By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — You can’t blame Catawba head football coach Curtis Walker for checking the radar every 15 minutes or so.

So far, so good. The clouds are fleecy and fluffy and white. Skies are light blue. There will be practically zero chance of adverse weather conditions in Pembroke on Saturday night, where the temperature is expected to be in the high 70s for a 7:10 kickoff at Grace P. Johnson Stadium.

But Walker isn’t taking anything for granted.

This is the week that Catawba’s season ran off the rails in 2018. Devastating Hurricane Florence caused the postponement of the UNC Pembroke game and disrupted a lot of college football seasons. By the time Catawba and UNCP were able to make that game up at Shuford Stadium in mid-November, they were just playing for pride. Catawba won an exciting game over the Braves in overtime, but all it meant was the Indians finished 4-7, instead of 3-8.

As was the case last season, Catawba opened with a loss to West Georgia but got back to 1-1 by beating Winston-Salem State. Last year, Florence drained Catawba’s momentum. This time, the Indians hope to be 2-1 by late Saturday night and on a roll heading into South Atlantic Conference play at Wingate next week.

Catawba and UNCP  beat the same team (WSSU). Both had to come from behind to do it.

Sophomore Kendall Davis is again the likely starter for Catawba at quarterback. That’s not a problem. Davis was OK in Week 1 and better than OK in Week 2. He led a 94-yard game-winning drive. If he improves as much this week as he did last week, UNCP is probably in trouble. The QB depth chart still reads — “Kendall Davis or Ken Avent.”

Avent, also a sophomore, was the starter for the second half of 2018 and was still No. 1 coming out of preseason camp, but he’s been day-to-day since suffering a practice injury prior to the opening game. Davis has been efficient enough that there’s no panic to rush Avent back before he’s ready, but Walker would sleep better  if he had both quarterbacks available. Maybe Avent will be an option at Pembroke.

The centerpiece of Catawba’s offense so far has been running back Demonte Good who careered (24 carries, 147 rushing yards) at Winston-Salem State. It goes without saying that the offensive line has been getting the job done.

Catawba has significant experience in all three layers of its defense, and that defense got better from Week 1 to Week 2. Catawba improved at making third-down stops and produced key turnovers, including a game-turning third-quarter pick by linebacker L.J. Melvin. Catawba still missed plenty of tackles,  but not as many as in Week 1.

The scary stat for the Braves that jumps right off the page is they’ve been out-rushed by 400 yards in two games. UNCP has rushed for 181 yards, while allowing 582. UNCP is gaining less than 3 yards per rushing play, while allowing almost 7.

Catawba has been running the ball often and well, so the Braves can expect to see a lot of Good on Saturday. Davis is an athletic runner. Nazjzae Bryant could be a factor.

Chylon Thomas (5 catches, 133 receiving yards) has been Davis’ favorite target by a lot. Several receivers have been banged up, including Will Sweeper, who was expected to be the stud of that group.

UNCP  has run it 62 times and thrown it 67 times. It’s experienced quite a bit more success through the air than on the ground. Josh Jones, 6-foot-3, 220-pound sophomore from Wilmington, has been as asset. He was able to run for 71 yards against Winston-Salem State,  a big factor in UNCP’s win, but he was limited to just 1 rushing yard on 10 carries/scrambles in last week’s loss to Virginia State. It will be important for Catawba to contain him.

UNCP special teams have been excellent — 3-for 3 on field goals and 44.6 yards per punt.

As far as the history of the series, Catawba leads 5-3 and has won the last two.

One obstacle for Catawba is the trip itself. It’s in the 3-hour range, maybe a little less, but it’s not so far that Catawba will travel on Friday. The Indians will depart at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and will try to be rested, loose and ready for the kickoff.

Catawba has been a tough road team in Walker’s seven seasons — 21-14.

WSAT (1280 AM and 103.3 FM) will broadcast the action. Live game stats will be provided by UNCP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday’s