Staff report
SALISBURY — In the 1994 football season, Lenoir-Rhyne receiver Shannon Myers, had the second-biggest receiving game in school history against Catawba College.
Myers, was a North Rowan graduate headed for pro ball, so his nine catches for 203 yards really stung the Indians.
There’s a ton of history involved when you’ve played as often as Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba have. The word “Catawba” appears in the Lenoir-Rhyne record book 158 times.
Meeting No. 104 between the South Atlantic Conference’s Bears and Indians is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Moretz Stadium in Hickory, as the Bears draw the curtain on a down season.
The rivalry, begun in 1907, has been a classic, with both schools enjoying periods of dominance. L-R leads the all-time series 50-49, with four ties. Lenoir-Rhyne beat the Indians 75-0 in 1957 — that’s one of the 158 entries in the record book — although that still only counted as one victory.
Catawba is 7-3, 5-3 and L-R is 5-5, 4-4, but the Massey Ratings favor the Bears by 12 points. That’s because of the venue. Catawba went 6-0 at home, but is 1-3 on the road.
Catawba’s three losses are to teams that appear in the Super Region II rankings — fifth-ranked Wingate, ninth-ranked Emory & Henry and 10th-ranked Carson-Newman. Catawba beat third-ranked and playoff-bound Newberry.
Lenoir-Rhyne is having its weakest season since 2017, although the Bears still are a dangerous team. They’ve been close, losing by a field goal to Newberry and losing last week at Wingate in overtime. Down two touchdowns at halftime, the Bulldogs tied it with 19 seconds left in regulation. In the overtime period, Lenoir-Rhyne tried for a 2-point conversion for the win, fumbled and took a 38-37 loss.
Catawba’s offense is potent, with Preston Brown throwing 21 TD passes and Kevin Lalin leading the SAC in rushing yards per game.
Lenoir-Rhyne QB Khamoni Robinson throws for even more yards per game (236) than Brown, while Songa Yates is one of the SAC’s top receivers. This is not one of those ground-oriented L-R teams.
