“Awesome” That’s
what was flashed on the scoreboard quite a few times at Shuford Stadium Saturday
afternoon.
That was the kind of football
Catawba College’s Indians were playing, especially in the last half, as they crushed
Fort Valley State, 48-17, in the opening round of the NCAA Division II national playoffs.
With the impressive victory, the
Indians advance to the second round where they will face Carson-Newman’s South
Atlantic Conference champions in a rematch Saturday at Jefferson City, Tenn., at 1 p. m.
Catawba, which finished second to
Carson-Newman in the SAC race after a 28-17 loss Oct. 2 in Jefferson City, is ranked 12th
among Division II schools. The Eagles, unbeaten at 11-0, are ranked first. They rolled
over Arkansas Tech, 40-28, Saturday.
Catawba enjoyed a big day against
Fort Valley State. With the win, the Redskins matched the school’s best record of
11-1, set by the 1947 Tangerine Bowl champions.
It also was the Indians’
seventh straight victory. And they used an “awesome” brand of football to
accomplish that against a team, ranked fourth in the South Region. The loss left Fort
Valley State with a 10-2 record. The Wildcats were ranked second in the Region before they
lost their final regular season game to Albany State.
Catawba fell behind the visitors
twice in the game. But they charged back like a ball of fire and exploded for 34 points in
the last half to safely put the decision away.
Quarterback Mitch Ellis led the
assault. He completed 18 of 32 passes for 263 yards — a career-high — and three
touchdowns. He stretched his school passing record to 2,444 yards for a season.
At the same time, the Tribe’s
defense was tested. The troops gave up 216 in the air but stopped the Wildcats cold on the
ground.
“We defeated a mighty fine
football team,” said Catawba coach David Bennett.
“Catawba was the better
team,” said coach Kent Schoolfield. “They have a chance to go all the way and I
hope they win the national championship. Then we can say we lost to the national
champions.”
Fort Valley State kicked a field
goal on the first possession of the game, marking the first time this season that Catawba
has been scored on in the opening quarter.
A large crowd saw Catawba storm
back to go ahead by 7-3 on its first possession. The touchdown came on a 74-yard drive
that took eight plays. Ellis connected with Thomasville freshman Nick Means on a 30-yard
screen play for the score. He also completed passes to Ryan Millwood and Kevin McKenzie
while Hilliard rushed for 26 yards on two carries in the drive.
Fort Valley regained the lead at
10-7 but Catawba charged back to take the lead for good at 14-10 with 39 seconds left in
the half. It came on a seven-yard pass from Ellis to Millwood. The drive covered 75 yards
and it took the Indians 11 plays to reach paydirt.
The Indians thoroughly dominated
the last half, scoring on five of their seven possessions.
They stretched their lead to 21-10
by scoring on a 77-yard drive in 13 plays on their first possession in the third period.
McKenzie raced over from the seven.
The Redskins exploded for 27
points in the final period. Scoring touchdowns were Hilliard on a two-yard run, Cedric
Sqirewell on a 42-yard pass from Ellis, Eric Westbrook on a 10-yard gallop and Steve
Peterson on a 7-yard plunge.
“Our offense did a fine
job,” said Bennett. “Ellis showed a lot of poise and we have to give credit to
our offensive line. It never gets the credit in deserves.”
n
NOTES: McKenzie finished with 87
yards rushing, 56 in the second half. ... Seven receivers caught passes, led by
Millwood’s five for 58. ... Peterson had 24 yards on four carries. ... Catawba
intercepted four passes, two by senior Darrell Erby and one each by Ryan Norman and
Anthony Spencer. ... Freshman linebacker Todd McComb was in on 11 tackles. ... Ellis was
playing with a bad groin. ... Down 48-10, Fort Valley scored wit 1:41 left on Cleo
Stinyard’s 71-yard run. Until that point, the Wildcats had managed just 15 yards
rushing. |
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