By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
The Catawba notebook …
Melquan Fair’s return to Raleigh became a family affair.
Fair, a senior defensive tackle who played at East Wake High School, had a team-high six tackles in Catawba’s 25-7 road win against St. Augustine’s.
About 10 family members ó including mother Kisha Rush and younger brother Lybrant Rush Jr. ó attended the game at Broughton High School.
“My mom, she said she just kept hearing my name over the intercom,” Fair said. “My little brother, he’s 2, he just kept saying my name every time they would say it. That’s what they were telling me.
“During halftime he was out there screaming my name while we were going back inside. That just put a smile on my face.”
Fair was a defensive force early in the first and fourth quarters against the Falcons, who won 14-7 against Catawba in the 2008 season opener.
St. Aug’s received to start Saturday’s game, and Fair tackled running back Walter Sanders for a 2-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage.
The Indians went ahead 18-0 on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Fair dominated the tail end of the next series. He sacked Joaquin Green for a loss of 9 yards on a first-down play from Catawba’s 47, made the stop on an 8-yard loss and sacked Green again for a 10-yard loss back to the Falcons’ 26.
Fair also finished with a forced fumble and quarterback hurry.
“I was pretty fired up,” Fair said. “With last year, at least since we lost, everybody on the team was focused. Personally, myself, I had a pretty bad game last year, so I just wanted to come out and redeem myself and the team.”
The Indians have a whopping nine defensive linemen who entered this season with starting experience, and Marqus Davis recorded 2.5 sacks against St. Aug’s. Fair and Davis combined for 8.5 of Catawba’s 14 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
“We have so many veterans we feel like if we mess up we’re letting the team down,” Fair said. “If we take off a play, that play may break. We feel like we have to be tip-top at everything we do: practice, film study, games, everything.”
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CAM COUNT: A review of game film led to some statistical adjustments, and starting quarterback Cam Sexton officially threw for 343 yards in his Division II debut.
“It’s where I am, and I’m going to make the best of it,” Sexton said. “For anybody else out there that may be struggling or feels like this may be an option, it’s a good one because we play good football down here.
“There is good football down here. It’s 100 percent the truth.”
Sexton performed in front of about a dozen former North Carolina teammates in Raleigh, and the Indians’ upcoming game at Fayetteville State will be like another homecoming. Sexton attended Scotland County High School in Laurinburg, which is 45 miles from Fayetteville.
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REUNITED: Catawba head coach Chip Hester, who was a receiver at Raleigh’s Millbrook High School, roamed the visiting sideline at Broughton with his former coach (Earl Smith) and quarterback (Chris Sasser) on hand.
Hester was 6 years old when he first started playing alongside Sasser. Smith went from Millbrook to New Hanover and coached Wake Forest-Rolesville before stepping aside in April.
“He’s a big influence on the way I coach and the things you try to get across to young men,” Hester said.
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WEEKLY AWARDS: Catawba’s players of the week were running back Antonio Hall (offense), cornerback Jumal Rolle (defense) and Brandon Weedon (special teams).
Hall, a senior, gained 84 yards on 18 carries and pleased his coaches with solid pass protection. He scored one rushing touchdown, made four catches, returned two kickoffs and finished with 149 all-purpose yards.
“Antonio’s strength is that he can do so many things,” Hester said. “I think that was evident Saturday.”
Rolle, a freshman out of Wilson Beddingfield High School, intercepted two passes.
“They were two great picks,” Hester said. “He’s a guy that’s really starting to step up. It’s pretty exciting when you get a true freshman that can come in right away and have some production.”
Weedon made three tackles on special teams.