Football Beats Newberry, Move into First Place

MARS HILL, N.C. - Two school records fell and one was tied as Mars Hill moved into sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 48-36 victory over Newberry College Saturday afternoon at the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium. The Lions are now 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the league. The Wolves fell to 3-3 on the season and 2-1 in the SAC.

Jon Richt (Watkinsville, Ga.) set a new school record for most passing yards in a single game with 330 and tied a school mark for most passing touchdowns in a single season. Jonas Randolph (Daleville, Ala.) set a new school record for most career all-purpose touchdowns with 30 after he scored twice today.

Randolph rushed for 183 yards and two scores averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Richt was 17-36 on the day connecting on three touchdown strikes. P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) caught five passes for 133 and two touchdown receptions. Ray Ray McElrathbey (Atlanta, Ga.) had a big day for the Lions defensively and on special teams. Ray Ray picked off an interception that halted an almost certain Newberry score and then returned a punt 53 yards for a touchdown that gave MHC a 35-24 lead. Maurice Harris (Hendersonville, N.C.) led the Lions' defense posting five tackles (4 solo), a sack, two tackles-for-loss and four quarterback hurries.

Quarterback Bryan Ehrlich (San Antonio, Texas) completed 17-of-36 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions the Lions converted into touchdowns. Brandon Bostick (Florence, S.C.) and David Pressley caught the majority of Ehrlich's tosses, with Bostick catching seven passes for 159 yards and a touchdown and Pressley catching six passes for 154 yards. Ron Parker (St. Helena Island, S.C.) led the Wolves defense with 16 tackles (14 solo) a fumble recovery and an interception.

After the first three drives of the game ended in punts, Newberry was able to drive down to the MHC 11-yardline on its second drive. Ehrlich threw towards the endzone, but safety McElrathbey picked off the pass at the 1-yardline. Mars Hill needed just four plays after McElrathbey's return to find the endzone, taking a 7-0 lead on 2-yard touchdown pass from Jon Richt to Allen Woerner (Tiger, Ga.).

Newberry responded with a 12-play, 77-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Ehrlich on the first play of the second quarter. After the Wolves forced Mars Hill to go for it on fourth down and fail, Newberry running back Lyndon Ingram (Columbia, S.C.) capped a 6-play, 74-yard scoring drive with a 16-yard touchdown carry.

The Wolves held the Lions to a three-and-out on the next drive and proceeded to go on a 9-play, 90-yard scoring drive that ended on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ehrlich-to-Max Elliott (Clover, S.C.) to make it a 21-7 game with 2:35 left in the first half.

Newberry's defense appeared to hold MHC to another three-and-out on the next drive, but a defensive holding penalty kept the drive alive and gave the Lions the momentum they needed to complete a 10-play, 60-yard scoring drive on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Richt to Gore that made it a 21-14 Newberry lead at halftime.

The Wolves fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, but safety Ron Parker (St. Helena Island, S.C.) snuffed out a potential scoring threat with an interception in the end zone. However, the Lions forced Newberry to punt and tied the game on a three-play scoring drive when Randolph scampered 36 yards for his first score of the day. . The Wolves took the lead back on a 24-yard field goal by Britt Blackmon (Kershaw, S.C.), but the Lions took the lead at 28-24 on a 47-yard Richt-to-Gore touchdown pass.
Momentum shifted further in the Lions' favor after a three-and-out and a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown by McElrathbey to give Mars Hill a 35-24 lead. The Wolves were not deterred by the largest deficit they had faced in the game; as Ehrlich found Pressley wide open for an 80-yard touchdown to narrow the deficit to 35-30 going into the fourth quarter.

Newberry picked up two first downs on its first drive of the fourth quarter and appeared to be headed deep into Lions' territory, but Curtis Riley (Orlando, Fla.) picked Ehrlich off and returned the interception all the way down to the Wolves' 21-yardline. Mars Hill needed just five plays and 55 seconds to make it a 42-30 game after Richt dove in from a yard out. The Lions forced another Newberry three-and-out and Richt engineered a flawless 7-play, 87-yard touchdown drive to put the game out of reach.

The Wolves forced a Mars Hill fumble as the Lions attempted to run out the clock on the game, and Ehrlich found Bostick in the endzone as time expired to make it a 48-36 final.

MHC will face Carson-Newman College next Thursday night at 8 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tenn. The game will be broadcast live on CSS. The Eagles are 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the SAC.