Hickory, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team (1-2, 1-0) opened South Atlantic Conference play with a 31-3 victory over Tusculum (0-3, 0-1) Saturday night at Moretz Stadium.

Lenoir-Rhyne redshirt freshman running back Nelson Brown (Salisbury, Md.) rushed for 261 yards – the third-highest single-game total for the Bears in school history – and two touchdowns while first-year mentor Mike Kellar picked up his first win with the team.

Brown scored on touchdown runs of 24 and 50 yards in the first and fourth quarters, respectively, and the Bears' defense kept the Pioneers out of the end zone and limited the visitors to just 214 yards of total offense.

Lenoir-Rhyne senior placekicker Hunter Haire (Longwood, Fla.) opened the scoring with a 23-yard field goal after a muffed punt return by Tusculum late in the first quarter and the Bears never looked back.

Lenoir-Rhyne made it 17-0 at halftime after junior wide receiver T.J. Smith (Charleston, S.C.) caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrod Kellar (Shinnston, W.Va.) late in the second period.  Kellar passed for 108 yards in the contest as the Bears finished with 398 yards of total offense and beat the Pioneers for the fifth straight time.

The Bears also registered six sacks on the night while freshman defensive back Isaiah Herring (Apex, N.C.) returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown in the fourth stanza.  Lenoir-Rhyne freshman linebacker Clayton Horn (Mount Pleasant, N.C.) finished with a team-high 11 tackles in the win.

For Tusculum, quarterback Luke Lancaster (Gaffney, S.C.) passed for 157 yards in the setback while L'Keith Brown (Athens, Ga.) made 10 stops on defense.

Lenoir-Rhyne remains at home next Saturday when the Bears host Limestone beginning at 7:00 p.m., while Tusculum hosts Newberry in a conference game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.