HICKORY, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team dominated St. Augustine's to open the 2023 season on a perfect Saturday night at Moretz Stadium. The Bear defense suffocated the Falcons and held SAU to three first downs and two rushing yards on 27 attempts. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #25 Lenoir-Rhyne 45, St. Augustine's 7
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (1-0), St. Augustine's (0-1)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Moretz Stadium

STATS OF THE GAME:
•   The Bears scored the first 28 points of the game and never looked back in the dominating victory. LR outgained the Falcons 378-52 and held the ball for 36:37 of the game.
•   Kelin Parsons scored from one yard out on a swing pass to get the Bears on the board at the 3:03 mark of the first quarter.  
•   Just 1:34 later, DeAree Rogers took a punt 41 yards back to the house for his first career touchdown. 
•  The lead swelled to 21-0 with another special teams score. James Ussery blocked a punt in the end zone that was recovered by Tye Roberson for a touchdown. 
•   Parson's second TD of the first half made it 28-0 on the same swing pass. Parson's two TDs covered three total yards. 
•   St. Augustine's scored their lone TD of the game on a 37-yard catch and run with seven seconds left in the first half. 
•   The first TD of the second half went to Zyheir Dillard on a 6-yard run and Zayvion Turner-Knox punched in a 1-yard TD to make it 42-7. 
•   Jake Brown's first career FG -- a 19-yarder -- made it a 45-7 final.
•   Sean White went 16-for-21 for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 
•   Songa Yates had a career-high five grabs for 58 yards. 
•   Jon Ross Maye led the defense with 9 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Zeke Nance had three tackles and two sacks. 
•   The Falcons went 9-for-16 in the passing game for 50 yards.         

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
•   Parsons topped 100 career catches with his second grab of the night.
•   The 5.6 yards gained per completion for the Falcons are the second-lowest allowed by the Bears in the NCAA era. 
•   The 52 total yards allowed are also the second fewest.  
•   LR managed just 12 first downs in the game with 10 coming through the air.
•   The Bears move to 56-34-4 all-time in home openers. 
•   LR is now 19-4 since 2010 when scoring a special teams touchdown. 

UP NEXT: LR will hit the road for their first road test at Fayetteville St. next Saturday at 6 p.m.