tremendous win for us."

It's a tremendous loss for the Indians, but it's not the end of the world.

"Yeah, this is a hard blow, but the goals we set are still out there for us if we pick it up," senior safety Jaspen Gray said.

It gets a lot tougher now, with a quick 0-1 hole, but all realistic preseason aspirations remain attainable. Maybe the Indians dreamed about going undefeated, but there's so much parity in the SAC now, it's unlikely anyone will run the table.

The puzzler continues to be the painfully slow starts. Catawba has scored 22 first-half points in four games.

Considering the offensive line is experienced, the receivers are fast, the backs are competent and the primary quarterback has started ACC games, that meager level of production is hard to explain.

Catawba was fortunate to win 21-20 at Fayetteville State after trailing 10-7 at the half. Livingstone isn't scaring anybody, and Catawba led the Blue Bears 6-0 at the break.

"We're coming out flat game after game and that includes the offensive line," senior guard Kevin Hamaker said. "We've all got to start doing our part because the defense has carried us."

Catawba's defense is stellar when it comes to sacking QBs, but it didn't have a great day against a Mars Hill team that had no interest in throwing a wet ball.

Mars Hill ran straight at the Indians, showed superior will on a bruising, brawny statement drive to open the game and didn't relinquish the upper hand until the last 10 minutes. Heading to the fourth quarter, it appeared Catawba might be shut out for the first time in 15 years.

Catawba showed something down the stretch, putting two TDs on the board once a sense of urgency finally arrived.

"Too little, too late," Hester said. "Very frustrating."

Still, there's enough time, enough talent and enough character on hand to get it together and to get it done.

But it has to start Saturday afternoon when Newberry (2-2) comes to town.


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Catawba Ranked #11 by D2Football.com

The D2Football.com Top 25 Media Poll has the Catawba Indians ranked as #11 in the latest rankings. The Tribe is joined by only one other conference team with Newberry being ranked #16. Grand Valley remains the top team in the country after defeating Ferris State 17-10 this past weekend.


Rank Team Record
1 Grand Valley 4-0
2 Abilene Christian 4-0
3 North Alabama 4-0
4 Central Washington 4-0
5 Bloomsburg 4-0
6 Northwest Missouri 3-1
7 Texas A&M-Kingsville 4-0
8 Minnesota State 4-0
9 Minnesota-Duluth 3-1
10 Delta State 2-1
11 Catawba 3-0
12 Ashland 3-1
13 Central Missouri 4-0
14 Tarleton State 4-0
15 Missouri Western 4-0
16 Newberry 2-1
17 Albany State 3-0
18 Saginaw Valley 3-1
19 Pittsburg State 2-2
20 Wayne State (Ne) 3-1
21 Midwestern State 4-0
22 Tuskegee 3-1
23 IUP 3-1
24 Nebraska-Kearney 3-1
25 Charleston 4-0

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Indians Erupt in Third Quarter

Mike London
SalisburyPost.com

Catawba athletics director Dennis Davidson joked that he felt his grip on the massive, gold Mayor's Cup slipping away at halftime, but he never had anything to worry about.

Catawba led Livingstone only 6-0 at the break, but a 35-point third quarter ignited a 51-0 rout in the annual contest between Salisbury's Division II programs.

Catawba has prevailed in the rivalry every year since the series was renewed in 2000. Only the 2002 meeting at Livingstone came close to going the other way.Running back Antonio Hall and receiver Gerron Bryant scored two touchdowns apiece, and Catawba's defense held the Blue Bears to negative rushing yardage.

"At halftime, we knew we were a lot better than that 6-0 score," said Hall, who pounded for 118 rushing yards.

Catawba (3-0) suffered adversity when starting center Zane Gibson hobbled to the sideline with a knee injury on the Indians' second offensive snap. That forced two changes. Guard Daylon McAlexander moved to center. Roy Carter Jr., who began his college career as a Livingstone Blue Bear, came off the bench to fill in at guard.

The Indians managed their only first-half points shortly after a pass on a faked punt backfired on the Blue Bears. Catawba took over on the LC 41, and Patrick Dennis passed 36 yards to a wide-open Brandon Bunn for a touchdown as the first quarter expired.

Livingstone's band was exceptional at halftime, but the stat sheet showed that Catawba's defense, especially the defensive line, was in complete control. The Blue Bears (0-3) had rushed 17 times for 17 yards. It was only a matter of time.

"We were frustrated that we'd left a lot of points on the field in the first half, but we weren't worried," said Dennis, who stepped in for injured Cam Sexton and passed for 182 yards. "We were moving the ball, but we hadn't finished drives. "There wasn't much yelling and screaming at halftime. We knew the gameplan was a good one. We knew that everything we wanted was right there."

If there was a single game-changing play it was Hall's return of the second-half kickoff. He refused to go down and enabled the offense to start from the Catawba 46.

Six brisk rushing plays later, Hall was in the end zone. Thomas Trexler's PAT made it 13-0.

"I thought the second half we really settled in and played football," Catawba coach Chip Hester said. "That first possession was very important in order to get control of things. Hall's kickoff return was great. He ran with a very high level of effort all day."

Catawba's Melquan Fair and Cory Johnson buried Livingstone's first play of the second half for a 3-yard loss. The Blue Bears went three-and-out, shanked a punt, and the Indians were knocking on the door again at the LC 31.

On first down, Hall broke a run to the 5. Defensive back Alkeem Deloatch shook the ball loose, making one of his 11 tackles, but Catawba's All-America offensive tackle Terence Crosby recovered.

Two runs by Josh Wright produced a touchdown. Trexler's PAT was good, it was 20-0, and a huge snowball was rolling downhill.

Then Bryant took over. His 38-yard reception set up the TD that made it 27-0.

With 4:13 left in the third quarter, Bryant caught a 47-yard TD pass from a scrambling Dennis to make it 34-0.

Two minutes later, Bryant reeled in a 48-yard TD pass from Daniel Griffith for a 41-0 edge. In a span of six minutes, Bryant made three catches for 133 yards and two TDs. He helped Catawba put 35 points on the board in a little over 10 minutes.

"That halftime score was like a punch in the groin for all of us," Bryant said. "It was a gut-check. But our coaches have taught us to play right, and the second half we went out and performed the way we're supposed to. We played Catawba football."

Trexler blasted a 46-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Catawba special teams accounted for the final TD when Jaspen Gray smothered a punt and Aaron Cauble recovered in the end zone.

Livingstone never turned it over, but it was forced to punt 11 times. Quarterbacks Steven Williams and Bryan Aycoth passed for 93 yards, but Livingstone's 23 rushing attempts went nowhere. The Blue Bears were 2-for-15 converting third downs.

Marqus Davis had two sacks and another tackle for loss to lead Catawba's defense. Terrence Porter also contributed a sack.

"The word on the defensive side was domination," Catawba lineman Brandon Sutton said. "We were missing our starting quarterback but with or without him the game goes on."

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Davis Named SAC Defensive Player of the Week

TheSAC.com

The South Atlantic Conference Football Players of the Week have been announced for the week ending September 6, 2009. Newberry College quarterback Brandon Gantt was named the SAC Offensive Player of the Week, Catawba College defensive end Marqus Davis was tabbed the SAC Defensive Player of the week, and Lenoir-Rhyne University return specialist Jamont Jones was named Special Teams Player of the Week.


Gantt, a senior quarterback from Lexington, S.C. (Middle Tenn. St. Univ / Heathwood Hall), wins the award for the second week in a row. He recorded 368 yards of offense for the second straight week and once again etched his name into the Newberry record books. He completed 35-of-47 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown, including 10 consecutive completions to start the game and no interceptions. The 335 yards is ninth in Newberry history and the 15th 300-plus game in school history. It is his second straight game with over 300 yards. He also carried the ball 10 times for 33 yards. His quarterback efficiency rating was 141.36.

Davis (Charlotte, N.C. / North Mecklenburg HS) was one of the defensive stars for the Indians in the win over Fayetteville State as he was in on three sacks and blocked a pair of kicks in the 21-20 win. The senior defensive end had nine tackles overall and had three of the eight team sacks, including one of the final play of the game. Davis also blocked a punt in the first quarter and a field goal try in the second quarter with the game tied at 7-7.

Jones (Washington, N.C. / Washington HS) had a big day on special teams for the Bears Saturday night despite the 52-45 overtime setback to the Mountain Lions of Concord on the road. The sophomore returned four kickoffs for 168 yards (42.0 yards-per-return average) including a 90-yarder for a score in the third quarter. The kickoff return for a touchdown was the first by a Lenoir-Rhyne player in six years. One of the team’s starting cornerbacks, Jones also made six tackles on defense.

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Sexton's night ends quickly against Fayetteville State

Dan Wiederer
FayObserver.com

Cam Sexton's Division II joyride hit an unforeseeable road block Saturday night at Fayetteville State.

On his first pass of the night - a 9-yard completion to Travis Landrum - Sexton was hit late by FSU defensive end Jamaal Dixon. And that was that.

Night over.

With barely a minute gone by in the first quarter of Catawba's 21-20 win at Nick Jeralds Stadium, the Indians starting quarterback was propped up on a sideline trainer's table, grimacing in pain as team trainers examined his right ankle.


Sexton tried to put weight on the foot but couldn't. He wrapped a bag of ice around it but was in too much pain to return.
Dennis takes over

Catawba turned to Patrick Dennis in relief. And the junior backup stepped forward, throwing for 164 yards with two second-half touchdown passes.

Sexton, meanwhile, initially sat anxiously on the bench, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head. This was not the return to Fayetteville he had envisioned.

By halftime, the Scotland High School product and former University of North Carolina signal caller was gone from Nick Jeralds Stadium, headed with his parents to Chapel Hill for X-rays.

Results of those tests were not known after the game. But Catawba coach Chip Hester had his fingers crossed that it was nothing more than a sprain.

"That's the hope," Hester said. "His ankle was sore. He couldn't push off. But beyond that, I don't have any other details. We'll have to wait and find out."

Earlier in the week, Fayetteville State coach Kenny Phillips had been eager for his defense to be tested against such a talented and proven college quarterback. Phillips talked of trying to find ways to rattle Sexton. But when Dixon rolled up onto Sexton's plant leg on Catawba's third offensive play, the quarterback's night was finished right when it started.

On the opposing sideline, Phillips admits he felt a bit of sympathy.

"I hope the kid's OK," he said. "Because I know he's been through some tough times in his college career. And I can only hope he can come back in and play the rest of the year for those guys." Full Story