Hickory, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team (0-1) fell to West Alabama (1-0) by a 46-7 score on Thursday night in the 2017 season opener at Moretz Stadium.

The Tigers' Colin Douglas (Fairhope, Ala.) kicked four field goals as West Alabama raced to a 33-0 lead at halftime on its way to the easy victory.

West Alabama quarterback Harry Satterwhite (Greenwood, Miss.) passed for 246 yards while running and passing for a score as the Tigers rolled up 481 yards of total offense – 246 yards through the air and 235 yards on the ground – in the victory in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Tigers' Rashaad Lee (Pensacola, Fla.) added a game-high 98 yards rushing and a touchdown as West Alabama jumped out to a 36-0 advantage in the third quarter before the Bears were able to get on the board.  West Alabama's defense also forced five turnovers and held Lenoir-Rhyne to just 184 yards of total offense including 68 yards through the air.

Lenoir-Rhyne's lone score came when redshirt freshman quarterback Grayson Willingham (Matthews, N.C.) found sophomore tight end Sam Camargo (Kissimmee, Fla.) for an 11-yard touchdown reception with 2:17 left in the third period.  On defense, sophomore defensive back Kyle Dugger (Fayetteville, Ga.) and sophomore linebacker Sherrod Williams (Edison, Ga.) led the way with 12 and 11 tackles, respectively, in the losing effort for the Bears.

Lenoir-Rhyne hosts North Greenville next Saturday at 7:00 p.m., at Moretz Stadium while West Alabama visits Samford next Thursday on the road in Birmingham, Ala.