The Doug Socha coaching era at Lenoir-Rhyne is off to a winning start.
The Bears topped Bowie State 32-19 in Saturday afternoon’s season opener at Moretz Stadium.
Zayvion Turner-Knox rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, finding the end zone on runs of 25. 30 and 8 yards. Jalen Ferguson threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Zion Agnew. Jake Brown hit a 39-yard field goal.
Ferguson finished 17-of-27 for 270 yards and one interception. Songa Yates had five catches for 109 yards. Chris Brown and Damien Savage had interceptions for the Bears.
Bowie State scored two second half touchdowns after Lenoir-Rhyne jumped to a 32-6 lead.
Socha takes over the program following the departure of Mike Jacobs to Mercer. Jacobs was 32-9 from 2020-23 at Lenoir-Rhyne, including last season’s 13-2 season, which ended with a conference championship and trip to the NCAA Division II semifinals.
Socha was hired to replace Jacobs in January. He helped start the football program at Keiser University in Florida. Socha compiled a 55-15 record during his time at Keiser, which competes a the NAIA level. Keiser won the NAIA championship this past season.
Lenoir-Rhyne will host Tiffin (OH) next Saturday, Sept. 14. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. Conference play begins the following week with the Bears traveling to Mars Hill.
