Bracey’s big day leads Football to win in first game of Haines era

Elizabeth City, N.C. —- Catawba sophomore running back Lee Bracey Jr. ran for 194 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, helping to lead the Catawba College football team to a 31-23 win at Elizabeth City State on Saturday afternoon. It is the third-straight win to open the season for the Catawba Indians and the first win under head coach Tyler Haines.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba earned 17 first downs to ECSU's 14

- The Catawba Indians out-gained the Vikings on the ground 193-180

- Catawba threw for 203 yards, while limiting Elizabeth City to just 81 yards through the air

- Catawba gained 396 yards of total offense to ECSU's 261

- The Catawba Indians held the Vikings to 1-of-11 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Bracey rushed for a career-high 194 yards and a touchdown, nearly quadrupling his previous career-high

- Preston Brown completed 15 of 29 passes for 203 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in his Catawba debut

- Jordan Mitchell caught two passes for 105 yards and a TD, while Bo Pryor hauled in four passes for 50 yards and a score

- Kobe Christian also found the end zone with a three-yard grab

- Deno Wardlow tied a program record with three interceptions

- Jaylen Hinton led the team with with seven tackles, while Jakarri Martin II, Christian Bennett and Te'Veon Glover each recorded six tackles

- Bryson Sims nailed a 45-yard field goal and made all four extra points

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Catawba stalled on its opening possession, but Wardlow intercepted the Vikings on the first play from scrimmage to give the Catawba Indians the ball right back

- The teams traded punts until ECSU's Chase Williams hit Ian Edwards for a 43-yard touchdown to give the Vikings the early lead

- Brown found Mitchell for a 33-yard gain on the ensuing drive, but the Vikings recorded a sack fumble to halt Catawba's drive

SECOND QUARTER

- Wardlow picked off Williams for the second time on the first play of the second quarter

- Brown converted a 4th and 1 at the ECSU 41 to extend the ensuing drive

- Brown found Pryor for a 28-yard score for the first Catawba touchdown of the season

- ECSU recorded a 40-yard run to help drive them down the field and answer right back with a touchdown of their own to take a 14-7 lead

- Catawba fired right back, scoring on the first play of scrimmage, as Brown hit Mitchell for a 72-yard touchdown

- The Vikings were intercepted yet again, this time by Dorrien Bagley

- Catawba cashed in for six on their third straight drive, as Bracey plunged in for a 1-yard score, as Catawba took its first lead into the halftime locker room

THIRD QUARTER

- Catawba drove the ball into their opponent's half of the field on their opening possession of the half, but settled for a 45-yard Sims field goal to take a 10-point lead

- After forcing a punt, the Catawba Indians capped off a 13-play drive with a three-yard touchdown completion from Brown to Christian to take a commanding 31-14 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter

FOURTH QUARTER

- The Vikings connected on a 44-yard field goal to end Catawba's run of 24 unanswered points

- Elizabeth City State gained possession on a muffed punt to set up shop in the Catawba red zone

- Darian King scored from 20 yards out, but the two-point conversion failed as ECSU cut the deficit to 31-23 with under four minutes to go

- Bracey fumbled on the first play of the ensuing drive, but Wardlow got the ball right back on the next play with his third interception of the day

- ECSU got the ball back on their own 32-yard line with 2:20 to go, but John-Robert Boyd came up with a sack on fourth down to seal the Catawba win

HEAR FROM COACH HAINES

" I am proud of our staff, our players and our program for the first win of the season. There are a lot of things that we need to clean up in order to be successful in the future, so I look forward to a huge week of improvement going into our home opener next Saturday! Bleed Blue and Win For Catawba!"

GAME NOTES

- Catawba's third-straight win in the season opener

- First win of the Tyler Haines era

- Haines' first win as a head coach since October 31, 2019 at Urbana

- Catawba moves to 3-0 all-time versus the Vikings

- First 100-yard rushing game for Bracey; first 100-yard receiving game for Mitchell

- Wardlow is first player with three interceptions in a game since Mark McDaniel had three at Limestone in 2015

- Haines is fifth Catawba head coach in a row to win in his debut

UP NEXT

- Catawba opens its 2023 home slate with a matchup against crosstown rival Livingstone next Saturday

- Community Day game kicks off from Shuford Stadium at 6 p.m.