PREVIEW: Football continues homestand with matchup with SAC leader Limestone

Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team returns to Shuford Stadium for the third time in as many weeks on Saturday, taking on South Atlantic Conference leader Limestone for their Breast Cancer Awareness Game at 6 p.m.

THE MATCHUP

Who: Limestone (4-1, 3-0 SAC) at Catawba (2-3, 1-2 SAC)

Where: Shuford Stadium, Salisbury, N.C.

When: Saturday, Oct. 12, 1 p.m.

How to follow: Watch on FloSports ($) | WSAT 101.7 FM/1280 AM | Live stats

THE HISTORY

- Limestone leads the all-time series 4-3

- The Saints have won two of three matchups in Salisbury

- LU has won the last three meetings in the series

LAST TIME OUT

- After a heartbreaking defeat in their home opener of the season, the Catawba Indians provided another thrilling game, but came out on top, defeating Anderson 44-41 in overtime

- Junior running back LJ Turner broke out, rushing 35 times for a Catawba program record 329 yards and five touchdowns

- Turner earned SAC and D2Football.com National Offensive Player of the Week honors as a result

- The Catawba Indians led 21-0 early in the second quarter, but the Trojans clawed back to cut the deficit to three points at multiple points

- After trailing by 10 with under three minutes to go, Anderson successfully converted an onside kick and nailed the game-tying field goal to force overtime

- The Trojans were forced to settle for a field goal in their overtime possession, while Catawba Kevon Rivera punched in the game-winner for his first collegiate touchdown

RECORDS WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN

- Turner's all-time performance was the most rushing yards in the long history of Catawba College football

- His 329 yards topped the previous record of 298 yards, set by Todd Scott in 1990 in a win over Lenoir-Rhyne

- The five touchdowns matched the most by a Catawba player since Red Meehan scored five touchdowns in a win over Western Carolina in 1935

- Catawba has now rostered National Offensive Players of the Week in back-to-back seasons (Preston Brown threw record 6 TDs vs. Livingstone)

- Turner now has the most rushing yards in the SAC (667) and rushing touchdowns (8); he ranks third in the nation in rushing yards through five games

FRESH ON THE SCENE

- Freshman Kevon Rivera took his first touches in the win over Anderson and impressed, rushing for 83 yards on 17 carries with the game-winning score

- Catawba rushed for 402 yards as a team in the win

CATAWBA'S GOOD SHEPPARD

- Redshirt freshman Hunter Sheppard earned the win in his first collegiate start at quarterback, finishing the game 9-for-16 for 94 yards and one interception

- Sheppard completed a game-long 38-yard pass to Deuce Linder on 3rd & 11 in the second quarter

SCOUTING THE SAINTS

- After a winless 2021 season, Limestone has enjoyed a great turnaround, earning a bid to the NCAA DII Play-offs in each of the last two seasons

- The team rosters the returning SAC Offensive Player of the Year in grad student quarterback Dustin Noller

- Noller is well on his way to another great season, as the Saints rank fifth in the country in passing offense

- Sophomore running back Kevin Lalin ranks second in the conference behind Turner with 592 rushing yards

- Limestone is under the direction of first-year head coach Jerricho Cotchery, who played 12 season in the National Football League, two of which were with the Carolina Panthers

- Catawba led Limestone on the road 14-0 last season before the Saints rallied for the win

UP NEXT

- Catawba wraps up its four-game homestand next week with Homecoming, hosting Newberry for a 6 p.m. kick