Staff report

SALISBURY — Catawba’s football came out strong, but lost its vigor at halftime and watched Lenoir-Rhyne pull away for a 33-14 win on Saturday at Shuford Stadium.

The Indians (2-8, 1-7) led the Bears 14-3 in the first quarter after a 36-yard Mason Fortune touchdown pass to tight end Kobe Christian on a crossing route and an 18-yard scoring run by Quece Williams.

A crowd of 2,300 was thrilled, but momentum started to swing in the second quarter, and the Bears cut their deficit to 14-10 at the break.

Shutting down Catawba’s short-handed offense, the Bears moved on top 19-14 with two scores in the third quarter.

Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2, 6-2) ended up winning deceivingly big thanks two two fourth-quarter pick-sixes. Damien Savage’s 30-yard interception return with 10:45 remaining was the critical one, and James Ussery returned his 70 yards for the clincher with 3:49 remaining.

Catawba dominated time of possession and had advantages in yards (385 to 271) and first downs, but the Indians couldn’t overcome L-R’s 4-2 advantage in the turnover battle. Besides, the pick-sixes, the Bears made an interception in the end zone to stop another Catawba scoring threat.

Mason Fortune threw for 306 yards for the Indians, completing 28 of 40 passes. Joshua Grant had a big receiving day for Catawba with 11 catches for 109 yards, and L-R transfer Amari McArthur (North Rowan) had eight catches for 57 yards.

Williams led Catawba on the ground with 13 carries for 68 yards.

Evan Simons led Catawba’s defense with two forced fumbles. Jaylen Hinton was in on 12 tackles. Zy Brown had an interception.

The best news of the day for Catawba was a schedule change, as the SAC made alternations to the schedule to accommodate next week’s Carson-Newman vs. Wingate championship game. Instead of a strong Mars Hill squad, Catawba now will be hosting a Tusculum team that has been getting pounded. Carson-Newman beat Tusculum 56-14 on Saturday.