Football lights up scoreboard in season finale victory over Tusculum

Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team scored a season-high 47 points behind two defensive touchdowns, rolling to a 47-15 win over Tusculum in the 2024 season finale at Shuford Stadium on Catawba's Senior Night.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba gained 22 first downs to Tusculum's 16 first downs

- The Catawba Indians were 5-for-12 (42 percent) on third down, while holding the Pioneers to 4-of-12 (33 percent) on third downs

- Catawba converted their only fourth down attempt of the night while stopping TU on their lone fourth down try

- The Catawba Indians out-gained Tusculum 372-283

- The Pioneers threw for 169 yards, while Catawba was held to 93 yards through the air

- Catawba rushed for 279 yards compared to TU's 114 yards on the ground

- The Catawba Indians were flagged just four times for 35 yards, while Tusculum was penalized seven times for 80 yards

- Catawba forced both turnovers in the game – one fumble and one interception

- The Catawba Indians recorded three sacks to Tusculum's one

- Catawba won the time-of-possession battle 30:50 to 29:10

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Quece Williams recorded a game-high 150 rushing yards with a touchdown

- Kevon Rivera also had over 100 yards on the ground with 106 yards and a touchdown

- Mason Fortune went 11-for-23 with 93 yards and two touchdowns

- JJ Grant recorded a team-high 35 receiving yards with a touchdown; Deuce Linder also hauled in a touchdown grab

- Jaylen Hinton had a team-high eight tackles with a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry

- Deno Wardlow intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown with four pass breakups

- Jy Favor recorded six tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss

- Evan Simons forced a fumble on a sack; Braylon Baker and Gavin Moore combined on a sack

- Rickey Jones returned a fumble for another defensive touchdown

- Wade Robins converted both of his field goal attempts and all four extra-point attempts

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Catawba forced a three-and-out and drove 71 yards in nine plays, capped by Williams' 35 yard slash to take an early 7-0 lead

- The Pioneers picked up one first down, but was forced to punt again; the Catawba Indians once again drove the ball right down the field, but their drive stalled and they settled for a 43-yard Robins field goal to lead 10-0

- Catawba forced another punt, holding TU to just eight yards of offense in the first quarter

SECOND QUARTER

- A late-hit penalty helped Catawba move the ball inside the Tusculum 10-yard line, but once again the Pioneer defense held strong and Catawba settled for a 27-yard Robins chip shot

- TU made a quarterback change in its fourth drive of the game and it paid off; the Pioneers marched 88 yards in nine plays, as Jalen Hunt punched in a two-yard touchdown to cut their deficit to 13-7

- The Pioneers forced their first punt of the game looking to take a lead, but Richard's Hunt pass was intercepted by Wardlow and returned 44 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 20-7 heading into halftime

THIRD QUARTER

- Tusculum drove the ball into Catawba territory on its first possession, but was sacked on a fourth and short

- Rivera converted a fourth down before Fortune found Grant for a 29-yard receiving touchdown; the two-point conversion failed with Catawba leading 26-7

- The teams traded punts until TU's Jojo Restall plunged in for a two-yard touchdown; the Pioneers' two-point try was good, as the Pioneers cut their Catawba's lead to 11 points

FOURTH QUARTER

- Mike Geter's 40-yard kickoff return set Catawba's ensuing drive up at midfield; Fortune lobbed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Linder to extend their lead back to three scores

- Tusculum got the ball back near the Catawba red zone, but Simons' sack fumble led to Jones' 54-yard return for another defensive score to take the commanding 40-15 lead

- Catawba forced another punt and a 38-yard Rivera rush set up his 12-yard score for Catawba's third touchdown of the quarter to take a commanding 47-15 lead

GAME NOTES

- Catawba is 2-0 in season finales under Coach Haines

- Fourth game this season with over 200 rushing yards as a team

- First game this season with two 100-yard rushers

- Simons' league-leading fifth forced fumble of the season

- Game does not count toward Catawba's season-long conference record