Staff report
HICKORY — Catawba’s football team put together a 27-point fourth quarter and a 40-point second half and still lost on Saturday at Lenoir-Rhyne.
L-R’s 48-46 victory ended the season for both teams. The Bears (6-5, 5-4) and the Indians (7-4, 5-4) tied for fifth in a stout South Atlantic Coast Conference.
Catawba dug a 28-6 hole by halftime, with the Bears doing just about everything right, including a kickoff return touchdown.
Late in the third quarter, the Indians trailed 42-12, but they fought all the way back, taking a 46-42 lead with a little over a minute to play on Preston Brown’s 87-yard connection with former North Rowan star Amari McArthur.
But the Bears still had enough time to score again. QB Khamoni Robinson dashed to the end zone from 13 yards out with six seconds left for the game-winning points.
Robinson accounted for five TDs as the Bears beat Catawba for the seventh straight time, their longest winning streak against Catawba since the 1960s.
While they weren’t contenders this year, th Bears secured their eighth straight winning season.
Catawba had the ball for 36-plus minutes, dominating time of possession and total yardage. The Indians rolled up 626 yards in the loss.
Brown had one of the great passing games in program history, 37-for-55 for 485 yards and five TDs. Bo Pryor had 11 catches for 171 yards and two TDs. McArthur had five catches for 141 yards and two scores.
It was the 104th meeting of the schools. L-R leads the all-time series 51-49-4.
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JC Smith pounded Virginia Union 45-21 in Durham to claim its first CIAA football championship since 1969.
Quarterback Kelvin Durham accounted for three TDs and passed for 285 yards for the Golden Bulls.
Virginia Union relied on running back Curtis Allen, who had 43 carries for 238 yards.
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JC Smith (10-1) is a 2 seed for the playoffs, while Virginia Union (9-2) is a 3 seed.
The SAC teams in the playoffs are champ Newberry (9-1), a 3 seed, and Wingate (9-2), a 4 seed.
The CIAA and SAC are competing in different regions.
The playoffs have expanded to 32 teams. Newberry will play Kentucky State, while Wingate battles Benedict. JC Smith plays Frostburg State. Virginia Union plays California University of Pa.
