Hickory, N.C. ? The Lenoir-Rhyne University Football Team (7-4, 4-3) ended the 2010 season on a strong note with a 31-17 win over Catawba College (6-4, 4-3) Saturday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference game at Moretz Stadium.

L-R sophomore quarterback Reuben Haynes (Commerce, Ga.) threw for a touchdown and ran for a score as the Bears defeated the Indians at home for the first time since 1993.

Haynes led Lenoir-Rhyne with 71 yards rushing as the Bears, the top-ranked rushing team in NCAA Division II, ran for 370 yards in the win.

L-R staked itself to a 13-0 lead late in the second quarter thanks to a one-yard scoring run from junior quarterback Major Herron (Kingsland, Ga.) with 1:27 left in the first quarter and a 15-yard touchdown pass from Haynes to junior tight end Nick Stutts (Statesville, N.C.) at the 3:33 mark of the second quarter.

Catawba scored just before half when quarterback Patrick Dennis (Durham, N.C.) found tight end Grayson Downs (Mount Pleasant, N.C.) for a 20-yard score with 50 seconds left before break to cut the margin to 13-7 entering intermission.

Lenoir-Rhyne increased its lead to 28-14 after three quarters of play when junior tailback Jasper Thomas (High Point, N.C.) and Haynes scored on touchdowns runs of 25 and 42 yards, respectively.

Catawba sandwiched a touchdown in between the Bears? two scores in the third stanza on Dennis? five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Bunn (Virginia Beach, Va.).

However, the Indians couldn?t get any closer than two touchdowns the rest of the way as the teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter to make it a 31-17 final.

Senior halfback James Pone (Wilson, N.C.) added 69 yards rushing on just seven carries while senior defensive back Marcus Shuford (Newton, N.C.) and sophomore linebacker Demetrius Green (Cedartown, Ga.) finished with a team-high seven tackles each as L-R held Catawba to just 36 yards rushing.

Dennis finished with 295 yards passing and two scores while Bunn added a game-high 10 catches for 78 yards and a score.? On defense, Cory Johnson (Fayetteville, N.C.) led the Indians with a game-high 13 tackles.

Lenoir-Rhyne also finished with its best record since an 8-2 mark?in 1994 when the Bears captured a share of the South Atlantic Conference Championship with the Eagles of Carson-Newman.