The Division III college football season came to an end Saturday for North Carolina’s five schools. It was a tough day for four of them, with only Greensboro getting a victory in its finale.
Brevard wrapped up a .500 season despite falling to Belhaven NC Wesleyan finished with four wins, while Methodist, Greensboro and Guilford each won twice in 2023.
Here’s a recap of the final weekend of D3 action:
Game Recaps
Greensboro 27, Methodist 21: Alec Williams-Carr passed for 354 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Pride to their second straight win after an 0-8 start. Tyler Alston returned a fumble 23 yards for a score for Greensboro, while Tamir Simons brought a fumble back 65 yards for a score for Methodist.
Belhaven 46, Brevard 19: Belhaven (9-1) pulled away from a tight game late in the first half and never looked back en route to earning the USA South Conference regular season championship. Jordan Rowell recovered a fumble for a touchdown to pull the Tornados within 15-13 in the second quarter but Brevard only scored once more, finishing its season at 5-5, 5-2 in league play.
Bridgewater 47, Guilford 15: Bailey Baker completed a pair of touchdown passes, including a 69-yarder to JuJu Rice, but it wasn’t enough in the Quakers’ season finale. Guilford (2-8) only managed eight rushing yards on the day and was intercepted twice.
Huntingdon 21, NC Wesleyan 0: The Battling Bishops only managed 168 yards of total offense and threw two interceptions, suffering a shutout loss on the road to end the season. Kahari McReynolds rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns to lead Huntingdon to its ninth win, while NC Wesleyan dropped to 4-6.
Takeaways
* Greensboro College started the season with eight-straight losses but rallied at the end to beat Southern Virginia 47-7 and instate rival Methodist. Credit to the Pride for not cashing in on the season after the defeats started mounting. This could be something to build on heading into 2024.
* Brevard began its season with three non-conference losses and ended with a pair of USA South Conference defeats. But in between, the Tornados strung together five exciting victories in a row to stay in conference contention until the final weekend. The ‘Nados cemented their status as the top D3 team in the state for the 2023 season.
* Methodist quarterback Brandon Bullins saw a prolific career come to an end on Saturday. Bullins passed for more than 11,000 yards across 44 games from 2019-23. He crossed the 2,000-yard passing plateau four times, including this season.
Top Players
Ethan Beamish (Brevard): Completed 17 passes for 239 yards, including a 53-yard scoring strike to Chancellor Lee-Parker for the Tornados’ final points.
Quintrell Bowman (Brevard): Made 10 tackles to lead the Tornados defense against a stout Belhaven squad.
Brandon Bullins (Methodist): The Monarchs signal caller threw for 241 yards and a touchdown in his season finale.
Ronechie Carter (NC Wesleyan): Recorded 11 solo tackles and seven assists for a total of 18 stops. He also forced a fumble and broke up a pass. No one else in the NCWU lineup had more than six tackles.
Nick Iannone (Guilford): Like Carter above, the Guilford linebacker wracked up 18 tackles on Saturday. Iannone had 14 solo stops, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a fumble recovery.
Alex Mora (Greensboro): Had the best punting average of the weekend among D2 and D3 schools (47.5), with a long of 53 and three kicks inside the Methodist 20.
Keyshaun Pete (Methodist): Kept the Monarchs in contention with a 100-yard rushing game and a touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
JuJu Rice (Guilford): Caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Bailey Baker and ended up with 75 receiving yards on two catches.
Max Steele (Greensboro): Standout linebacker records 12 tackles in his season finale, forcing a fumble and returning a fumble 12 yards.
Joey Strong (Guilford): Lived up to his last name, earning seven solo tackles, nine total stops and two tackles-for-loss.
Alec Williams-Carr (Greensboro): Finished 26-of-42 for 354 yards and two touchdowns (to Tegan Griggs and Tareek Smith) to lead the Pride to a second-straight victory.
Final Words
The D3 season comes to an end for North Carolina’s five schools that compete at the non-scholarship NCAA level. Brevard and NC Wesleyan enjoyed win streaks of five and four games, respectively during the conference stretch. Greensboro finished on a solid note. Each school has something positive to build on for 2024.
