Football Opens SAC Play on the Road at Mars Hill

GAME DAY CENTRAL
Catawba at Mars Hill
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Ammons Family Athletic Center & Meares Stadium
12:00 p.m.

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MARS HILL, N.C. – The Catawba College football team looks to bounce back in the South Atlantic Conference opener against Mars Hill tomorrow (Sept. 17) afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

Catawba Week Three Outlook

Catawba is coming off a road defeat at Shorter University and will set their sights on a Mars Hill team that has played just once so far this season. Last week wide receiver Kujuan Pryor scored in three different ways to lead the Catawba offense. Pryor returned Catawba's opening kickoff 88 yards, caught a 19-yard pass, and punched in a 4-yard run for the Indians. He finished the day with 172 all-purpose yards with 88 kick return yards, 50 receiving yards, 21 rushing yards, and 13 punt return yards. 

Quarterback Kamron Hill is in line for his third collegiate start after throwing for 205 yards and three scores in the opening two games. Last week, Hill doubled his passing yardage from the first week when he threw for 140 yards in a game that saw Catawba trailing in the early stages and needing to pass more frequently than week one. He also led an eight-play drive at the end of the first half that was capped off by the 19-yard pass to Pryor. 

On defense, Catawba will be without linebacker Christian Campbell after going down in the first quarter of last week's game. Fellow linebacker Christian Bennett and lineman Mike Jones helped fill the void by combining for 19 total tackles against Shorter. Freshman linebacker MeKayle Burris came in to replace Bennett and proceeded to record seven tackles off the bench. Burris will likely see an increased roll in week three. 

About Mars Hill

Mars Hill is coming into week three with two weeks rest. The Lions played Division I East Tennessee State University back on September 1 and fell 44-7. Last year, MHU went 8-3 with a 6-2 mark in conference play. The Lions were third in points per game (32.1), total passing yards (2,775), total rushing yards (1,722), and points allowed per game (19.2) in the SAC last season. 

Mars Hill had 262 yards of offense against ETSU, but a vast majority of that yardage came through the air. The Lions rushed 21 times for just 18 yards and threw for 244 yards on 49 total attempts. 

Senior Jimmy Urzua got the start at quarterback in week one for Mars Hill and threw for 135 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions on 12-of-28 passing. Wide receiver Malik Laurent was Mar Hill's leading pass-catcher with four catches for 59 yards and Ty Snelson had three catches for 34 yards and the lone touchdown for MHU. 

The Mars Hill defense was led by senior linebacker Landon Honeycutt who had six tackles, three tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry, and a sack.  Honeycutt led the Lions last season with 105 total tackles, nine and a half tackles for loss, and five and a half sacks. 

Defensive backs Monroe Sanderson and Nick Jackson combined for seven tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery against ETSU to lead the back end of the Mars Hill defense. 

Ticket Information

Tickets for Saturday's game must be bought through Mars Hill's website HERE via Hometown Ticketing. General admission tickets for the game will be sold for $15 per ticket.