Staff report

SALISBURY — Catawba’s football season finally got a break — unfortunately, it was a bone in star running LJ Turner’s foot.

With Turner, who was creating national-level excitement as a ball-carrier, out for the season and with the Indians relying on their third quarterback, the season is now officially injury-plagued, as well as crazy, luckless and head-shaking.

Lenoir-Rhyne, always solid and tough, visits Shuford Stadium on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff, so Catawba’s luck isn’t likely to change and heads aren’t likely to stop shaking any time soon.

Sometimes you can over-analyze. Maybe all you need to know is that Catawba (2-7, 1-6) ranks 137th in scoring defense out of 159 Division II teams, while Lenoir-Rhyne (7-2, 5-2)  is 24th. Catawba allows almost 36 points per game, while the Bears allow a little over 16.

That simple stat helps explain why the Bears are 22-point favorites on the road, according to the Massey Ratings.

Catawba has somehow averaged 29 points per game on offense despite an ever-changing cast of characters, but the Indians never seem to score quite enough. If they score 28, they allow 35. If they score 35, they allow 42. It’s hard to outscore people in the South Atlantic Conference.

Catawba is given only a 9 percent chance to beat the Bears, according to the Massey ratings, but that seems somewhat low. This is a good Lenoir-Rhyne team, but not an overwhelming one. Ranked eighth in the region, Lenoir-Rhyne lost a defensive struggle with Wingate last week. The week before that, L-R had to stop a 2-point conversion to get past Limestone. L-R lost to Emory & Henry. L-R also hasn’t been on the road much. This will be just the fourth road game for the Bears.

Diving deeper into the stat sheet, you can find things that Catawba does better than Lenoir-Rhyne. Catawba gets penalized quite a bit less and Catawba does a better job of turning third down into first down. So the Indians might have a chance. Maybe tight end Kobe Christian hauls in 200 passing yards. Maybe Quece Williams, who scored four TDs in last week’s 49-35 loss at Barton, scores four more.

It’s been an eventful series that dates back to 1907. This will be the 103rd meeting. The all-time series is tied at 49 wins apiece with four ties.

Lenoir-Rhyne won 28-7 last season. Lenoir-Rhyne won 75-0 in 1957. Some of the old-timers are still upset about that one. L-R has won five straight since Catawba last won in 2017.

Quadree Ziyad, a defensive lineman from West Rowan, has played in five games for the Bears.

WSAT will broadcast all the action.

Catawba will end the season next week at home against Mars Hill, another stout team.