Lenoir-Rhyne’s football team reclaimed the Bishop’s Trophy and kept its record unblemished with a 24-10 win at Newberry on Saturday.
The Bears improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the South Atlantic Conference with the victory. The Hickory school has now won 10 in a row dating back to last fall. They ended a two-game losing skid against Newberry.
Lenoir-Rhyne has scored first in every game this season. The Bears have only allowed one opponent to score more than 10 points in a game. Newberry, which won last year’s SAC championship, dropped to 4-4 overall, 3-3 in the league.
The game was tied 10-10 at the half. DeAree Rogers found the end zone on a 31-yard pass from Jalen Ferguson. Jake Brown hit a short field goal.
Lenoir-Rhyne did all the scoring after the break. Rogers caught a 37-yard touchdown pass in the third period. Zyheir Dillard put the contest out of reach with a short-yard rushing score in the fourth.
Dillard’s score was set up by a Lenoir-Rhyne fourth-down sack by Andre Jefferson. James Ussery broke up another Newberry fourth-down throw.
Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry have been playing for the Bishop’s Trophy since 1987. The Bears have a 20-17 advantage in the annual trophy battle. The two schools have played football 90 times throughout their history, with Lenoir-Rhyne holding a 48-35-7 edge.
Lenoir-Rhyne has a 76-23 record all-time against South Atlantic Conference foes. Saturday’s win puts the Bears in control of the Piedmont Division.
Ferguson finished 21-of-27 for 269 yards. He did have one interception. Rogers finished with 97 receiving yards. Jon Ross Maye finished with nine tackles. Jefferson and Zeke Nance had two tackles for loss apiece. Brown made a field goal and hit all three of his PAT attempts.
—> READ MORE: See full recap/box score from Lenoir-Rhyne athletics
