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UNC Pembroke Football Has Best Record in North Carolina After 52-21 Homecoming Win Over Shorter

Braves improve to 6-1 and stay atop Conference Carolinas with sixth-straight victory

UNC Pembroke receiver JaQuan Albright turns upfield with the ball against Shorter
UNC Pembroke's JaQuan Albright turns up field in Saturday's 52-21 win over Shorter. Albright scored one touchdown in the game, which helped UNCP improve to 6-1 overall. Photo/graphics courtesy UNCP athletics.

After the second weekend of October, UNC Pembroke football has the best overall record of any college team in North Carolina.

The Braves, who compete at the Division II level, improved to 6-1 overall, 3-0 in Conference Carolinas with a pleasing 52-21 homecoming win over Shorter at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. It’s the best start for UNCP since the 2016 season. That team finished 10-2 and won a round in the D2 playoffs.

Only one other North Carolina college team has just one loss right now – 5-1 Johnson C. Smith, which was idle on Saturday. Catawba and North Carolina Central both are 5-2.

UNCP jumped into the D2 national rankings a few weeks ago. Coach Mark Hall’s team sat at No. 22 this past week and could slide up a few spots again this week. Their only loss in 2025 came in the opener, a 30-21 defeat at Wingate. Since then, the Braves have continued to trend up – occupying the top spot in our Fabulous 15 statewide rankings the past two weeks. (Spoiler alert – they will be there again this week).

🏈 Check out the 2025 Statewide Standings: Win-loss records for every North Carolina college football team, from FBS and FCS to D2, D3 and NJCAA.

📰 Review our D2 Game Day thread: Scores, recaps and takeaways from Oct. 11 action in North Carolina Division II college football.

UNC Pembroke football sets season high for scoring

UNC Pembroke regularly scored in the 50s, 60s and 70s last season against overmatched Mountain East foes (the school’s former football conference). Saturday marked the first 50+ scoring output of this year, with the Braves notching touchdowns on their first three offensive possessions and jumping to a 31-0 halftime lead.

Dual-threat quarterback Tre Robinson accounted for all four of UNCP’s first-half trips to the end zone. His first TD came in the opening minutes, a 47-yard strike to Que Kennedy, a favorite target this season. Robinson hit JaQuan Albright for a 28-yard touchdown, then found the end zone himself on a 1-yard plunge and later extended the lead with another TD throw to Kennedy covering 4 yards.

The UNC Pembroke defense got into the act in the third quarter. Justin Foreman returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. Then it was back to the Tre Robinson show, with the sophomore from Charlotte (Chambers HS) hitting Malik Brown on a 74-yard scoring play. That gave the Braves a 45-7 cushion.

Marcus Martin provided the final UNCP points, earning a 5-yard rushing touchdown set up by an 89-yard kickoff return from Jordan Marcucci.

UNC Pembroke improved its all time record to 16-2 on homecoming, including 10-0 in the last 10.

UNCP vs Shorter Stat Leaders & Notables

  • Robinson finished 17-of-23 passing for 296 yards and four touchdowns. He also led the Braves in rushing, finishing with 65 yards on 16 attempts
  • Kennedy caught seven passes for 118 yards and two scores. 
  • Brown’s two catches covered 85 yards. Albright added five catches for 75 yards.
  • The UNCP defense held Shorter to only 1 yard of passing (6-of-11 attempts). Foreman made eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles-for-loss, in addition to his interception return TD.
  • Jadin Baptist earned eight solo tackles and 14 total stops to lead the UNC Pembroke stopping unit. He made one TFL. Isi Etute had 2 TFLs and five total tackles. Eric Ivory had six solo hits and two assists.
  • Taylor Harris hit a 29-yard field goal in the first half for UNCP, went 7-for-7 on PATs and averaged 60.8 yards on kickoffs. 
  • Shorter moved the ball on the ground, picking up 321 yards and scoring three rushing touchdowns. Both Lanear McCrary Jr. (33 carries, 183 yards, 2 TDs) and Carlos Mann (103 yards, 1 TD) had big days in the run game.
  • For the game, UNCP outgained the Hawks 553-322, averaging 8.4 yards per play. If there was one blemish, it came in the penalty department. The Braves were flagged eight times for 80 yards.

Conference Carolinas Standings | After Oct. 11 Games

SchoolConfCPct.Conf. PF-PAOverallPct.PF-PAL10Streak
UNC Pembroke3-01.000137-426-1.857245-1176-1W6
North Greenville3-01.000102-443-3.500172-1623-3W2
Chowan1-1.50046-602-4.333115-2082-4L2
Barton1-1.50062-611-5.16797-2211-5W1
Ferrum1-2.33362-1002-4.33396-1932-4L1
Erskine0-2.0007-740-6.00062-2410-6L6
Shorter0-3.00075-1101-6.143159-2191-6L3

SOURCE: ConferenceCarolinas.com

What’s next for UNC Pembroke

Saturday will bring a battle of unbeatens in the conference. UNCP travels to North Greenville (3-3, 3-0). This could be a preview of the Conference Carolinas championship game which will be held in a month. The top two teams in the standings advance to that match-up, with the winner guaranteed a D2 playoff spot.

UNCP’s will conclude its regular season schedule after North Greenville by playing its two new in-state rivals – visiting Chowan on Oct. 25 and hosting Barton on Nov. 1.

The Braves have a bye week on Nov. 8, the last of the regular season. The conference title game will be Nov. 15 at the higher seed, so this Saturday’s matchup will be big for both UNCP and North Greenville, who were voted conference co-favorites in the preseason.

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