HICKORY, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne football team will close out the season on Saturday celebrating its seniors against Catawba.
The senior day recognition will begin at 12:25, 35 minutes prior to kickoff.
Opponent: Catawba Indians
Game Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Helen and Leonard Moretz Stadium
Game Promotion: Senior Day
Notes:
Matchup History: Saturday's game will be the 104th all-time meeting between the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears and Catawba Indians. Beginning in 1907, this makes it the sixth longest rivalry in NCAA DII history. The Bears lead the series 50-49-4 and has won the previous six matchups, including a 33-14 victory last season in Salisbury.
Opponent Profile: The Catawba Indians are 7-3 (5-3 SAC) and are coming off a convincing 44-20 win over Anderson last week. They are in the midst of their first winning season since 2021 and their most wins since a 9-2 campaign in 2017. They hold the distinction of being the only team in the SAC to defeat Newberry this season, holding them to just 10 points in a 21-10 win back on Saturday, September 20th. Quarterback Preston Brown ranks fifth in the SAC with an average of 227 passing yards per game, and third with 21 passing touchdowns. His 21-3 touchdown to interception ratio is one of the best in the country. The Catawba Indians rank second in the SAC with an average of 215.9 rushing yards per game and have scored a SAC high 25 touchdowns on the ground. Both their pass and run defenses rank middle of the pack, and they have only one interception all season, the least amount amongst all SAC schools.
Lenoir-Rhyne Profile: The Bears are 5-5 (4-4 SAC) and are coming off a heartbreaking 38-37 overtime loss at Wingate two weeks ago. Quarterback
Khamoni Robinson already sits in eighth all-time in Lenoir-Rhyne history with 2,129 passing yards on the season. He has 17 touchdowns in the air and seven on the ground, and 64.2% completion percentage ranks third in the SAC. Running back
Alex Boyd has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games while wide receivers
Songa Yates and
Zion Agnew have scored one in each of the last two.
Maddox Aprile has been strong on defense this season, leading the team with 9.0 TFL and 4.0 sacks.
Stewart Simmons' 42.43 punt average currently places him at sixth in LR history.
NCAA Regional Rankings: The SAC placed four teams in the final regional rankings. Newberry, who has already won the conference title and is on a bye this week, was third with an 8-1 record. Wingate, sitting at 8-2, ranked fifth. Just out of the top eight were Emory & Henry (9th) and Carson-Newman (10th). The top eight teams will make the NCAA tournament. The NCAA selection show will take place on ncaa.com at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 16th.
