Lion Pause
Click here to view last week’s athletic highlights and this week’s upcoming schedule of events for Mars Hill University.
Athletic Highlights: August 28 – September 4, 2017
Football: Mars Hill won their 2017 season opener by a decisive 40-14 margin over the Hawks of Shorter University Saturday afternoon at Barron Stadium. Quarterback David Salmon threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Head Coach Tim Clifton stated, "I thought our young men played hard and played with a lot of enthusiasm. We are very happy for them and excited about the win." Salmon completed 17-24 passes (71%) with no interceptions. Malik Prescott rushed for 110 yards on 17 carries averaging 6.5 yards per rush. He found the endzone twice in the game. Keshaun Taylor caught eight passes for 131 yards and one score. Chris Leamon had three tackles including an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown. Earl Adams added four tackles, a sack and two tackles-for-loss. Jeremy Middleton, Anthony Phillips, Christopher Ferdinand and Jerjuan Edwards led the Lions in tackles with five apiece. The Lions recorded 393 total yards, averaging 6.2 per play. Mars Hill's defense held Shorter to just 78 yards rushing and had four sacks in the contest.
Men's Soccer: The Lions opened up their season 0-2, falling to tough competitors such as Limestone College and the University of Mount Olive. Ben Lucas made nine saves on 13 shots and Oscar Mitchell led the Lions with three shots on goal.
Women's Soccer: Breona Tate scored the Lions first goal of the season in a 1-0 victory over Southern Wesleyan. The senior midfielder bumped her career total to 17 during her time at Mars Hill. The Lions stand at 1-1 on the season.
Cross Country: The men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Appalachian State Invitational in Boone, North Carolina over the weekend. The women finished fifth out of six non-DI schools to compete with Nyla Feeney as their top runner, recording a time of 20:50.01. On the men's side, the Lions finished third out of six non-DI schools to race with Noah Allison finishing 25th overall and second in D-II runners with a time of 26:57.50.
Volleyball: The Lions went 1-2 at the Lincoln Memorial University Tournament held in Harrogate, Tennessee. They won their first contest 3-0 against Erskine College as Maddie Spurgeon led the attack with ten kills. They dropped their next two contests against Lee University and King University, 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Sally Anne Johnson posted 11 kills in each match and finished the weekend with a team-leading 28. Spurgeon continued her strong play, ending tournament play with 27 kills.
Hurricane Harvey Relief: Mars Hill Athletics and the Student Athletic Advisory Committee are partnering with the French Broad Baptist Association Flood Relief to donate household items for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Lion Athletics will be accepting donations during the women's soccer contests on Saturday, September 2, versus Southern Wesleyan and Tuesday, September 5, versus King, men's soccer against King on Wednesday, September 6, and the volleyball versus Lincoln Memorial on Thursday, September 7.