- DIVISION II -

Opening night, at last: Mars Hill kicks off season against visiting Wingate

UNC Pembroke football also playing Thursday, visiting West Virginia State

Published

September 7, 2023

Mars Hill will host Wingate on Thursday night. It will be the season and conference opener for the Lions. (Photo courtesy Mars Hill athletics).

Three of the top five teams in our Best In State Division II power rankings will be in action tonight (Thursday).

No. 1 Wingate football will visit No. 5 Mars Hill in a pivotal early season South Atlantic Conference clash, while No. 3 UNC Pembroke football will travel to West Virginia State in Mountain East Conference action.

The UNC Pembroke game starts at 6 p.m. Wingate-Mars Hill kicks off at 7 p.m.

Here are three things to know about each game:

Wingate (1-0) at Mars Hill (0-0)

1. Mars Hill is one of the rare teams who have not played yet. Tonight will be the season, home and conference opener all rolled into one (and has been billed a “Black Out” night with fans being encouraged to wear black).

The Lions (7-3 a year ago) are coming off a SAC Mountain Division championship, falling to Newberry in a close title game. Wingate, which plays in the SAC Piedmont Division, won 11 games a year ago, and despite not making the SAC title game, won a pair of D2 playoff contests.

2. Two of the top defenses in the SAC will be on display. Wingate led NCAA Division II in total defense a year ago and held Albany State to just 7 points in last week’s opener.

Jaquan Edwards forced two fumbles and earned two sacks. Marquise Fleming forced another fumble, while Orinthius Byrd recovered a loose ball. Byrd and Jaheim Mullen had eight tackles each.

Mars Hill linebacker Landon Honeycutt earned SAC Mountain defensive player of the year honors in 2022, wracking up 90 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss. The Lions held opponents to 19.6 points per game on average. Other standouts on the defensive side of the ball include defensive backs Tristan Rankin and Monroe Sanderson, and linemen Boris Lewis and Damipi Lamboni.

3. Wingate isn’t just one dimensional. Quarterback Noah Bell made an impressive debut against Albany State. The redshirt sophomore threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 60 yards and another TD. The Bulldogs’ offense gained 461 yards in total.

The Mountain East Conference named UNC Pembroke kicker Ty Woods its top special teams player for week one. Woods hit four field goals, including the game-winner with nine seconds left. (Graphic/photo courtesy UNC Pembroke athletics).

UNC Pembroke at West Virginia State

1. Mark Hall’s first game as the Braves coach last week came down to the wire. Ty Woods booted what would be the game-winning field against Fayetteville State with nine seconds left. It was Woods fourth field goal of the night, a feat that earned him MEC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Ironically, Hall had been on the losing end of a similar last-second field goal last season against the same Fayetteville State squad. Only he was the coach of Chowan at the time, with the two teams facing off in the CIAA title game.

2. UNC Pembroke beat West Virginia State 45-24 a year ago, though the Braves roster looks a lot different this year with about 60 new players in all. West Virginia State went 7-4 overall in 2022, losing just once in six games at home.

UNCP has won the last five meetings dating back to 2015, scoring 44 or more points in four of those contests. The closest game came in 2021, a 14-13 Braves triumph.

3. West Virginia State played FCS Morehead State tough in its opener this past week before falling 37-35. The Yellow Jackets didn’t have problems moving the ball, piling up 457 yards. Running back Joel Felder could be a handful. He had 117 rushing yards a week ago.

Here is the rest of the Division II schedule for this week involving North Carolina teams:

Saturday, September 9
Barton at Davidson	7 p.m.
Livingstone at Catawba	6 p.m.
Delta State at Chowan	1 p.m.
Elizabeth City State vs. St. Augustine’s#	1 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne at Fayetteville State	6 p.m.
Walsh (Ohio) at Johnson C. Smith	1 p.m.
Virginia Union at Shaw	1 p.m.
Winston-Salem State at Ohio Dominican	3 p.m.
# Annual Down East Viking Classic, Rocky Mount