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Lenoir-Rhyne University Athletics

Adonis McDaniel
Rich Duncan
29
Winner Lenoir-Rhyne L-R 3-0 , 1-0
21
Mars Hill MHU 0-2 , 0-1
Winner
Lenoir-Rhyne L-R
3-0 , 1-0
29
Final
21
Mars Hill MHU
0-2 , 0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
L-R Lenoir-Rhyne 7 3 6 13 29
MHU Mars Hill 7 7 7 0 21

Game Recap: Football | | Joel Krenz, Assistant AD for Media and Communications

No. 6 Bears stay undefeated with comeback victory at Mars Hill

MARS HILL, NC - The Bears passed a big test on Saturday. Following two fairly comfortable wins to open the season, Lenoir-Rhyne faced adversity at Mars Hill, seeing themselves go down 21-10 early in the third quarter. From there, LR showed why they are the No. 6 team in the country, outscoring the Lions 19-0 the rest of the way to come home with a 29-21 victory. 

"It felt great to get a win on the road to start conference play, said head coach Doug Socha. "We had to battle from behind to get it done. I love the resilience I saw from our team today."

With the win, Lenoir-Rhyne moves to 3-0 (1-0 SAC), while Mars Hill drops to 0-2 (0-1 SAC).

STORY OF THE GAME:
  • Zayvion Turner-Knox rushed for 23 yards on the opening drive, finishing it off with a touchdown to go up 7-0.
  • Mars Hill scored late in the first quarter to tie things up at seven.
  • Jake Brown hit a 45-yard field goal right before the half to make the score 14-10 in favor of the Lions.
  • Mars Hill scored on their second drive of the third quarter to go up 21-10.
  • Brown hit a 20-yard field goal to make it 21-13.
  • Joseph Evans forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Bears possession.
  • Brown hit his third field goal of the game to make it 21-16. 
  • LR opened the fourth with a 14-yard, 70 play drive that ended in a Alex Boyd touchdown run.
  • Jalen Ferguson hit Songa Yates for a 78-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the Bear's next drive, going up 29-21.
  • The Bear's defense force a turnover on downs on Mars Hill's last possession to seal the win.
STATS OF THE GAME:
  • Jalen Ferguson went 25-for-39 and finished with a career-high 304 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
  • Zayvion Turner-Knox rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown.
  • Songa Yates let the Bears with 93 yards and a touchdown.
  • Adonis McDaniel finished with six receptions for 83 yards.
  • Jaelin Willis led the team with eight tackles, 3.0 TFL and two sacks.
  • Andre Jefferson added to his career sack total, finishing with two sacks for 24 yards.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
  • The Bears now lead the all-time series with Mars Hill 26-24-1 and have won four straight.
  • Andre Jefferson is the NCAA Division II active leader with 54 tackles-for-loss.
  • Doug Socha is just the third coach in school history (Mike Jacobs, Ian Shields) to start their career 3-0.
  • Lenoir-Rhyne now sits as the only undefeated team in the SAC Mountain Division.
  • Zayvion Turner-Knox leads the conference with four rushing touchdowns.
UP NEXT: The 3-0 Bears will be back at home next week when they host Tusculum in a rematch of last year's SAC Championship. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. 
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