Staff report

WILSON — Catawba and Barton finished 8 yards shy of racking up 1,000 yards in Saturday’s offensive-minded South Atlantic Conference football game.

Catawba brings out the best in opponents.

Barton’s Bulldogs had been playing like poodles. They had lost four in a row, hadn’t scored more than 27 in a game and had been shut out three times, but coach Chip Hester’s squad piled up 539 yards of balanced offense to outscore Catawba 49-35 to the delight of a homecoming crowd of 3,145 fans at Electric Supply Company Field at Truist Stadium.

If Catawba (2-7, 1-6) had won, the story would have been freshman quarterback Mason Fortune, who took the helm with starter Preston Brown and backup Hunter Sheppard sidelined. All QB3 did was complete 28 of 45 passes for 348 yards.

Amari McArthur (North Rowan) had a breakout outing with eight catches for 96 yards. Kobe Christian turned in a game that may have been historic for a Catawba tight end with six catches for 144 yards.

The downside of those staggering aerial numbers was a pick-six thrown by Fortune that was large, and a fumble by McArthur that was a turning point.

Running the ball wasn’t easy for the Indians, with record-breaking LJ Turner, who has become a major star in Division II, out for the game and the season with a broken foot. His absence was felt on the field and on the stat sheet, as the Indians rushed for fewer than 100 yards, but Quece Williams stepped forward to put the ball in the end zone four times (three rushes, one reception) and Kevon Rivera added a rushing TD.

Jackson Parrish had a field day for the Bulldogs (3-6, 2-5), romping for 152 rushing yards and three scores. Freshman QB Al Lee was good with 215 passing yards and two TDs. He threw one pick.

Catawba led only once. That was at 14-7 after Williams scored back-to-back touchdowns and Wade Robins (Salisbury) punched through the PATs.

It was 14-all in the second quarter when the game swung the Bulldogs’ way for good. McArthur made one of his many catches, but fumbled at the Catawba 27. Barton recovered and took advantage of the turnover to score with 2:54 left in the half for a 21-14 lead the break.

Nasir Winston’s pick-six made it 28-14 Bulldogs early in the third quarter, but Catawba was able to get back to 28-21 with Rivera’s 2-yard TD in the final seconds of the quarter.

All heck broke loose in the fourth quarter, with several quick scores. Lee hit a 53-yard TD pass for 34-21, but Barton missed the PAT kick. That looked important when Catawba swiftly got back to 34-28 with 11:37 left with a four-play drive.

That set the stage for the day’s most impressive and most important drive. Barton used more than six minutes to go 73 yards on a 12-play march. Parrish’s third TD, plus a 2-point conversion, put the Bulldogs ahead 42-28 with 5:03 remaining.

Catawba made it 42-35 when Fortune’s 11-yard pass to Williams capped a 60-yard drive, but there was only 2:17 left to play.

Catawba opted for an onside kick, but was unsuccessful. Then Barton sealed victory when Dakauri Davis broke a 45-yard scoring run.

Luke Raykovitz had the Catawba interception and made nine tackles. Khalil Stimpson had eight tackles.

It’s a tough grind in the SAC. Catawba gets a visit from Lenoir-Rhyne next Saturday night, while Barton will go to Limestone.