By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The finish line is in sight for Livingstone and Catawba football.

The Blue Bears are making an effort to end their season with a respectable sprint, but the Indians, burdened by the weight of eight consecutive losses since they drubbed the Blue Bears on opening night, are slogging their way down the stretch. The battered, bruised and banged-up Indians have run a marathon already — and it’s not over. Carson-Newman visits next week.

Catawba (1-8) can reasonably lay claim to being the best college football team in Salisbury, but that’s pretty much where the bragging rights end for this season.

Both local programs are at home this week. Both play host to their biggest rivals. In LC’s case, that’s pretty good news. In Catawba’s case, not so much.

Catawba entertains the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (6-3) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. That South Atlantic Conference encounter will take place on historic Kirkland Field at Shuford Stadium.

Livingstone (3-6) takes on Johnson C. Smith’s Golden Bulls (2-6) in a CIAA contest at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday on the blue turf of Alumni Memorial Stadium.

Blue Bears vs. Golden Bulls is an important game in a historical context. It’s the Commemorative Classic for a reason. HBCU football got its start a few days after Christmas in 1892 on Livingstone’s snow-covered front lawn. Making the road trip to Salisbury from Charlotte was a team representing Biddle Institute, which later became Biddle University. Biddle University became known as Johnson C. Smith in 1923.

J.C. Smith leads the long-running series 48-32-3, although Livingstone has had its moments, including six consecutive victories from 1994-99.

The last time Livingstone won was in 2018. The last time there was a decision in the series was in 2019 when the Golden Bulls rolled 34-6. There was no decision in 2020, as COVID knocked out the entire CIAA season.

Last November, there again was no decision. They were not able to finish that one when a kickoff return and a tackle on the sideline triggered multiple altercations. That was a shame, especially for the Blue Bears, who led 17-3 after two defensive scores and had the game well in hand. Officially, however, the ruling was “no contest.”

J.C. Smith, which has lost an amazing number of close games this season, is a four-point favorite to beat the Blue Bears, according to the Massey ratings.

Livingstone is given a 37 percent chance of winning, but it probably should be more like 47 percent. Livingstone owns wins over two teams — St. Augustine’s and Winston-Salem State — that beat J.C. Smith, while J.C. Smith has beaten one team — Shaw — that beat Livingstone. They both took care of Elizabeth City State.

As far as Catawba, the Indians are 24-point underdogs and are generously given a 10 percent chance of beating Lenoir-Rhyne by the Massey Ratings. The last three match-ups in the series have seen L-R wallop the Indians 56-3, 49-3 and 63-21. Catawba famously won 24-17 at home over the Bears in 2017, the last huge triumph for the program before a tumble down the SAC standings began.

Lenoir-Rhyne is responsible for several entries in the Catawba record book. The Bears scored 11 touchdowns and 75 points against Catawba in 1957, although nothing like that is expected to occur on Saturday. Catawba rushed for a record low minus-46 rushing yards against the Bears in 1965, another horrific record that shouldn’t be threatened any time soon.

The programs have scrapped exactly 100 times over the years. Catawba holds a precarious 49-47-4 edge in an all-time series that is still basically life-and-death to the old-timers who support the Indians.

Catawba fought hard at Barton last Saturday and turned in a terrific third quarter to generate excitement, but the defense got trucked down the stretch. All-SAC running backs have been turned into All-Americans by the Indians all season. Barton’s Jordan Terrell was the latest to be honored with SAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 300-yard game.

L-R comes in with a two-game losing streak if you’re looking for reasons to hope and to attend the game. The Bears have gotten out of the gate slowly the last two weeks. They weren’t able to overcome those slothful starts against Newberry or Wingate. As a result, the Bears went from 5-0 in the SAC to 5-2 in a hurry.

L-R QB Sean White isn’t a runner, but he’s a thrower. He had 292 passing yards and three TDs against Wingate. He also tossed three interceptions last week, so the Indians’ DBs may have some opportunities. Pick-sixes are always helpful.

L-R’s Ryan Carter is a receiver with 100 career catches, impressive consistency, while Dwayne McGee has put up stellar rushing numbers this season and probably has been smiling ever since he watched the film of Barton’s Terrell romping past the Indians.

Defensively, L-R linebacker Devin Hibbett may be the guy to watch out for. He had two interceptions and 13 tackles against Wingate and is the reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week.