Mars Hill suffered its first loss. Barton got back to winning ways. Lenoir-Rhyne rolled. Here are recaps of game action in the South Atlantic Conference on Saturday.
Limestone 27, Mars Hill 23
Dustin Noller threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns, and the Saints handed the No. 6 team in our Fabulous 14 rankings its first loss. All four of Noller’s scoring throws came in the first half, including an 80-yarder to DJ Black midway through the first quarter.
Mars Hill (3-1, 2-1 SAC) shut out Limestone after the break but couldn’t complete the comeback.
The Lions got the ball back on their own 11 with 2:53 to play after a punt. They moved to the Limestone 20 yard line with 1:31 left. But quarterback JR Martin was sacked on fourth down, and Limestone (3-0 SAC) ran out the clock to end it.
Martin finished the day 18-of-31 for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Beau DeBerry caught both of the TD throws, covering three and six yards. Joe Taylor Jr. had a two-yard rushing touchdown for the Lions.
Landon Honeycutt gave Mars Hill a 2-0 lead with less than four minutes into the game, tackling Tre Stewart in the end zone for a safety. Honeycutt finished with eight tackles.
Malik Laurent caught six passes for Mars Hill for 95 yards.
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Barton 17, Tusculum 14
Bear Huggins kicked a 30-yard field goal with five seconds left, and Barton College slipped past Tusculum 17-14 on the road Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs bounced back after suffering their first loss a week ago at Mars Hill. That contest was decided on a fourth-quarter field goal as well.
Barton improved to 4-1 overall, 2-1 in the South Atlantic, continuing its best season since restarting the program in 2020.
Jordan Terrell scored a touchdown on a 53-yard run in the first quarter. Quarterback Jaquan Lynch put the Bulldogs up 14-0 late in the second quarter with a 10-yard TD run. Huggins booted both extra points.
Tusculum rallied in the second half, eventually tying the game 14-14 when quarterback Matthew Palazzo found the end zone on a 4-yard carry with 14:55 left in the fourth.
Barton’s drive for the game-winning kick started at its own 20 after a punt. The Bulldogs went 67 yards in 11 plays to put Huggins at the 13 for the final boot. Lynch helped keep the drive alive, finding Terrell on a 19-yard completion to convert on third-down-and-12.
Terrell, who was held to a season low 47 yards last week by Mars Hill, posted more familiar numbers — 32 carries for 147 yards. Kameron Johnson caught six passes for 74 yards.
Huggins averaged 43.9 yards on seven punts, putting four inside Tusculum’s 40. Shane Perry had an interception. Matt Smith led the Barton defense in tackling with 10.
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Lenoir-Rhyne 56, UVA Wise 3
Lenoir-Rhyne averaged nearly 10 yards per offensive snap and overwhelmed another South Atlantic Conference opponent on Saturday.
Dwayne McGee rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Quarterback Jalen Ferguson threw for 234 yards and three more scores. Zayvion Turner-Knox added two more rushing touchdowns.
Ferguson spread his touchdown throws to Dominique Marshall, Malik Simmons and Malakei Sumner.
The Bears jumped on UVA Wise early. Simmons hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass, McGee ran for a 52-yard score and Turner-Knox found the end zone from 17 yards out in the first quarter.
McGee’s other touchdowns came on runs of 44 and 1 yards, respectively, Marshall put the final points on the board with a 56-yard touchdown reception from Ferguson, capped by Jake Brown’s eighth extra point.
Lenoir-Rhyne outgained UVA Wise 563-203. DeAree Rogers didn’t score but led the receiving corps with six catches for 105 yards.
Jon Ross Maye had 10 tackles for the Bears’ defense. Devin Hibbit had five tackles and two tackles-for-loss. Chris Brown picked off a pass. Aiden Bell recovered a fumble.
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Emory & Henry at Catawba | 6 p.m.
Erskine at Wingate | 6 p.m.
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