HICKORY, N.C. – For the third straight year, the Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team advanced to the NCAA Playoffs and were ranked nationally. Today, we take a look back at the 2021 season for the Bears.

Preseason Expectations: The Bears entered the season ranked No. 6 in the nation despite having a lot of new faces in the lineup. The sixth place ranking was tied for the highest preseason ranking in program history as the Bears also started sixth in the 2014 preseason poll after a trip to the 2013 National Championship game.

The Opener: The Bears dominated Virginia St. in the season-opener, coming away with a 48-7 victory. Grayson Willingham threw three touchdowns and Dwayne McGee had three total TDs in the victory. McGee exploded for 190 yards on the ground in the start of what would become a record-breaking rushing season for the redshirt freshman.

Early Playoffs: Starring a 2-2 start to the season, Lenoir-Rhyne put itself in playoff mode on Oct. 2 after an upset loss at UVA Wise. LR knew they couldn't afford to lose another game the rest of the season, effectively making it an early playoff run. The Bears would respond and rattle off six wins to close out the regular season.

Eagle Beat Down: Lenoir-Rhyne went into rival Carson-Newman on Oct. 16 and handed the Eagles a 59-0 loss in which numerous records were shattered. The 59-point margin was the largest margin of victory for the Bears in the all-time series with C-N and McGee tied an LR mark with five rushing touchdowns in the game. Grayson Willingham became the program's all-time leader in career passing yards, a mark which stood since 1987. LR would finish with 750 total yards, the most by a team in Division II all year and 40 first downs were a SAC record.

Down Go The 'Dogs: Facing a must-win situation at #16 Wingate, the Bears dominated the Bulldogs and came away with a 31-6 win. LR scored the final 17 points of the game and held Wingate out of the end zone all night.

WillingHAM: QB Grayson Willingham broke nearly every career passing record with the Bears during his four years as a starter. Willingham owns the career records for: passing yards (8,145), completions (570), touchdowns (82) and total offense (8,158). In 2021, he would set the single season record for most passing yards (2,736), completion percentage (62.9), total offense (2,736) and completions (241).

Louba Has a Night: Senior DT Dan Louba tied a program record with four sacks against Mars Hill on Sept. 25.Later in the year, Louba would barrel in from 1-yard out for his first career rushing touchdown in a win over Catawba.

Hardware for Houston: Amari Houston became the eighth LR player to win the SAC Defensive Player of the Year and second straight as former teammate Jaquan Artis took the award in 2019. Houston finished the regular season with 46 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. The 13 TFL's ranked second in the league, resulting in a league-best 74 yards lost. Houston had a pair of fumble recoveries and was the conference's Defensive Player of the Week once. 

Record-Setting RB: Dwayne McGee would finish the season with a program-best 1,669 yards rushing and tied the single season mark with 21 total touchdowns. McGee broke Leonard Davis' mark of 1,559 yards in a season which stood since 1994. McGee would take home SAC Offensive Player of the Year honors and SAC Offensive Freshman of the Year accolades.

Game 100: The Bears and Catawba celebrated a historic rivalry game. For the 100^th time in head-to-head history, the Bears and Indians clashed with LR coming away with a 56-3 victory on Senior Day.

Dareke The Freak: Despite missing most of the season with an injury, senior WR Dareke Young had a 3-TD game against Mars Hill which tied a program record. Young came into the season on the Senior Bowl Watchlist and would end the year with an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl. Despite playing in just five games, Young still earned Second Team All-SAC honors.

Dre Day: Sophomore WR Deondre Lester had a tremendous performance against UVA Wise, hauling in a program-record 14 passes. Lester would finish the year with 56 receptions, the fourth-most in a single season in program history and the most since Terence Steward in 1986.

Selection Sunday: The Bears would be on the edge of their seats on Selection Sunday, hoping to have their name called. Thanks in part to a late-season win by Wingate over Mars Hill, the Bears had a good case for the field but were on the bubble. LR would be announced to compete in the playoffs for the third straight season where they eventually fell to Bowie St. on the road in the first round.

For Omari: The season recap wouldn't be complete without acknowledging a heartbreaking story. Freshman Omari Alexander would tragically pass away on the morning that LR played Bowie St. in the First Round of the NCAA Playoffs. The LR community continues to keep Omari's family, friends and teammates in their prayers.

Awards Won:
Amari Houston – SAC Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Conference, D2CCA All-Region, Don Hansen Second Team All-American
Dwayne McGee – SAC Offensive Player of the Year, SAC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Conference, AP First Team All-American, D2CCA Second Team All-American, Don Hansen Second Team All-American, Don Hansen National Freshman of the Year
Grayson Willingham – First Team All-Conference
Blake Jefferson – First Team All-Conference, D2CCA All-Region
Tyler Keaton – First Team All-Conference
Dan Louba - First Team All-Conference
Eric Jackson - First Team All-Conference
Deondre Lester – Second Team All-Conference
Dareke Young - Second Team All-Conference
Bryce Heidinger - Second Team All-Conference
Ian Brinson - Second Team All-Conference, CoSIDA Academic All-District
Chase Allbaugh - Second Team All-Conference, CoSIDA Academic All-District
Ryan Carter - Second Team All-Conference
Andre Jefferson - Second Team All-Conference
Jon Ross Maye - Second Team All-Conference
Preston Joseph - Second Team All-Conference, CoSIDA Academic All-District