Catawba won a critical afternoon SAC contest at Shuford Field 24-10, spanking PC, a team that has owned the Tribe since the days of leather helmets.

Heading into Saturday, Catawba had beaten the Blue Hose only 12 times in 52 tries and had watched the club from Clinton (S.C.) club wreck its last three seasons, including the 1998 campaign in which the Tribe squandered a 17-0 lead and fell 24-17 to the Hose.

This time, however, Catawba (5-1, 3-1 SAC) bagged lucky win No. 13, making its own luck with speed, heart and defense.

Quarterback Mitch Ellis, healthy at last, had a monster game, outdueling more heralded PC quarterback Todd Cunningham, who is a regular recipient of the league’s player of the week award.

Ellis threw three touchdown passes, two to Ryan Millwood, and connected for a career best 264 yards.

“My receivers made me look good,” said Ellis modestly. “They made unbelievable catches, and gave me confidence.”

Ellis was so good, that they should consider re-naming Shuford, Ellis Island. But defensive coordinator Richard Kent’s defense was just as potent as Marvelous Mitch.

“You think about it,” said Catawba head coach David Bennett, a PC grad who earned one of his sweetest victories. “That team averages all those yards and all those points (38.6 ppg) and what did they get on our defense? One field goal, that’s what.”

The Tribe defense set the tone moments after the opening kickoff.

Cunningham, who did not have a happy day at Shuford, was annihilated on a surprise blitz from the secondary by the Tribe’s Corey Reese (with help from Shawn McBride) on the game’s third play. After that, Cunningham was looking over his shoulder. And what he saw were defensive coordinator Richard Kent’s shock troops coming from every angle.

“Cunningham is good,” said Bennett. “He’s big, but he’s also elusive. He reminds me of Steve Fuller, who I watched as a kid at Clemson. But our defense — Ooo wee!”

The Tribe’s defense dominated a team that scored 40 points in its loss to mighty Carson-Newman.

“Me, I thought there QB was over-rated,” said Tribe nose guard David Huey. “Maybe he’s an All-American when he has time, but we made him lose his head some. We put it to him.”

Cunningham’s numbers weren’t bad. He was 21-for-31 passing for 190 yards, mostly on short stuff. But a week earlier, he had thrown for six TDs. The Tribe defense denied him the end zone, and intercepted him twice.

The first pick — by linebacker Jason Cross — was huge. Catawba had scored on its first possession on a pinpoint Ellis-to-Millwood strike that covered 46 yards, but PClooked like it would get even after it forged a first-and-10 at the Catawba 15. But that’s when Cunningham hit Cross right in the numbers.

“I just took the drop I’m coached to take and he threw it right to me,” said Cross. “We’d heard a lot about Cunningham. Maybe, he’s an All-American, but I think we’ve got a defense full of All-Americans.”

Catawba controlled the game after Cross’ pick.

Ellis found a leaping Millwood in the end zone for another score with 5:16 left in the half (again he burned PC freshman Ben Creasman), and the Tribe danced into halftime with a 14-0 lead.

They made it 17-0 by taking the second-half kickoff and marching five minutes to set up a Matt Gross field goal.

That was good news and bad news. Because 17-0 was the same score by which Catawba led PC last year, before falling apart. And sure enough, at 17-0, the flawless Tribe ventured straight into the Twilight Zone.

On two shaky series, the Tribe went three-and-out, and used up less than a minute.

Then reliable wideout Damien Bennett dropped an Ellis pass that would have been good for a first down, forcing a punt. Then Creasman avenged his earlier woes by blocking that punt, and it promptly careened 25 yards into the Catawba end zone, where Kevie Smith fell on it for a gift PCTD.

It was 17-7 and Catawba fans and players and fans had to be thinking, “here we go again.”

But not Bennett.

“I plan to be around in this game a long time,” said Bennett. “You can’t panic. You keep going.”

But suddenly it was a PCsnowball. The Hose drove for a field goal to make it 17-10 with 13:41 remaining. Plenty of time for the Tribe’s annual swan dive against PC (3-3, 1-3 SAC).

Ellis generated a few first downs, but Cunningham got his hands on the ball again at 9:36.

The next few minutes were tense, as PC moved from its 20 to its 43.

But on third-and-11, Catawba defensive end Shawn Sanders roared through, grabbed Cunningham and slam-dunked him to the Shuford turf to force a punt.

“I used every move I had,” said Sanders. “I slapped my man’s head down and I got to the quarterback.”

At the 3:51 mark, Catawba faced a critical third-and-5 at its own 43.

Everyone expected a clock-killing run. Instead, they got an Ellis-to-Nick Means pass play that went for 57 tackle-breaking yards and the TD and put the game on ice.

“I was sure thinking run there,” said a grinning Bennett. “But coach Hester and coach Snider said, ‘Let’s throw it.’ Guess, their two brains are smarter than one of mine.”

“Means took it to the house,” said Cross. “He got us off that 17. He broke that Presbyterian spell.”

“Today,” added Sanders, “we learned to play all 60 minutes.”

Words which made Bennett smile, like a teacher does when his students have learned a lesson.

“We’ve always got enthusiasm and effort,” he said. “Today, we got execution. This is a mature group, a special group and today was their best ballgame.”

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NOTES : Coach Daryl Dickey congratulated the Tribe.