Lions remain unbeaten, down Piedmont leading Barton

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill football team (3-0, 2-0 SAC) defeated Barton (3-1, 1-1 SAC) by a score of 16-14 Saturday afternoon.

Both Mars Hill (Mountain) and Barton (Piedmont) entered the contest atop their respective South Atlantic Conference division.

Mars Hill entered the second half down 14-10 after Lon Teachey hit one of his three field goals on the day as the clock hit zero in the second quarter.

The Mars Hill defense held Barton scoreless in the second half. With less than eight minutes left in the third, Teachey hit a 25-yard field goal to pull the Lions within one.

In the fourth, with 10:34 left to play, Tarshawn Reed's sack on Jaquan Lynch forced a fumble that was recovered by Damipi Lamboni. Just over a minute later, Teachey hit the game-winning field goal from 34 yards out.

The Lions opened the scoring with 5:28 to play in the first quarter. JR Martin connected with Malik Laurent for a 60-yard touchdown reception.

Barton outscored Mars Hill 14-3 in the second as Kameron Johnson hauled in a 65-yard pass from Lynch less than three minutes into the quarter. With less than a minute left in the half, Lynch punched the ball in from one yard out to take the lead, 14-7.

Mars Hill outgained Barton 476-258, racking up 316 yards on the ground. Martin ran for a game-high 167 yards and threw for 160 for 327 total yards. Laurent racked up 99 yards on three receptions.

The Lions' defense held the defending SAC and D2Football.com Offensive Player of the Week, Jordan Terrell, to just 47 yards on 18 carries. Daquan Carter and Landon Honeycutt led the team with six tackles apiece. Carter, Lamboni, Reed, and Octaveus Askew recorded sacks in the contest.

Mars Hill travels to Gaffney, South Carolina on Saturday, September 30 when they face Limestone at 12 p.m.