Lions fall short in SAC Championship game versus Newberry
The Mars Hill football team (7-3) fell to Newberry (9-2) by a score of 27-24 in the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Championship game held Saturday afternoon on the road.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill football team (7-3) fell to Newberry (9-2) by a score of 27-24 in the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Championship game held Saturday afternoon on the road.
Newberry pulled ahead 10-0 early into the second quarter as Mario Anderson opened the scoring with a three-yard rush in the first and Lawson Reel's 34-yard field goal in the opening minute of the second. With 10:03 remaining in the half, the Lions broke the shutout bid as Ty Snelson reeled in a 27-yard pass from Jimmy Urzua.
As the half ended, Reel netted a 42-yard field goal to put Newberry up 13-7 after 30 minutes of play.
The Lions struck twice in the third as Andre Labat converted a 30-yard field goal attempt with just over three minutes played in the second half. With 6:32 remaining, Simeon Thompson hauled in a three-yard pass from Urzua to give the Lions their first lead of the afternoon.
The teams traded scores during the fourth, but a costly Mars Hill interception with under seven minutes to play led the winning Newberry drive as Tommy Washington caught a 10-yard pass from Dre Harris to provide the Wolves the 27-24 lead.
Newberry controlled the ball for over 40 minutes and racked up 224 yards on the ground, led by Anderson's 159 on 33 carries.
Urzua threw for three touchdowns and 302 yards as Malik Laurent led all receivers with 101 yards on four catches. Thompson added 94 yards on four catches.
Landon Honeycutt led all players with 14 tackles followed by Octaveus Askew's eight.