Football Beats North Greenville, 34-31
The Lions’ football team held off a late surge by North Greenville to obtain a 34-31 victory. Dimitri Holmes broke the career touchdown receptions record.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions' football team held off a late surge by North Greenville to obtain a 34-31 victory Saturday afternoon in the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium. Dimitri Holmes broke the Mars Hill career touchdown receptions record in the win.
Holmes caught six passes for 187 yards and one score to record 25 career receiving touchdowns. He broke the school record previously held by Ronnie Capps (1972-75) and Rod Dewalt (2001-04).
Trent Miller completed 15-26 passes for 277 yards. Shaikel Davis, who leads the SAC in rushing, totaled 159 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries averaging 5.1 yards per rush while Foluke Gordon-Lamar rushed for 71 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries to lead MHU (2-5) to 224 yards on the ground, a season high. Sammy Siasia and Charmarcus Pittard led MHU with 12 tackles apiece. Both players had a sack and a tackle-for-loss and Siasia added an interception for a 23-yard return that led to a Lion field goal. Troy Harris added nine tackles, three quarterback hurries, a pass break-up a sack and a tackle-for-loss. Siasia and Harris rank third and fourth in tackles per game in the SAC, respectively. The Lion defense forced three Crusader turnovers.
Freddie Martino led NGU (4-3) with 16 catches for 146 yards and two scores. Nelson Hughes was 30-49 for 306 yards with three touchdowns and the same number of interceptions. Nigel Gay led NGU with 12 tackles and an interception. Reubyn Walker and Nick Rodgers followed with 11 stops each.
After a MHU interception, the Crusaders drove 42 yards on eight plays to put the first points on the board. Trey Walker dove in from a yard out with 10:08 on the clock in the first quarter.
Davis tied the contest at 7-all with 3:56 left in the first frame on a 15-yard rush. Darin Baldwin intercepted a Crusader pass in the MHU end zone and then the Lions drove 80 yards on seven plays for the score.
Victor Yurco nailed a 30-yard field goal with 13:22 left in the second quarter to give MHU a 10-7 advantage. The field goal was set up by a Sammy Siasia interception. Justin Gravely answered for the Crusaders hitting a 33-yard field goal to knot the score at 10-all. Dimitri Holmes' record-breaking touchdown came on a 77-yard touchdown strike from Miller with just 26 ticks left in the first half to send the teams into the locker room at the intermission with the Lions holding a 17-10 advantage.
Yurco opened the second half with a 31-yard field goal to extend the Lions' lead to 20-10 with 13:22 left in the third stanza. Another Lion interception, this time by Montego Baldwin, led to the field goal. Foluke Gordon-Lamar ran in from a yard out with 4:45 left in the quarter to give MHU a 17-point (27-10) lead. Devontez Rouse trimmed the Crusaders' deficit back to 10 points (27-17) with 2:06 left in the third quarter on a 26-yard scoring strike from Hughes.
A five-yard run from Davis with 12:11 left in the fourth quarter put the Lions back on top by a 17-point margin (34-17). That would end the scoring for MHU.
On the Crusaders' next possession they drove 75 yards on 10 plays, capped off by a 12-yard scoring reception by Martino to bring NGU within 10 points (34-24) of the Lions with 8:19 on the clock. MHU had to punt the ball away on their next possession and NGU travelled 68 yards on six plays to cut the Lions' lead to just three points after Martino again found the end zone from seven yards out with 1:51 left to play.
The Lions did the best they could to run out the clock on the ensuing possession but after Miller was ruled down on fourth down at the MHU 29-yardline, there was still one second left on the clock in regulation that gave NGU the ball with a chance to win or tie the game. A 47-yard field goal attempt by Gravely sailed wide right and the Lions held on for the three-point victory.
Mars Hill will host SAC rival Lenoir-Rhyne on October 26. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
