We here at North Carolina Football News love our stats and spreadsheets. Each week, we scan the box scores from our state’s college football games and note the top performers, longest plays and most outstanding outcomes.
Here are some of the most notable numbers from our state’s college football landscape after three weeks of action:
Shutout Specialists
It’s rare not to even crack the scoreboard. We’ve seen three shutouts thus far. Louisburg College blanked the Georgia Warhawks 30-0 on Aug. 31. Guilford zipped Greensboro 14-0 in week two, and Elizabeth City State earned a 20-0 victory at Erskine on Saturday.
Only two of our teams have been on the receiving end of a shutout: St. Andrews (52-0 loss at Erskine on Aug. 31) and Fayetteville State (34-0 at No. 5 Valdosta State on Sept. 14).
Longest Offensive Touchdowns
Appalachian State’s Joey Aguilar and Christian Horn have set the standard for the state so far. Aguilar hit Horn on an 83-yard pass play in the opener against East Tennessee State.
Johnson C. Smith’s Brevin Caldwell hauled in an 80-yard TD reception from Darius Ocean against Lincoln this past weekend.
Chris Mosley of North Carolina Central has the longest TD rush in the state, covering 80 yards to pay dirt against Elon on Sept. 7. Davidson’s Mason Sheron has a 79-yard scoring run on his resume from week two.
Pick-Six Mania
After three weeks, college players from North Carolina schools have returned 13 interceptions for touchdowns. NC State’s Aydan White has the longest, an 87-yard pick-six against Tennessee in Charlotte on Sept. 7.
North Carolina A&T’s Aaron Harris went 70-yards for a score after a tipped-ball interception against Delaware this past weekend. Lenoir-Rhyne’s Chris Brown took an interception 68 yards to the end zone against Tiffin on Sept. 7.
Special Plays On Special Teams
Ja’qun Wilkins from Johnson C. Smith has the longest special teams touchdown so far. He took the opening kickoff against Lincoln 89 yards to the house during the teams’ CIAA match-up Sept. 14.
Taylor Morin (Wake Forest) has the longest punt return TD, 73 yards against North Carolina A&T in the season opener Aug. 29.
Western Carolina’s Jordy Lowery returned a blocked field goal 55 yards for a momentum-turning score in the second half against Elon on Sept. 14. Barton’s Connor Stanley returned a blocked punt 23 yards for touchdown on Sept. 5 against West Virginia State.
Charlotte Kickers Have The Distance
We’re charting every field goal that covers 50 yards or more this season. We’ve seen seven so far, with Charlotte’s Stephen Rusnak true on a 54-yarder against Gardner-Webb on Sept. 14 — the longest. Duke’s Todd Pelino hit a 53-yarder on Saturday against UConn.
A Charlotte player also has the longest punt of the season: Michael O’Shaughnessy boomed a punt 73 yards in the Gardner-Webb game. That eclipsed the 69-yarder recorded by Elizabeth City State’s Darius Satterfield on Sept. 7. O’Shaughnessy earned American Athletic Conference honors this week. He averaged 50.8 yards on four kicks and put three inside the Gardner-Webb 20.
Elon’s Jeff Yurk has recorded 10 punts so far that have covered at least 50 yards, including a 60-yarder against Duke and another 60-yarder in a win over North Carolina Central.
What A Rush!
Only two schools have rushed for more than 300 yards in a game, Davidson and North Carolina. Both the Wildcats and Tar Heels have done it twice.
The most impressive performance out of those four came from Davidson this past Saturday against over-matched Point University. The ‘Cats plowed for 482 yards on 68 attempts in a Sept. 14 win, a 7.1 yards-per-carry average.
200-Yard Rushing Club Adds New Members
We’ve had more than 20 college rushers across North Carolina enjoy 100-yard games in 2024. But we’ve had just three eclipse the 200-yard plateau.
Two came this past weekend. UNC’s Omarion Hampton finished with 210 yards on 25 carries (and three touchdowns) against North Carolina Central — the most rushing yards in a game by a back this season. Davidson’s Mari Adams recorded 207 yards on 19 attempts against Point on the same night.
The dynamic duo joins Lenoir-Rhyne’s Zayvion Turner-Knox, who picked up 204 yards on 30 carries in the Bears’ opener Sept. 7 against Bowie State, in the 200-yard club.
Air Superiority Established
Appalachian State’s Joey Aguilar set a career high with a 424-yard passing effort against East Carolina over the weekend. He completed 32 passes in 47 attempts, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. It’s the most passing yardage by a North Carolina college signal caller this season.
Wake Forest’s Hank Bachmeier had the first 400-yard passing performance of the season, going 27-of-42 for 403 yards and a score last weekend against Virginia.
Shaw’s Christian Peters is the only in-state quarterback to record five touchdown passes. He reached that milestone on Sept. 7 at Albany State in a 43-40 win (and he also rushed for a TD).
Catawba’s Preston Brown nearly hit the 300-yard passing plateau on Saturday and picked up South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors following his 24-of-29 passing performance against Shaw. He finished with 295 yards and four touchdowns in the 37-28 win.
Plenty Of Receipts
Christian Drumgoole of North Carolina Wesleyan has been a reliable target for his quarterback, Chaz Hirschman. Through two games, the duo have connected 25 times.
Drumgoole had what may stand as the top receiving performance in the state on Saturday against Ferrum. He hauled in 18 (!) passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Drumgoole was targeted 26 times and picked up 182 yards-after-catch. Hirschman finished with 337 passing yards in that contest.
Only one other receiver has crossed the 200-yard plateau in a game, Brevard’s Zackary Orr. He made eight catches for 205 yards in the Tornados’ opener Saturday against Hampden-Sydney. He didn’t find the end zone but did have an 82-yard catch.
Breaking School Records
Shaw’s Ah’shaan Belcher turned two of his four catches into touchdowns on Saturday against Catawba. Those scores made Belcher Shaw’s new all-time career leader in TD receptions (21).
Tackling Machines
Lavarius Heath from St. Andrews had a season’s best 17 tackles in the Knights’ game at Cumberland on Saturday. His impressive performance included 12 solo stops.
Livingstone’s Davion Watkins lived in the backfield against Allen, recording four tackles-for-loss, resulting in 17 negative yards.
The Wingate triumvirate of Dontorian Best, Daniel Morrison and Marquise Fleming combined for 27 total tackles and eight tackles-for-loss in the Bulldogs’ 21-7 triumph over 12th-ranked Delta State this past weekend.
Out-Of-State Intrusion
Allen University, located in Columbia, S.C., has recorded the longest scoring play AGAINST one of our college teams thus far. Nanders Lawrence brought a kick back 96 yards for a touchdown on Saturday at Livingstone.
Livingstone still won the game, 23-21. But it will be interesting to see if another out-of-state school will eclipse this long-distance mark over the next few months.
Among The National Leaders
UNC’s Jahvaree Ritzie leads the FBS in sacks with five in three games. No other FBS player has more than four sacks.
App State’s Joey Aguilar is ranked seventh in the FBS in passing yards (964) … Wake Forest’s Hank Bachmeier is listed 12th (905).
UNC’s Omarion Hampton has 416 rushing yards thus far, fourth-best nationally in the FBS ranks. Davidson’s Mari Adams has rushed for 382 yards, third-best among FCS backs. Lenoir-Rhyne’s Zayvion Turner-Knox ranks sixth in D2 in rushing yards per game (137.0).
Elon freshman TJ Thomas Jr. ranks fourth in the FCS in all-purpose yards, averaging 147.0 yards per game.
Barton’s Matt Smith is tied for fifth in D2 in tackles-per-game, averaging 12.5. Fayetteville State’s Shi Gaskin has six tackles-for-loss in two games, and his 3.0 TFL-per-game average ranks third in the D2 nationally.
As mentioned in another story, Chowan ranks first among D2 teams nationally in fewest passing yards allowed. Barton, Elizabeth City State and Catawba also are top 10.
