Gordon-Lamar, Opportunistic Defense Lift Lions Over Catawba

MARS HILL, N.C.- Foluke Gordon-Lamar ran for 221 yards and a touchdown while the Lion defense forced two red zone turnovers as Mars Hill defeated Catawba 35-7 on Sunday at Meares Stadium and Ammons Family Athletic Center. Mars Hill improves to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in South Atlantic Conference play while Catawba falls to 5-4 and 3-3.

Gordon-Lamar had 221 yards with a touchdown on 25 carries. Dimitri Holmes caught five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Layman went 8-for-22 for 144 yards with two passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns and two interceptions. Michael Ashley had six punts with an average of 39 yards per punt. Chris Daniels led the Lion defense with 14 tackles, 10 of which were solo. Jamel Brintley had 10 tackles while Chris Leamon, Robert Morgan, Jr., Marvin James and Eliott Polycarpe each had an interception. Mars Hill forced five turnovers on the afternoon.

Mike Sheehan ran for 66 yards on 16 carries for Catawba. Sheehan also threw for 168 yards and a touchdown along with four interceptions. Keyon West caught four passes for 94 yards. Michael Peppers led the Indians with nine tackles, with Kegan Funderburk recording eight solo tackles.

Mars Hill took the opening kickoff and went 85 yards on four plays capped by a Gordon-Lamar one-yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead. Gordon-Lamar ran for 66 yards on the drive, including a 59-yard dash. After the teams traded punts, Catawba drove inside the red zone before the Indians missed a 30-yard field goal. Mars Hill was unable to capitalize on their next possession and the Indians tied the game at 7 on a Sheehan 23-yard touchdown pass to Gary Williams.

Mars Hill answered with a touchdown on their next possession thanks in large part to a 67-yard run by Gordon-Lamar to the one-yard line. Laymon dove across the goal line for the score as the Lions led 14-7 after the first 15 minutes.

Catawba was marching down the field early in the second quarter and appeared to have the game-tying score but Jasper Mason punched the ball out of Reid Carlton's hands at the 1-yard line with Trey Clark recovering in the end zone for a touchback.

With 58 seconds to play in the half, Layman found Holmes for a 23-yard strike with the ensuing extra point giving the Lions a 21-7 lead. The teams traded interceptions before Catawba got the ball on their own 38. The Indians advanced to the Mars Hill 36 and threw a long pass into the end zone on the final play of the half that was intercepted by Polycarpe as the Lions took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

Catawba went 11 plays on its first drive of the second half but saw the drive stall at the Mars Hill 14. The Indians decided to go for the first down when faced with a 4^th and 1, but Brintley tackled Sheehan for a six yard loss. On their next drive, the Indians marched down the field and had first and goal at the Lion 7-yard line. After Cary Littlejohn got the visitors to the 2-yard line, Daniels stuffed Littlejohn on the next play. Sheehan's pass on third down was intercepted by James in the endzone.

With just over 13 minutes to play in the game Layman picked up his second touchdown of the game on the ground, this time from two yards out. After Sheehan was intercepted by Morgan, Jr. on the next drive, Layman found Holmes over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown pass and a 35-7 Mars Hill advantage with 8:58 to play. Neither team made it inside the opposing 20-yard line for the rest of the game.

The win guarantees Mars Hill will have a winning home record in 2014, as three of the four Lion home games have resulted in victories with the Nov. 15 contest against Tusculum serving as the home finale. Sunday's game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but a snowstorm that left several inches of snow on the field on Saturday forced the game's postponement.