MARS HILL, N.C. – The No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team piled up 609 yards of total offense in a 56-28 victory over Mars Hill that featured three weather delays and took four hours and 52 minutes to complete. Grayson Willingham threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns, while Jace Jordan ran for 159 yards and added a pair of TDs on the ground. Lenoir-Rhyne had won only five of the previous 20 matchups at Mars Hill and was leading just 28-21 at the half before outscoring the hosts 28-7 in the second half. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 56, Mars Hill 28
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (4-0, 2-0 SAC), Mars Hill (2-2, 1-1 SAC)
Location: Mars Hill, N.C. | Meares Stadium
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STATS OF THE GAME:
•   As has been the strength of LR, the run game was dominating again this afternoon. The Bears pounded out 332 rushing yards on 55 attempts, good for an average of 6.0 yards per carry. The Red & Black were led by Jace Jordan who ran for 159 yards on 15 carries and added a pair of touchdowns in just his second game.
•   Ameen Stevens ran for a pair of touchdowns, giving him five this year and 16 in his career. Caine Crews added a touchdown on the ground for LR.
 •  Dareke Young netted his first-career 100-yard receiving game as the junior had five catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. Young would add three carries for 19 yards on the ground as well.  
•    The Bears scored on their first drive but Mars Hill answered to even the game at seven. On the first play of the next drive, Willingham hit Jaquay Mitchell for an 80-yard touchdown strike. It was the first LR 80-yard TD since Miles Freeman hit Victor Brannan for an 82-yarder against Tusculum in 2014. 
•    DB Eric Jackson had a career-day finishing with 10 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss and three interceptions including one in the end zone. 
•    DL Dan Louba added six tackles, three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, while Jaquan Artis registered his 20th career sack. 
•    Preseason All-American WR Craig Rucker continued to be a playmaker, finishing with 10 catches for 161 yards and two TDs including a 75-yarder at the end of the third quarter. Rucker has two touchdown catches in each of his four games against LR and has gone over 130 yards on three occasions. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
•    The Bears' 609 yards of offense matched the most since Drew Cronic took over prior to the 2018 campaign. The Bears also put up 609 against Limestone on Homecoming last season. Before that, the Bears hadn't put up 600 yards in a game since 2014 when they had 622 against Tusculum on Sept. 27. 
•    Jordan became the first Bear to run for 100 yards in a game this season. Combined with Young's 108 yards, the duo became the first teammates to run and catch for over 100 yards in the same game since Sept. 29, 2018, when Stevens and T.J. Smith each topped the century mark against Tusculum. 
•    Drake Starks has touchdown receptions in back-to-back games. 
•    The Bears have not allowed a single player to rush for 100 yards since Coach Cronic took over. 

UP NEXT:
LR continues conference play when they host UVA Wise next Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Homecoming.