HICKORY, N.C. --- The Lenoir-Rhyne football
team forced five turnovers and converted those miscues into 35
points as the Bears defeated visiting Tusculum 51-6 Saturday
afternoon at Moretz Stadium in South Atlantic Conference
action.
Lenoir-Rhyne (4-2, 2-1 SAC) amassed 640 total offensive yards,
including 569 on the ground as three players rushed for over 100
yards in the homecoming victory.
It was the ninth straight home victory for Lenoir-Rhyne, while Tusculum (2-5, 1-2 SAC) has dropped its last 10 consecutive road contests.
In the loss, Tusculum quarterback Bo Cordell became the program's all-time leader in total offensive yards with 11,397, surpassing the previous school record held by Corey Russell (11,315 from 2005-08).
L-R's Jarrod Spears rushed for 145 yards on five carries, including a touchdown, while quarterback Reuben Haynes posted 127 rushing yards on 13 attempts, including two TDs. Haynes also passed for 71 yards, going 4-for-8, including a pair of scoring tosses. Isaiah Whitaker added 103 rushing yards on 20 carries, while Graham Duncan added 90 yards on a eight rushes, including his 39-yard scoring run at beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Bears scored 31 unanswered points in the first half as they capitalized on three Tusculum fumbles, converting all three into touchdowns.
After being pinned deep into its own territory at the LRU 5, the Bears utilized a 74-yard run by Jarrod Spears to get out of the shadow of its own end zone to set up a 21-yard field goal by Zach Neumann at the 10:15 mark of the first quarter.
After the teams exchanged punts, L-R's Myer Nolan forced a fumble, which was recovered by Doug Ellis at the TC 34. The Bears covered the 34-yard scoring drive on 10 running plays, capped off by a one-yard run by Reuben Haynes. Neumann's kick made it 10-0 at the 2:53 mark of the quarter.
Following a TC punt, the Bears marched into TC territory again, but the Pioneers' Kevin Bless recovered fumble at the 23-yard line.
But Tusculum could not take advantage as the L-R defense forced its second turnover of the half as Tanner Botts came up with the recovery at the TC 44 and returned it 25 yards to the 19-yard line. Spears scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 19-yard scamper down the near sideline to make the score 17-0 with 12:15 left before halftime.
Tusculum looked to have the offense clicking as the Pioneers moved into L-R territory, but Nolan forced his second fumble of the half and was recovered by O'neil Blake and 22-yards to the TC 38. Haynes scored his second TD of the half on a 38-yard run to make it 24-0.
TC took its next possession and moved to the L-R 17, but back-to-back sacks by the Bears, including one on fourth down as the Pioneers surrendered possession on downs.
L-R followed with a nine-play, 66-yard drive, capped off by a seven-yard TD pass by Haynes to Greg Baker with 2:29 remaining in the half.
The Pioneers mounted a scoring drive just before intermission as TC
marched 75 yards on eight plays, capped off by a Cordell seven-yard
TD pass to Brian Marshall with 59 seconds left in the period.
Logan Cornelius' extra point try was wide right to make the score
31-6 at the break.
Tusculum finished with 337 yards offensively. Trey McCoy recorded 37 rushing yards on 11 carries, while Matt Levine was TC's top receiver with 82 yards on five catches. Brian Marshall also posted nine receptions for 55 yards and a TD.
Tusculum's Dameon Herring recorded a career-high 13 tackles, including a forced fumble, while Brian Alexander tallied 10 stops along with a fumble recovery. Luke Harris finished with eight stops and a pass break-up while Irim Aiken and Deres Benn accounted for seven tackles apiece.
Defensively, Lenoir-Rhyne recorded five sacks on the afternoon, including a pair by B.J. Woodley. Demetrius Green accounted for 10 tackles, while Joe Anderson, Zach Long and Marcus Kincaid tallied six stops each. In all, the Bears also returned Tusculum's five fumbles for 68 total yards.
Tusculum returns home next Saturday when it hosts Newberry for a 1:30 p.m. contest at Pioneer Field.
- TC -
