HICKORY, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne Bears and West Alabama Tigers face off on Saturday in a battle of two 1-0 teams. The Bears are coming off a big 45-3 win over then No. 14 Virginia Union, while the Tigers defeated Tuskegee 27-17 on Sunday.
Previous Battles: These teams have played three times in their program's history. The Tigers won 46-7 in 2017 and 36-32 in 2018 before the Bears got their mojo back with a big 37-34 victory in the first round of the 2024 NCAA DII Playoffs. In that 2024 contest Jalen Ferguson became the first Lenoir-Rhyne quarterback to throw for over 400 yards in a game, going 22-for-40 with 411 yards and three touchdowns. Adonis McDaniel became the third player in program history to eclipse the 200-yard receiving mark, finishing with seven catches for 202 yards and a pair of scores. That win was the 12th NCAA Tournament victory for the Bears.
Head Coaches: West Alabama head coach Scott Cochran is in his second year with the Tigers in 2026. During his first season UWA went 5-4, starting the year 5-0 before dropping their final four contests. Prior to his time at UWA, Cochran served as a strength and conditioning coach at LSU and Alabama, and a special teams coach at Georgia. Lenoir-Rhyne head coach
Doug Socha is in his third year with the Bears and holds a 17-8 record, going 10-3 in 2024 and 6-5 in 2025. His 2024 squad became the sixth team in program history to advance past the opening round of the NCAA playoffs. Prior to his time at LR, Socha was the head coach at NAIA Keiser, going 55-15 in six seasons and taking home the 2023 NAIA National Championship.
Opening Week Wins: Lenoir-Rhyne made a statement last Friday, taking down then No. 14 Virginia Union 45-3 in a re-match of the 2024 NCAA DII Playoffs second round that saw VUU end LR's season. West Alabama joined Lenoir-Rhyne in getting off on the right foot, taking down Tuskegee University 27-17 in the Red Tails Classic at the Crampton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.
Balanced Attack: Lenoir-Rhyne saw over 500+ yards of offense last Friday coming from 13 different players. Seven Bears caught a pass from quarterback
Wells Bettenhausen, with
Mikel McClellan's seven receptions for 112 yards leading the way. Five Bears ran the ball, with
Shermon Davis,
LJ Turner, and
Eddie Clark combining for 220 yards and three scores. West Alabama joined the Bears with some balance, seeing seven players catch a total of 16 passes from transfer quarterback Luther Richesson, led by four receptions for 57 yards from TD Parker. Madixx Morris and Kaden Cup joined Parker in the 50-yard receiving club. The Tigers rushing attack was led by the quarterback Richesson, who accounted for 93 rushing yards in the win.
Pass Protection: Both offensive lines were locked in for their openers, as neither team allowed a sack in Week 0.
Havock Behind the Line: The Lenoir-Rhyne defensive line had Virginia Union quarterback RJ Rosales scrambling all over on Friday, sacking him a total of five times. Picking up two of those sacks was
Carnell Ferguson, who's strip sack near the end of the opening half set the Bears up for a late field goal to extend the lead. West Alabama had five TFLs and two sacks in their opener, with redshirt sophomore Ayden Gibson leading the way with five tackles and two TFLs.
Up Next: Following this weekend's contest the Bears will travel to No. 13 Newberry to open conference play against the reigning national semi-finalists. The Wolves open their season this weekend against NAIA Reinhardt. West Alabama's schedule won't get any easier as they play host to No. 10 Pittsburg State, a perennial DII power. The Gorillas dropped their opener to No. 1 Ferris State last week and host Emporia State on Saturday.
