HICKORY, NC - Lenoir-Rhyne concludes their 2024 regular season this weekend with senior day against the Anderson University Trojans The Bears are coming off a 33-14 week ten victory against Catawba as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive. Lenoir-Rhyne comes into the matchup with a 8-2 (6-2 SAC) record, while Anderson enters the matchup with a 3-7 (1-7 SAC) record after dropping their fourth straight game against Mars Hill last week. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Moretz Stadium.

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Opponent Profile: Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between the Bears and the Trojans. Head Coach Bobby Lamb, a veteran coach with more than 100 career NCAA Division l wins, has led the Trojans in their inaugural season. Anderson opened the 2024 season with back-to-back non-conference victories against St. Andrews and LaGrange. The Trojan's offense outscored their opponents 95-28 in the first two weeks and produced over 900 yards of total offense. In week three, Anderson lost their first matchup in SAC play to Limestone 52-5 to conclude their season opening three game home-stand. Anderson suffered back-to-back loses on the road against Barton (27-13) in week four and Catawba (44-41) in week five. Anderson won their first ever conference game on the road 20-13 against UVA Wise. Anderson's defense generated four sacks for 34 yards and forced the Cavaliers to turn the ball over on downs four times in the win. The Trojans have dropped their last four conference games, being outscored 123-54 to drop their record to 3-7 (1-7 SAC). Tyler Wesley leads the air attack for the Trojans throwing for over 1,700 yards and 14 touchdown passes. 

Catawba Recap: Lenoir-Rhyne won their eighth conference game of the season last week, taking down Catawba 33-14 last week in Salisbury. The Bear's defense forced four turnovers, including two fourth quarter pick-sixes by James Ussery and Damien Savage. Jaelin Willis led the Bears with eight tackles while JT Black registered one sack and one forced fumble on Catawba's opening possession. This is the third time this season that the Bears have generated three interceptions in a game. Offensively, Jamir Fox ran for a career high 79 yards and two touchdowns while Jalen Ferguson threw for over 160 yards. Lenoir-Rhyne collected their 50th all-time victory against Catawba and now hold a slight advantage in the all-time series at 50-49-4. 

Lenoir-Rhyne Statistics: Jalen Ferguson is now third in the conference in passing yards per game (231.8) and fifth in touchdown passes (12). After collecting his fifth interception of the season against Catawba, Nic Cheeley is tied for the most interceptions in the conference with Jarrell Harrison (E&H) and Tristan Rankin (Mars Hill). The Bears defense remains second in the conference with 19 interceptions only behind Emory & Henry (24). Lenoir-Rhyne's defensive line has generated 19.0 sacks for 165 yards and have forced seven forced fumbles through ten games. 

Rankings Update: Thanks to their win and Johnson C. Smith and Virginia Union losses, the Bears moved up to five in the latest Region ll rankings, improving their chances to making it back to the NCAA Dll Playoffs with a slight chance of hosting a quarterfinals matchup at Moretz Stadium next weekend. Fellow conference rivals Wingate (2) and Carson-Newman (4) appeared in the rankings for the second straight week and will face off against each other in the SAC Championship Game this weekend. Lenoir-Rhyne moved to No. 20 in the latest AFCA Division ll rankings while Carson Newman (19) and Wingate (23) also jumped up in the rankings entering the final week of the regular season. 

Senior Day: Prior to the game, the Bears will honor seniors Buck Barrett, Na'Shawn Biggs, JT Black, Chris Brown, Drew Campbell, Nic Cheeley, Jonah Clark, Grant Copeland, Dylan Foster, Shayle Gash, John Godwin, Andre Jefferson, Damien Savage, Malik Simmons, Luke Stone, Franklin Wheeler II, and Jaelin Willis.