After 10 weeks of college football in our state, North Carolina players have returned an amazing 42 interceptions for touchdowns.
None covered a longer distance than what Louisburg College’s Tycorien Gist pulled out of the air this past Saturday.
Gist hauled in an errant throw six yards deep in the end zone against Nassau College — see the play in his Hudl highlight reel HERE — and streaked down the left sidelines untouched for a Hurricanes’ touchdown. The ‘Canes won the game 23-6 to finish the regular season with an 8-2 mark.
Gist (6-1, 175) is a freshman defensive back from Greer, S.C. He has picked off two passes this season and also returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Gist has the distinction of being this week’s NC Football News Stat Champion for longest defensive scoring play in our state. From our understanding of college football stats, it is officially considered a 100-yard return, though Louisburg’s box score recorded the play at 106 yards.
The longest interception return for a touchdown for the season in our state had been held by Davidson’s TJ Magee, whose pick-six against Presbyterian in Week 5 covered 98 yards. Catawba’s Juice Martin had an 89-yard interception return for a score after a botched field goal attempt by Newberry in Week 8.
We have had one other 100-yard scoring play this season. North Carolina A&T’s Aaron Harris returned the opening kickoff from end zone to end zone against North Carolina Central in Week 4.
Here are the rest of our Week 10 Stat Champions for the Old North State. We have lots of team and individual categories. Who will be at the top of these list at the end of the season?
Most Points Scored
- 79 – UNC Pembroke (79-20 win over West Virginia Wesleyan)
- 59 – NC State (59-28 win over Stanford)
- 50 – Elon (50-27 win over Campbell)
Fewest Points Allowed
- 0 – Fayetteville State (27-0 win at Johnson C. Smith)
- 6 – Louisburg (23-6 win over Nassau College)
- 10 – Wingate (14-10 win over Lenoir-Rhyne)
Longest Offensive Scoring Plays
- 94 – Jordan Waters (NC State): 94-yard TD rush
- 75 – Zakvil Smith (Barton): 75-yard TD pass from Al Lee
- 71 – Jaelan Pile (Methodist): 71-yard TD pass from Ja’Lon Miller
Longest Defensive Touchdowns
- 100 – Tycorien Gist (Louisburg): 100-yard intercept return TD in a 23-6 win over Nassau College
- 58 – Tristan Rankin (Mars Hill): 58-yard interception return TD in a 31-23 win over Emory & Henry
- 55 – Neil Vertilus (Mars Hill): 55-yard interception return TD in a 31-23 win over Emory & Henry
Longest Special Teams Touchdowns
- 92 – Ja’Shawn Harris (Greensboro): 92-yard kickoff return TD in a 23-21 loss against North Carolina Wesleyan
- 90 – Zackary Orr (Brevard): 90-yard return of the opening kickoff against Methodist, a 44-21 win
- 81 – Anthony Richardson (St. Andrews): 81-yard kickoff return TD at Kentucky Christian
Individual Passing Yards
- 431 – Taron Dickens (Western Carolina): 34-of-48, 5 TDs, 1 INT, longest completion 44 yards in a 38-34 win over Chattanooga
- 355 – Mike Chandler II (Campbell): 22-of-39, 4 TDs, 0 INT, longest completion 70 yards in a 50-27 loss at Elon
- 348 – Mason Fortune (Catawba): 28-of-45, 1 TD, 2 INTs, longest completion 54 yards in a 49-35 loss at Barton
Individual Passing TDs: 4+
- 5 – Ethan Beamish (Brevard) in a 44-21 win over Methodist
- 5 – Taron Dickens (Western Carolina) in a 38-34 win over Chattanooga
- 4 – Mike Chandler (Campbell), Joey Aguilar (Appalachian State), Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke)
Individual Rushing Yards
- 172 – Omarion Hampton (North Carolina): 32 carries, 4 TDs, longest rush of 43 yards, 5.4 yards per carry in a 35-11 win at Florida State
- 166 – Sincere Baines (UNC Pembroke): 15 carries, 1 TD, longest rush of 52 yards, 11.1 yards per carry in a 79-20 win over West Virginia Wesleyan
- 154 – Rushawn Baker (Elon): 23 carries, 3 TDs, longest rush of 42 yards, 6.7 yards per carry in a 50-27 win over Campbell
- NOTES: 13 players from North Carolina college teams rushed for 100+ yards in week 10. Jordan Waters (NC State) averaged 23.0 yards per carry against Stanford (5 carries, 115 yards, 2 TDs, longest rush of 94 yards)
Individual Receiving Yards
- 183 – Chandler Brayboy (Elon): 8 catches, 2 TDs, longest reception of 66 yards in a 50-27 win over Campbell
145 – Randall King (Campbell): 7 catches, 2 TDs, longest reception of 65 yards in a 50-27 loss to Campbell - 144 – Christian Kobe (Catawba): 6 catches, 0 TDs, longest reception of 54 yards in a 49-35 loss at Barton
- NOTES: De’Andre Tamarez (Western Carolina) was the only player to have 3 TD catches this week.
Individual Tacklers
- 16 – Benari Black (Johnson C. Smith): 4 solo tackles, 12 assists, 0.5 tackles-for-loss for 2 negative yards in a 27-0 loss to Fayetteville State
- 14 – Jack Smith (Johnson C. Smith): 5 solo tackles, 9 assists in a 27-0 loss to Fayetteville State
- 13 – Malik Hargrove (Guilford), Kade Moledor (North Carolina A&T)
Tackles For Loss:
- 4.5 – Beau Atkinson (North Carolina): 31 negative yards in a 35-11 win at Florida State
- 3.5 – Malik Hargrove (Guilford): 17 negative yards in a 20-7 loss to Ferrum
- 3.0 – Osmanis Aguilera (Livingstone), Brian Patterson (Shaw), Joshua Donald (Appalachian State), Kobe Pringle (Livingstone)
QB Sacks: 3+
- 3.5 – Beau Atkinson (North Carolina): 29 negative yards in a 35-11 win at Florida State
Kicker Points: 10+
- 12 – Luke Barnes (Elon): 2-of-2 FG, long FG of 32 yards, 6-of-6 PAT in a 50-27 win over Campbell
- 11 – Jackson Hills (UNC Pembroke): 11-of-11 PAT in a 79-20 win over West Virginia Wesleyan
Team Rushing: 250+ Yards
- 377 – UNC Pembroke: 47 carries, 4 TDs, 8.0 yards per rush in a 79-20 win over West Virginia Wesleyan
- 289 – North Carolina: 55 carries, 4 TDs, 5.3 yards per rush in a 35-11 win at Florida State
- 281 – NC State: 40 carries, 5 TDs, 7.0 yards per rush in a 59-28 win over Stanford
Team Passing: 300+ Yards
- 431 – Western Carolina: 34-of-48, 5 TDs, 1 INT in a 38-34 win over Chattanooga
- 355 – Campbell: 22-of-39, 4 TDs, 0 INT in a 50-27 loss at Elon
- 348 – Catawba: 28-of-45, 1 TD, 2 INTs in a 49-35 loss at Barton
Total Offense: 500+ Yards
- 594 – UNC Pembroke: 377 rushing, 217 passing, 68 plays, 8.7 yards per play in a 79-20 win over West Virginia Wesleyan
- 539 – Barton: 276 rushing, 263 passing, 69 plays, 7.8 yards per play in a 49-35 win over Catawba
- 527 – NC State: 281 rushing, 246 passing, 62 plays, 8.5 yards per play in a 59-28 win over Stanford
Rushing Defense: Fewest Yards Allowed
- 4 – UNC Pembroke: 15 carries, 0 TDs, 0.3 yards per rush allowed in a 79-20 win over West Virginia Wesleyan
- 30 – Fayetteville State: 22 carries, 0 TDs, 1.4 yards per rush allowed in a 27-0 win over Johnson C. Smith
- 42 – North Carolina: 28 carries, 0 TDs, 1.5 yards per rush allowed in a 35-11 win at Florida State
Passing Defense: Fewer than 100 Yards Allowed
- 42 – Guilford: 4-of-11, 0 TD, 0 INT in a 20-7 loss to Ferrum
Total Defense: Fewest Yards Allowed
- 175 – Wingate: 56 rushing, 119 passing, 56 plays, 3.1 yards per play allowed in a 14-10 win at Lenoir-Rhyne
- 192 – Fayetteville State: 30 rushing, 162 passing, 57 plays, 3.4 yards per play allowed in a 27-0 win at Johnson C. Smith
- 201 – North Carolina: 42 rushing, 159 passing, 46 plays, 4.4 yards per play allowed in a 35-11 win at Florida State
Other Notable
- North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton accounted for all five of North Carolina’s touchdowns in a 35-11 win at Florida State. Hampton rushed for four scores and had a 49-yard TD reception. He finished with 265 all-purpose yards
- Three schools had multiple 100-yard rushers this week: Sincere Baines (166, 1 TD) and JaQuan Kelly (116, 2 TDs) from UNC Pembroke, Jackson Parrish (152, 3 TDs) and Dakauri Davis (101, 1 TD) from Barton and Jordan Waters (115, 2 TDs) and Hollywood Smothers (100, 2 TDs) from NC State
- NC State’s 59 points scored against Stanford was the most ever for the Wolfpack in an ACC game
- Appalachian State’s defense recorded three fumble recoveries and an interception in a 28-20 win over Old Dominion
- Livingstone’s defense recorded 11 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions in a 24-17 loss at Shaw
Attendance Leaders
- FBS – NC State: 56,919
- FCS – Western Carolina: 11,198
- D2 – Lenoir-Rhyne: 6,897
- D3 – Brevard: 1,136
