Football suffers setback in season-opener at FCS Davidson

Davidson, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team opened its 2024 season on Saturday night, falling at Division I FCS Davidson, 49-14, in the first game played in the new Davidson College Stadium.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Davidson gained 24 first downs to Catawba's 17

- Both teams converted half of their third downs – Davidson was 7-of-14, while Catawba was 6-for-12

- The Wildcats out-gained the Catawba Indians 504-330

- Catawba threw for 181 yards to Davidson's 105 passing yards

- DC ran for 399 yards, compared to 149 rushing yards for Catawba

- Catawba was flagged eight times for 59 yards to just four penalties for Davidson

- The Wildcats recorded five sacks to one for Catawba

- The Catawba Indians had both of the turnovers on the night

- DC won the time-of-possession battle 33:51 to 26:09

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Preston Brown was 22-for-33 for 181 passing yards with two touchdowns and an interception

- LJ Turner rushed for a team-high 76 yards on just four carries; Quece Williams took a team-high nine carries for 49 yards

- Nick Wilds-Lawing took his first Catawba catch for 42 yards to lead the team; Bo Pryor and Jordan Mitchell both grabbed touchdown catches

- Evan Simons recorded a team-high 12 tackles; Deno Wardlow was the other Catawba Indian with double-digit tackles with ten

- Jacoby Wall picked up a sack in his Catawba debut

- Bryson Sims converted both PATs

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Davidson took the opening drive 14 plays, capped by an 8-yard Mason Sheron touchdown run

- Catawba responded with its own 10-play, 75-yard drive; Pryor caught a jet pass from Brown and took it eight yards for the touchdown to tie the game at 7

- On the ensuing Davidson drive, Sheron took the second play 79 yards for his second touchdown of the quarter

SECOND QUARTER

- After the Wildcats forced the first stop of the night, the hosts punched in another score on a 30-yard touchdown strike to Brody Reina

- The teams settled in, as neither team scored any points the rest of the half; Catawba got the closest, but a personal foul pushed them back out of field goal range, as the Wildcats led 21-7 at the break

THIRD QUARTER

- Davidson forced a stop on Catawba's opening possession and took their first drive 82 yards over 12 plays, capped by Sheron's third touchdown of the evening to extend the DC lead to 28-7

- A Catawba fumble gave the Wildcats a short field; a 43-yard pass set up Davidson inside the Catawba Indian 10-yard line before Mari Adams made it a 35-7 Davidson advantage

FOURTH QUARTER

- Catawba found the end zone again in the early fourth quarter on a six-yard strike from Brown to Mitchell to cut the deficit to three scores

- DC's Adams responded with taking the first play of the ensuing Wildcat drive 75 yards for a touchdown to restore their 28-point lead

- The Wildcats finished off their home opener with a 14-play scoring drive, culminating in LJ Phillips' three-yard touchdown plunge

GAME NOTES

- Wildcats snap five-game losing streak to Catawba, dating back to 1985

- Davidson leads all-time series 18-7

- Pryor's 14th career receiving touchdown, two short of tying fifth all-time in program history

- Turner's sixth career rush of 30+ yards; is averaging 5.9 yards per carry for his career

- Career-high six catches for Kobe Christian; led SAC tight ends in receiving yards a season ago

- Career-high in tackles for Simons

- Wildcats led FCS in rushing yards a season ago

UP NEXT

- Catawba looks to find the win column in week two, as they visit Shaw University next Saturday with kickoff set for 6 p.m.