Coaches — Catawba coach Curtis Walker (29-19) is in his fifth season as head coach and has the Indians back in the Division II rankings at No. 25. Catawba is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2009.

Mars Hill’s Tim Clifton (132-123) is in his 25th season as head coach of the Lions. A former high school quarterback in Macon, Ga., he was a baseball player in college, a starting second baseman for Mercer.  Prior to coming to Mars Hill, Clifton, coached in high school five years. He broke into college football as an assistant at South Carolina, VMI, Fayetteville State and Ferrum. Clifton was inducted into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in May.  Clifton is 6-18 against Catawba and 1-3 vs. Walker-coached teams.

Last game: Catawba got four TD passes from Patrick O’Brien, two TD catches from tight end Jourdan Osinskie and two interceptions from cornerback Cris Page and flattened UNC Pembroke on the road, 41-9, the second straight big road triumph for the Indians. Mars Hill opened South Atlantic Conference play with a strong 43-28 home victory against Lenoir-Rhyne.

Series: This is the 56th meeting. Catawba leads 31-24 and has won three of the last four. The most recent victory by the Lions was in 2014.

Players to watch: Eamon Smart has 286 rushing yards for the Indians, who have a balanced offense that ranks among the top 50 in Division II. O’Brien has passed for 620 yards and eight TDs, while Sam Mobley has 15 catches for 339 yards.  Osinskie has become a complete player, developing into a strong blocker as well as an unusually fast tight end. Linebackers Trey Evans, Michael Peppers and Kyle Kitchens lead the team in tackles, along with safety Trey Murray. Kitchens has four sacks. Kicker Lee Brackman has been accurate and long. He’s putting kickoffs in the end zone.

For Mars Hill, receiver Craig Rucker had eight catches for 186 yards and two TDs last week, while Keshaun Taylor had three catches for 93 yards and also had a 48-yard scoring run. David Salmon threw for 296 yards and three TDs and directs an offense that has produced numbers similar to Catawba’s. Malik Prescott has rushed for 223 yards.

Page, Catawba’s defensive player of the week, will probably draw the assignment against Taylor, who was the SAC Offensive Player of the Week. Page actually picked off three passes last week, but he was barely out of bounds on the third one.

Worth mentioning: Mars Hill has sandwiched wins around a 56-0 loss to FCS school North Carolina A&T.

Mars Hill was picked third in the SAC preseason poll, while Catawba was picked fourth. That’s probably been mentioned by Catawba coaches a few times this week.

Weather: It will be warm, with rain unlikely.

Outlook: While the offenses have posted similar stats, Catawba appears to have a far superior defense. The Indians are ranked eighth in Division II with 253 yards allowed per game. Mars Hill allows 432 per game and ranks 135th. Unless the turnover bug bites, the Indians have a great chance to get to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the SAC.

One word of caution: the last time Catawba started 3-0 (in 2009), the Indians lost in Week 4 to Mars Hill and never got back on track. That team finished 4-6.