Football powers past Shaw for first win of 2024 season

Photo by Steven Worthy.

Durham, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team scored 16 straight points in the second half to sprint ahead of Shaw and hang on for the 37-28 win at Durham County Memorial Stadium for the team's first win of the 2024 campaign.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba gained 26 first downs to Shaw's 18

- The Catawba Indians converted 6-of-11 (55 percent) third downs, while holding Shaw under 50 percent (5-of-12)

- Catawba racked up 419 yards of total offense, while limiting the Bears to a season-low 254 yards of total offense

- Catawba threw for 295 yards threw the air while holding reigning HBCU National Player of the Week Christian Peters to 115 yards passing

- Shaw held the edge in rushing yards, 139-124

- Catawba committed six penalties compared to 10 flags for Shaw

- The Catawba Indians committed the lone turnover on the night with a lost fumble

- Catawba won the time-of-possession battle 33:45 to 26:15

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Preston Brown was 24-for-29 for 295 yards and four touchdown passes and zero interceptions

- LJ Turner ran for a team-high 64 yards on the ground and a touchdown

- Deuce Linder hauled in a team-high seven passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns

- Kobe Christian topped 100 yards with six catches for 101 yards

- Jordan Mitchell brought in his second receiving touchdown in as many weeks; Quece Williams caught a TD pass out of the backfield for his first of the season

- Deno Wardlow led the Catawba Indians with 10 tackles

- Jamal Boyd chipped in with seven stops of his own

- Bryson Sims netted a 27-yard field goal and four of five extra-point attempts

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Shaw got first possession and was forced into a quick three-and-out, allowing Catawba to take its first possession in Shaw territory

- Brown hit Christian for a 24-yard gain on the team's first offensive play from scrimmage; Turner punched it in with a 14-yard score on the very next snap for a quick 2-play, 38-yard scoring drive that took just 36 seconds off the clock

- The Bears responded with a scoring drive of their own, going 75 yards in 12 plays, capped by Travon Tensley's two-yard score to tie the game at seven

SECOND QUARTER

- A pair of third-down conversions and a five-yard rush on 4th & 1 allowed Catawba to extend its drive to 13 plays, as Brown found Linder for the 21-yard touchdown strike in the opening play of the second quarter

- Once again, Shaw answered back with Peters' 10-yard pass to Jon Barnes, but the PAT was blocked by Zy Brown to keep the lead in Catawba's favor

- Shaw forced a Catawba fumble to set up shop just outside the red zone

- The Bears scored a touchdown on their third consecutive drive with an eight-yard reception by Ah'shaan Belcher; the two-point conversion was successful, giving the Bears the 21-14 lead with eight minutes left in the half

- A 37-yard catch and run from Linder helped setup Williams' touchdown catch; Catawba drove 90 yards in 13 plays and tied the game at 21 with just under two minutes to go in the opening 30 minutes

- The Catawba Indian defense held strong on a fourth down near midfield as the teams entered the locker room locked at 21 after a fast-paced first half

THIRD QUARTER

- Catawba started the second half with consecutive 27- and 29-yard catches by Christian to set up shop quickly in the Shaw red zone

- The drive stalled there, however, as the Catawba Indians were forced to settle for Sims' 27-yard field goal to take a 24-21 lead

- A pair of Shaw penalties backed up the Bears' ensuing drive, forcing them to punt

- Brown's deep ball over the middle connected with Mitchell for a 24-yard touchdown connection, extending the Catawba lead to 30-21 at the 2:06 mark after the point-after was no good

FOURTH QUARTER

- After the teams traded punts, Shaw got right back in the game with another touchdown catch by Belcher, capping a 10-play, 62-yard drive to cut their deficit to two points with just over 10 minutes remaining

- A 29-yard catch on 3rd & 23 helped Catawba extend their ensuing drive and Linder and Brown connected for another touchdown reception, helping Catawba push the lead back to multiple possessions at six and a half minutes remaining

- An intentional grounding penalty backed up Shaw again and Catawba's defense held strong on a 4th & 25 for a turnover on downs and bled most of the clock on their next possession to seal the first win of the 2024 season

GAME NOTES

- Catawba improves to 2-0 in the all-time series vs. Shaw

- Brown's fifth career game of 295-+ passing yards; most touchdown passes thrown since his record-breaking six touchdowns vs. Livingstone in the home opener last season

- Brown stands alone atop the South Atlantic Conference with six touchdown passes through two games

- Christian ranks fifth among all receivers in the conference with 132 receiving yards; his 12 catches are tied for second most in league play through two weeks

- Wardlow leads the conference with 20 tackles through the first two games; his fourth career games with double-digit tackles

- Linder's first two touchdown catches as a Catawba Indian

UP NEXT

- Catawba turns its attention to its SAC opener next Saturday, Sept. 21, as Catawba travels to UVA Wise for the last of its season-opening three-game road trip

- Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.