Staff report

DURHAM — Catawba quarterback Preston Brown turned in one of the all-time efficient passing games in program history on Saturday night, and the Indians took advantage of his leadership and his accuracy to beat non-conference opponent Shaw, 37-28.

It was considered a 50/50 game going in, so it was a serious bounce-back road victory for the Indians, who were coming off a disappointing spanking at Davidson.

Catawba (1-1) scored first and scored last, shoved Shaw (2-1) around on the stat sheet, 419 yards to 254, and was generally in control, but there were anxious moments for Catawba fans in the second and fourth quarters. The game was witnessed by a crowd of 1,576 in pleasant weather conditions.

Brown was 24-for-29 through the air for 295 yards. He threw four TD passes with zero interceptions. You can’t do much better than that.

Deuce Linder hauled in two TD passes for the Indians, while Jordan Mitchell and Marquece Williams grabbed one each. Tight end Kobe Christian didn’t find the end zone, but played a major role in Catawba drives with six catches for 101 yards.

Shaw quarterback Christian Peters was coming off an epic six-TD performance (five passing, one rushing) in a wild win at Albany State. He threw three more TD passes against the Indians, but Catawba’s defense limited him to 115 passing yards and he had negative rushing yards.

Catawba got the ideal road start, a defensive three-and-out followed by super field position. Mike Geter, who was playing quarterback for Salisbury High a year ago, brought Shaw’s punt back to the Shaw 38, and it took Catawba only two plays to take a 7-0 lead.

But Shaw has a good team and answered. Catawba answered that score.

Then in the second quarter, things were swinging Shaw’s way for a while. The Bears posted back-to-back TDs on passes by Peters, as Catawba went from leading 14-7 to trailing 21-14. Catawba got a critical score late in the half on a Brown-to-Williams pass play for 21-all at the break.

Bryson Sims kicked a field goal to put Catawba back in front 24-21. Brown’s TD pass to Jordan Mitchell made it 30-21, and the Indian were back in command.

But Peters’ third TD pass made it a 30-28 game with 10:49 remaining. and the Indians faced a pivotal possession.

It’s a possession they may have failed on in 2023, but this time they got the job done under pressure and on the road, driving 66 yards on 11 plays and scoring with 3:38 remaining. Brown finished the march with a 16-yard pass to Linder to make it 36-28.  Sims added the PAT to make it a two-score game.

Catawba was able to run the ball just enough and netted 124 rushing yards. LJ Turner broke loose for the game’s first touchdown for Catawba’s lone rushing score.

Geter accounted for 100 yards on receptions, kickoff returns and punt returns.

Wade Robins, another former Salisbury Hornet, did a nice job on kickoffs.

Catawba has another road game next Saturday, playing at UVA Wise to start South Atlantic Conference action.