Catawba’s LJ Turner has huge rushing day, Indians beat Anderson in OT

LJ Turner played in 10 contests for Catawba football last season, leading the team with 482 rushing yards and scoring four times.

The junior from Palm Bay, Fla., nearly got all of that in one game Sunday afternoon.

Turner rushed for a school record 329 yards and five touchdowns, leading Catawba to a 44-41 overtime win over visiting Anderson in a game postponed a day and moved to Salisbury due to hurricane recovery issues.

Turner scored on rushes of 19 and 31 yards in the opening period and found the end zone on a 2-yard plunge in the second period to give the Indians an early 21-0 advantage.

Anderson rallied, and Turner kept working. He dashed 61 yards for his fourth touchdown in the third period. He scored his fifth touchdown on a 1-yard plunge late in the fourth quarter.

The workhorse back carried the ball 35 times. He averaged nearly a first down’s worth of yardage (9.4) on each carry. Turner’s previous best game this season had been a 110-yard, one-touchdown effort against Virginia Wise on Sept. 21.

Catawba still had to sweat out the final result despite Turner dominating the Shuford Stadium turf much of the day.

Anderson scored a touchdown with 1:38 left to pull within 38-35. The Trojans recovered the onsides kick and got close enough for Ross Burnette to hit the game-tying 44-yard field goal with seven ticks remaining.

Once in OT, Anderson advanced to the Catawba 8 before settling on a Burnette 25-yard field goal. Trojans 41, Catawba 38.

Turner then rushed three straight times to take the Indians from the Anderson 25 to the 9. Catawba then turned to Kevon Rivera, who pounded the middle to the 1. Rivera then capped the game-winning drive with a 1-yard TD plunge.

Catawba improved to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in South Atlantic Conference play. Anderson, which just started its football program and has been playing well beyond expectations, dropped to 2-3, 0-3 in the SAC.

Catawba’s other points Sunday came on a 48-yard Bryson Sims field goal in the final minute of the first half — crucial points in what turned into a tight game. Sims hit all five of his PAT attempts.

Rivera had a solid day in his own rite. In addition to scoring the clinching points, he finished with 83 rushing yards on 17 carries. As a team, Catawba’s ground attack earned 408 yards.

Sunday’s game presented a contrast in offensive styles. While Catawba preferred the run game with starting quarterback Preston Brown out (only 94 yards passing), Anderson took to the skies. Quarterback Tyler Wesley finished 22-of-30 passing for 354 yards and four touchdowns.

It was a clean game overall. Neither team turned the ball over. There were only six penalties total, three for each side. Both teams converted their only two fourth-down attempts.

Turner now has 667 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. His long run is 80 yards, which earlier in the season against UVA Wise. He’s picking up 7.8 yards per clip and 133.4 per game.

Turner’s amazing performance is the best by a collegiate back in our state since Barton’s Jordan Terrell rushed for 403 yards last November in the season finale against UVA Wise.

Until Turner’s stat-busting day, the best performances in the Old North State this season by a college rusher had come from UNC’s Omarion Hampton (210 yards against North Carolina Central) and Davidson’s Mari Adams (207 yards against Point).

Turner (5-9, 195) was a two-sport standout at Heritage High in Florida before joining Catawba’s program. He was the Florida Class 6A player of the year for the 2022 season after rushing for 2,183 yards and 19 touchdowns.