Some weeks, the box scores tell a familiar story. This wasn’t one of those weeks.
North Carolina college football produced the kind of stat lines in Week 4 that make you double-check the numbers — 700-yard offenses, 24-tackle performances and kickers outscoring entire teams by themselves.
From Taron Dickens’ six-TD debut at Western Carolina to Nick Iannone’s two-dozen stops at Guilford to North Carolina Central recording two safeties in the same game, the box-score busting fireworks came from every corner of the state and from all sides of the ball.
And that’s just scratching the surface. Here are our “Stat Champions” — the top team and individual single-game performers — from Week 4 of NC college football:
Individual Passing Leaders (350+ yards)
- 582 Yards – Taron Dickens, Western Carolina (FCS): 35-of-46, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, long throw of 64 yards in a 50-35 win over Samford.
- 380 Yards – Walker Harris, North Carolina Central (FCS): 22-of-29, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, long throw of 50 yards in a 62-20 win over NC A&T.
- 364 Yards – CJ Bailey, NC State (FBS): 29-of-39, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, long throw of 75 yards in a 45-33 defeat at Duke
Welcome back Taron Dickens. In his first action of 2025, the preseason All-American erupted for our season’s best individual passing performance. The previous best had been Duke’s Darian Mensah, who threw for 389 yards against Elon in the opener.
Individual Rushing Leaders (100+ yards)
- 168 Yards – Chris Mosley, North Carolina Central (FCS): 11 carries, 3 TDs, long rush of 75 yards, 15.3 yards-per-rush in a 62-20 win over North Carolina A&T.
- 147 Yards – Bennett Galloway, Catawba (D2): 16 carries, 3 TDs, long rush of 39 yards, 9.2 yards-per-rush in a 21-10 win over Newberry.
- 138 Yards – Nahjiir Seagraves, North Carolina Wesleyan (D3): 21 carries, 0 TDs, long rush of 30 yards, 6.6 yards-per-rush in a 33-0 loss to visiting Sewanee.
Seven backs from North Carolina schools hit the magical 100-yard plateau in Week 4, including two from North Carolina Central – Mosley and Arthur Rodgers (129 yards, 2 TDs on 12 carries). Season’s best: App State’s Rashod Dubinion is still the rusher to beat in this category, galloping for 194 yards in Week 2 against Lindenwood.
Individual Receiving Leaders (100+ yards)
- 166 Yards – Terrell Anderson, NC State (FBS): 6 catches, 2 TDs, long reception of 75 yards, 27.7 yards-per-catch in a 45-33 loss at Duke.
- 146 Yards – Yannick Smith (East Carolina): 9 catches, 0 TDs, long reception of 39 yards, 16.2 yards-per-catch in a 34-13 loss to visiting BYU.
- 142 Yards – Randall King, Campbell (FCS): 8 catches, 4 TDs, long reception of 77 yards, 17.8 yards-per-catch in a 50-48 win over Bryant in double overtime.
Twelve pass-catchers hit the 100-yard mark this week, including a pair from Brevard (Reggie Taylor II and Adam Douglas). Season’s best: Charlotte’s E. Jai Mason caught 10 passes for 228 yards (and 2 TDs) in the 49ers’ win over Monmouth in Week 3.
No surprises 👑#FightAsONE | #RollHumps 🐪🏈 pic.twitter.com/Gw89q9Lob4 — Campbell Football (@GoCamelsFB) September 22, 2025
Tackling Leaders (12+ tackles)
- 24 Tackles – Nick Iannone, Guilford (D3): 5 solos, 19 assists in a record-breaking performance against Washington & Lee (a 35-7 loss).
- 17.0 Tackles – Keno Jones, Barton (D2): 3 solos, 14 assists in the Bulldogs’ 52-14 loss at West Alabama.
- 16 Tackles – Savionne Rogers, Barton: 1 solo, 15 assists in Barton’s loss at West Alabama.
We wrote last week that Barton’s Keno Jones would be tough to overtake in this category with 19 tackles against North Greenville in Week 3. But Guilford’s Nick Iannone eclipsed that mark by five, setting a school record in the process. Season’s best: Do we proclaim Guilford’s Iannone the season champion in this category already?
Tackles for Loss (3.0+)
- 4.0 TFLs – Kenyon Garner, Livingstone (D2): 18 negative yards in a 1-point win over Bowie State
- 3.0 TFLs – Robert Dorsey, Brevard (D3): 33 negative yards in a 38-34 triumph over D2 Erskine
- 3.0 TFLs – Andrew Brown, North Carolina Wesleyan (D3): 4 negative yards in a home loss to Sewanee
Garner recorded 4.0 TFLs for the second time this season. Season’s best: Garner, Brevard’s James Laycock and Catawba’s Evan Simons have set the standard so far, each earning 4.0 TFLs in a game.
Sacks (2.0+)
- 4.0 TFLs – Kenyon Garner, Livingstone (D2): 18 negative yards in the Blue Bears’ 17-16 win over Bowie State.
- Seven players with 2.0 Sacks – Tim Alderman (NC A&T), Sean Morris (WCU), Michael Leonard (Davidson), Shawn Robinson (Fayetteville State), Quavari Couch (Johnson C. Smith), DJ Bryant (Louisburg) and Keaton Braddock (Louisburg).
All four of Garner’s TFLs against Bowie State came against the quarterback. The Livingstone standout becomes the first player this season with four sacks in a game.
Interceptions (2+)
- 2 INTs – Hudson Altenburg, Davidson (FCS): vs. Greensboro in a 48-0 win
- 2 INTs – Jaden Perkins, Shaw (D2): at Lincoln (PA) in a
So far, seven North Carolina college players have picked off two passes in a game this season. Will anyone get to three?
Punting Average (50+ Yards)
- n/a
No one averaged better than 50 yards per punt this week and only two players – Elon’s Jeff Yurk and Gardner-Webb’s Brady Braun have met our high standards for this category. Season’s best: Yurk boomed six punts for an average of 55.2 yards-per-kick in an Elon win at Western Carolina in Week 3.
Longest Punts (60+ Yards)
- 62 Yards – Darius Satterfield, Elizabeth City State (D2): vs. Fayetteville State in a 51-8 loss.
The two longest punts of the NC college football season came in the same game, with WCU’s Stephen Brantley booming one 76 yards (season’s best) and Elon’s Jeff Yurk hitting one 74 yards.
Kicker Points (10+)
- 15 Points – John Hernandez-Vargas, Fayetteville State (D2): 3-for-4 FGs, 6-for-6 PATs, long FG of 49 yards in FSU’s 51-8 win over Elizabeth City State
- 11 points – Taylor Harris, UNC Pembroke (D2): 2-for-2 FGs, 5-for-5 PATs, long FG of 47 yards in a 41-14 win over Ferrum.
- 10 points – Kaleb Robison, NCCU (FCS): 1-of-1 FG, 7-of-7 PATs, long FG of 21 yards in the Eagles’ 62-20 triumph at NC A&T.
North Carolina Central kept Robison busy for the second week in a row. He had 10 points last week as well. Season’s best: Fayetteville State’s Hernandez-Vargas spent a lot of time on the field Saturday against ECSU. In addition to scoring the most points of any kicker this season, he tied for longest FG and kicked off 10 times.
Team Scoring 50+ Points
- 62 Points – North Carolina Central (FCS): 62-20 win at North Carolina A&T
- 51 Points – Fayetteville State (D2): 51-8 win over Elizabeth City State in the Down East Viking Classic in Rocky Mount
- 50 Points – Campbell (FCS) and Western Carolina (FCS): Campbell beat Bryant 50-48 in 2 OT, while WCU topped Samford 50-35.
So far this season, we’ve had nine instances where a North Carolina team has scored 50 or more points. Those teams are 9-0. Season high: Wingate 72, Bluefield State 7 (Week 3).
Shutouts
- Davidson (FCS): blanked Greensboro 48-0 for its first win
East Carolina and Davidson each have one shutout this season, the only teams so far.
Longest Offensive Scoring Plays
- 77 yards – Randall King, Campbell (FCS): Passing TD from Kamden Sixkiller in win over Bryant
- 77 Yards – Adam Douglas, Brevard (D3): Passing TD from Ethan Beamish
- 75 Yards – Terrell Anderson, NC State (FBS) and Chris Mosley, North Carolina Central (FCS): Anderson caught a passing TD from CJ Bailey at Duke, while Mosley rushed for his long score at North Carolina A&T
Only seven offensive scoring plays went for 60 or more yards this week. Season’s Best: Ka’Trez Bracey (ECSU) caught a 91-yard TD pass from Christopher Perkins in a Week 3 game against Johnson C. Smith.
Longest Defensive Scoring Plays
- 21 Yards – Tim Alderman, North Carolina A&T (FCS): Fumble return touchdown against North Carolina Central.
Week 4 saw three safeties, including two by North Carolina Central against rival NC A&T. Shaw also had a safety in its win over Lincoln. Two of the safeties were the result of holding in the end zone by the offense. Season’s best: Three share this honor right now with 62-yard defensive scoring plays: Zavion Lloyd (Livingstone), Mikai Gbayor (UNC) and Jamorius Wilson (Louisburg).
Longest Special Teams Scoring Plays
- 80 Yards – Tycorien Gist, Louisburg (NJCAA): Blocked field goal return against Sussex County
- 10 Yards – Sean Worthy (Elizabeth City State): Blocked punt return against Fayetteville State
Only two special teams scores this week and no kickoff/punt return TDs. Season’s best: Chris Barnes (Wake Forest) returned the opening kickoff against NC State 98 yards for a TD in Week 3.
Longest Field Goals (48+ yards)
- 49 Yards – John Hernandez-Vargas, Fayetteville State (D2): vs. Elizabeth City State as part of a 15-point game
We’re still waiting for our first 50-yard+ field goal of the season. Season’s best: Three kickers from our state have hit from 49 yards – Hernandez-Vargas, UNC’s Rece Verhoff (at Charlotte) and NC A&T’s Andrew Brown (vs. Hampton).
Team Rushing 250+ Yards
- 346 Yards – North Carolina Central (FCS): 42 attempts, 5 TDs, 8.2 yards per rush in a 62-20 win over North Carolina A&T
- 256 Yards – Davidson (FCS): 41 attempts, 4 TDs, 6.2 yards per rush in a 48-0 win over Greensboro
We’re used to seeing Davidson in this category. Nice to the Wildcats enjoy their first big rushing performance under new coach Saj Thakkar. Season’s best: North Carolina Wesleyan rushed for 396 yards (with 5 TDs, 7.1 yards-per-attempt) against Averett in its season opener.
Team Passing 350+ Yards
- 582 Yards – Western Carolina (FCS): 35-of-46, 6 TDs, 0 INTs in a 50-35 win over Samford.
- 399 Yards – North Carolina Central (FCS): 24-of-32, 3 TDs, 0 INTs in a 62-20 win over North Carolina A&T.
- 364 Yards – NC State (FBS): 29-of-39, 2 TDs, 3 INTs in a 45-33 loss at Duke.
Campbell nearly hit the yardage mark, finishing with 337 yards through the air in a double-OT win over Bryant. Camels quarterbacks threw six TDs. Season’s best: Western Carolina’s passing fireworks this week, all from QB Taron Dickens, will be tough to beat. WCU did record 652 passing yards in a win at Furman in 2024.
Total Offense 500+ Yards
- 745 Yards – North Carolina Central (FCS): 346 rushing, 399 passing, 74 plays, 10.1 yards-per-play in a 62-20 romp of rival NC A&T
- 733 Yards – Western Carolina (FCS): 151 rushing, 582 passing, 77 plays, 9.5 yards-per-play in a 50-35 shootout win over Samford.
- 557 Yards – Campbell (FCS): 220 rushing, 337 passing, 92 plays, 6.1 yards-per-play in a 50-48 win over Bryant in 2 OT.
How would you like to gain 733 yards of total offense and still not be the most prolific team in the state for the week? That’s Western Carolina, which needed 12 more yards to catch NCCU’s offensive outburst in the latest Aggies-Eagles clash. Season’s best: NCCU’s 745 total will be tough to catch, but you never know with WCU’s potent attack on the loose (801 total yards in a win over Furman in 2024).
