Lions fall to Limestone on road
The Mars Hill football team (3-1, 2-1 SAC) was defeated by Limestone (3-2, 3-0 SAC) by a score of 27-23 Saturday afternoon.
GAFFNEY, S.C. - The Mars Hill football team (3-1, 2-1 SAC) was defeated by Limestone (3-2, 3-0 SAC) by a score of 27-23 Saturday afternoon.
The Lions pulled within four with 9:17 remaining as Beau DeBerry caught his second touchdown pass of the day, a six-yard reception. With under two minutes to play, the Limestone defense held strong, stopping the Lions and holding on to the 27-23 lead for their third straight South Atlantic Conference victory.
The Saints led 14-9 after the first 15 minutes of play. Mars Hill opened the scoring with a safety 3:13 into the contest. With 8:40 left in the first, an 80-yard touchdown reception from DJ Black gave the Saints their first lead of the game. Joe Taylor Jr.'s two-yard scamper with 3:01 left in the quarter put the Lions back up, 9-7. Dustin Noller connected with Tre Stewart for a 12-yard touchdown reception with 23 seconds remaining to retake the lead.
Limestone pulled ahead by 11 with 7:06 left in the half as Drew Dixon hauled in a two-yard pass from Noller. DeBerry, with under three minutes to play in the second, caught a three-yard pass from JR Martin to pull within four. Just over a minute later, Dixon caught his second score of the quarter, a six-yard reception to send the Saints into the half with a 27-16 lead.
Martin threw for 218 yards and two scores. He also led the team with 71 rushing yards. Malik Laurent led the Lions with 95 yards on six catches while DeBerry caught four passes for 30 yards and two scores. Landon Honeycutt led the team with eight tackles, one sack, and 2.5 tackles for loss.
The Lions return to action on Saturday, October 7 when they host Erskine during Homecoming weekend. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. inside Meares Stadium.
