Football Loses Close Battle at Catawba

SALISBURY, N.C. – Mars Hill lost a close contest to SAC rival Catawba College Saturday afternoon in Shuford Stadium, 38-31. The Lions fell to 2-7 overall and 0-5 in the SAC. Catawba improved to 5-4 on the season and an even 3-3 in the league.

Trent Miller led the Lion offense passing for 278 yards completing 12-28 passes and three scores. Dimitri Holmes was on the receiving end of three of those completions for 143 yards and one touchdown. Cameron Shuford caught four passes for 47 yards and one touchdown. Catawba held Shaikel Davis, the SAC leading rusher, to 91 yards in the game. He recorded 78 of those yards in the first half. Sammy Siasia led the Lion defense with a game high 17 tackles in the contest. David Campbell added 10 tackles an interception and a pass break-up. Johnny Maxey recorded nine stops, a pair of sacks and three tackles-for-loss.

Danny O'Brien completed 23-38 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Bruce Smith caught four passes for 68 yards and one touchdown. Nate Charest caught three passes for 39 yards and a score. Eleven players caught passes for the Indians in the contest. Lorenzo Pooler and Cary Littlejohn rushed for 89 and 87 yards in the contest, respectively. Ed Robinson and Jason Taylor led the Indians defense with eight tackles apiece.

Catawba put the first points on the board with 8:37 left in the first quarter when Danny O'Brien hit Bruce Smith on a 38-yard scoring strike. Chad Hollandsworth's PAT kick was good and the Indians led 7-0.

After a 40-yard completion to Dimitri Holmes, Trent Miller dove in from a yard out to tie the contest at 7-all. Victor Yurco's PAT kick was successful to make the score 7-7 with 4:04 left in the first period.

O'Brien found Nate Charest on a 5-yard touchdown completion with 14:56 on the clock in the second quarter. Hollandsworth's PAT was good to give Catawba a 14-7 advantage.

Miller then hit Holmes on an 18-yard pass with 10:37 left in the half to again tie the contest at 14-all after Yurco's PAT kick was true. The score was setup by an interception from David Campbell. A Cary Littlejohn 2-yard rush pushed the Indians lead back to seven points (21-14) with 7:58 on the clock.

Yurco nailed a 44-yard field goal to trim Catawba's lead to 21-17 with 5:15 left in the second quarter. It was Yurco's longest of the field goal on the season to date. Hollandsworth matched the score hitting a 24-yard field goal of his own to extend Catawba's lead to 24-17.

With less than a minute left in the first half of play, Cameron Shuford hauled in a 10-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 24-24. The teams carried that score into the locker room at halftime.

On the Indians first drive of the second half, Robert Green, II, blocked Hollandsworth's 30-yard field goal attempt. The teams traded possessions before the Lions took the lead at the 4:35 mark of the third frame.

An 85-yard reception from Miller to Holmes setup a 3-yard scoring pass to Jamel Hall to give the Lions their first lead of the game with 4:35 left in the third stanza. After Yurco's PAT kick sailed through the uprights, MHU led 31-24. The 85-yard reception was a season high for the Lions.

Catawba drove 90 yards on six plays capped off by a 10-yard scoring pass from O'Brien to Carlos Tarrats. Hollandsworth's PAT kick once again knotted the game at 31-all.

Mars Hill misplayed the ensuing kickoff and Catawba recovered the ball at the MHU 35-yardline. The Indians then marched to the Lions' end zone on seven plays to take the lead for good, 38-31 with 2:42 left in regulation after Hollandsworth's PAT kick was good. Catawba's defense forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs and the Indians ran out the clock to seal the win.

Mars Hill will host SAC foe Wingate University on November 9. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.