No. 12 Bears escape MHU with win in SAC opener
Martin rushes for two touchdowns in Lions' SAC opener.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill football team (0-2, 0-1 SAC) was felled by No. 12 Lenoir-Rhyne (3-0, 1-0 SAC) by a score of 29-21 Saturday afternoon in their South Atlantic Conference opener.
The Bears opened the scoring four minutes into the contest as Zayvion Turner-Knox scampered six yards for the score. Mars Hill responded with 3:35 left in the quarter as JR Martin connected with Malik Laurent on a 21-yard strike.
Martin put the Lions up 14-7 in the second quarter. With 5:33 left in the half, Martin rushed to the right from 14 yards out to give Mars Hill their first lead of the day.
With two seconds remaining in the half, Jake Brown pulled Lenoir-Rhyne within four, hitting a 45-yard field goal.
The Lions went up 21-10 following an interception by Kobe Haynes, putting the Lions at the 15 yard line. Capping off the drive was Martin's one-yard rush, his second of the day.
With 4:05 left in the third quarter, Lenoir-Rhyne's Brown converted a 20-yard field goal. After the Lions' fumbled the following kickoff, the defense held strong, forcing the Bears and Brown to another field goal, a 39-yard effort. Mars Hill held a 21-16 edge going into the fourth.
Alex Boyd's one-yard rush gave the Bears the 22-21 lead with under nine minutes to play. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful.
Lenoir-Rhyne capped off the scoring with 7:02 left in the game as Songa Yates hauled in a 78-yard pass from Jalen Ferguson, putting the Bears up by eight.
Ferguson went 25-of-39 for 304 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Martin threw for 154 yards with 14 completions. Turner-Knox led all players with 87 yards on the ground while Boyd added 33 on the day. Jon Gullette led the Lions with 34 yards.
Steven Reid led all players with 12 tackles followed by 11 from Dexter Fitzpatrick.
Mars Hill takes to the road on Saturday, September 28 when they face No. 23 Wingate. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
