Mars Hill and UNC Pembroke cruised. Fayetteville State and Wingate won a pair of barn-burners. Catawba got back to winning ways after a three-game losing skid.
Here are all the final scores, highlights and top headlines from Division II action around North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 28.
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The Finals:
| Bowie State 19, Elizabeth City State 7 | FINAL |
| Fayetteville State 21, Shaw 14 | FINAL |
| Mars Hill 49, UVA Wise 18 | FINAL |
| West Alabama 14, Chowan 6 | FINAL |
| Wingate 34, Lenoir-Rhyne 30 | FINAL |
| Johnson C. Smith 35, Winston-Salem State 31 | FINAL |
| UNC Pembroke 49, Glenville State 0 | FINAL |
| Catawba 32, Barton 27 | FINAL |
| Livingstone 34, St. Augustine’s 14 | FINAL |
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Mars Hill still kings of the Mountain (Division)
Mars Hill built a 35-0 lead by halftime and cruised to a 49-18 home win over UVA Wise in South Atlantic action Saturday. The offense generated more than 400 yards of total offense, while the defense recorded seven sacks.
Offensively, it was the JR Martin and Jon Gullette show. Martin, the Lions’ standout quarterback, rushed for three touchdowns and threw for two more, finishing with 329 total yards. Gullette added a rushing touchdown and caught two of Martin’s TD throws — including a 60-yarder to complete the Lions scoring.
Gullette finished with a game-high 106 receiving yards. Lon Teachey made all seven PAT attempts.
Mars Hill improved to 7-1 on the season, 6-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Lions hold a one-game edge over Tusculum (5-2) in the Mountain Division. The two leaders meet next Saturday afternoon in Tusculum for the division crown.
By the end, UVA Wise ended up with 402 total yards. But Mars Hill proved stingy early in the game. Landon Honeycutt recorded a momentous 17 tackles. Dexter Fitzpatrick returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown. Damipi Lamboni had three sacks and another tackle-for-loss, for a total of 21 minus yards.
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Explosive plays abound for UNC Pembroke
The Braves may be the hottest offensive team in the state right now, rolling up 619 yards in their 49-0 shutout of Glenville State. UNC Pembroke has outscored its last three foes 154-7, with two shutouts.
The explosive plays came in the run game and pass game. JaQuan Kelly raced 78 yards for a touchdown. Malik Tobias hauled in TD receptions of 52, 38 and 25 yards from Colin Johnson. Diaz Alexander caught a 35-yard TD strike, giving Johnson four on the day.
The UNCP quarterback finished 15-of-24 for 336 yards. Kelly rushed for 141 yards on 14 attempts, an average of better than 10 yards per carry. Sincere Baines didn’t find the end zone but added 96 rushing yards on 13 totes, a robust 7.4 yards-per-carry average.
Tobias made six catches in all for 146 yards. Trey Dixon had a 59-yard reception. Jayden Smith picked up 50 yards on another throwing play.
Ty Woods hit all seven of his PAT attempts for the Braves (6-3, 5-3 Mountain East Conference).
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Catawba rushes past Barton, back into win column
One of the most pass-happy teams in the SAC stayed on the ground Saturday and picked up a much-needed comeback victory with a punishing rushing attack.
Malcolm Wilson galloped for 173 yards and a touchdown, while teammate Marquece Williams added 104 yards and three scores, helping Catawba outlast Barton 32-27. Catawba (4-5, 2-5 SAC) finished with 331 yards rushing. The passing attack only generated 61 yards on 12 throws.
Wilson, from Salisbury, transferred to Catawba from Barton.
The Bulldogs (5-4, 3-4 SAC) got a pair of touchdowns from its fleet-foot star running back Jordan Terrell. The junior from Ramseur finished with 151 yards — his sixth time crossing the 100-yard plateau.
Junior Tyler Flippen stepped in at quarterback and had a solid day for Barton, throwing for 244 yards and two scores. Isaiah Jacobs had a 61-yard TD catch and ended the day with 129 receiving yards.
Barton led by 11 at halftime. The Bulldogs had a chance to win it at the end but Denoris Wardlow picked off a pass for Catawba to seal the victory.
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Big day for Chowan QB, tough loss
Chowan veteran Rashad McKee threw it all over the yard Saturday, but the Hawks couldn’t find the end zone in a 14-6 loss to visiting West Alabama.
McKee finished 23-of-41 for 342 yards. He completed a 69-yard throw to Demetrius Moore but the best Chowan could muster was a pair of field goals from Jose Colunga. Moore finished with 137 yards on six receptions.
Chowan’s defense kept UWA contained, allowing only 242 total yards. Traevon Mitchell had seven tackles for the Hawks, including a couple of stops for 10 yards in losses. Kamari Matthews also had seven tackles.
Chowan (0-9) is still looking for its first win.
