MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill University Football Team (4-2, 4-1 SAC) opened up a 28-0 halftime lead on its way to a 49-14 win over visiting Emory & Henry College (4-3, 3-2 SAC) Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Wasps.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Mars Hill 49, Emory & Henry 14
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Meares Stadium
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (4-3, 3-2 SAC); Mars Hill (4-2, 4-1 SAC)
How It Happened
The Lions got out to a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the contest capped by a 14-yard run by Ty Snelson.
In the second, MHU pushed the advantage to 14-0 on a 37-yard pass from Jimmy Uruza to Malik Laurent. Mars Hill got a pair of rushing scores from Jervon Newton late in the quarter to make it a 28-0 contest at halftime.
Emory & Henry got the ball coming out of the intermission and drove 75 yards in seven plays to get on the board. Junior quarterback Kyle Short (Lebanon, Ohio) hit fifth-year wide receiver Kashawn Cosey (Chattanooga, Tenn.) for a 31-yard touchdown and a 28-7 score.
Mars Hill answered on the next drive as Newton rushed in from 15 yards to make it a 28-point game (35-7) again. The Lions added another score on a 40-yard interception return by Monroe Sanderson just 20 seconds later for a 42-7 lead with 8:28 to go in the third period.
The fourth quarter saw MHU complete an 11-play, 52-yard drive which ate up over seven minutes of clock. Leondre Andreas finished the possession with a two-yard run for a 49-7 lead.
Emory & Henry capped the scoring with 18 seconds remaining on a 21-yard rush by freshman Justin Hill (Dallas, N.C.), making the final score 49-14.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
Short went 8-for-22 through the air for 77 yards and one touchdown despite a pair of interceptions. Redshirt freshman quarterback Charles Mutter (King George, Va.) was 3-for-8 through the air for 57 yards in relief.
Hill led the E&H rushing attack with 47 yards on four carries and a score while Mutter had three carries for 15 yards.
Cosey notched two catches for 28 yards including a touchdown while freshman wideout Jaylin Mitchell (Portsmouth, Va.) had two receptions for 48 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Deangelo Gray (South Chesterfield, Va.) caught a pair of balls for 25 yards.
Redshirt freshman defensive back Nehemiah Scott (Richmond, Va.) posted a game-high 16 tackles including one tackle for loss while junior defensive back Addison Knicely (Mount Crawford, Va.) added 14 stops and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Linebackers A.J. Burgess (Roxboro, N.C.) and Ivan Phillips (Kingsport, Tenn.) had 12 and 11 tackles, respectively.
Mars Hill Individual Leaders
Uruza went 12-for-17 through the air for 207 yards and a touchdown. Snelson was the leading receiver for the Lions with four catches for 114 yards while Laurent notched three receptions for 65 yards and a score.
Newton finished the game with 151 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries while Joraye Morrison rushed 11 times for 47 yards.
Landon Honeycutt paced the defense with five tackles and a quarterback hurry including one tackle for loss while Jabril Norman notched four stops.
Sanderson had an interception and two additional passes defended as Octaveus Askew notched three tackles, an interception and two passes broken up. Tristan Rankin had an interception of his own.
A Deeper Look
Mars Hill racked up 498 yards of total offense with 272 passing yards and 226 yards on the ground compared to 214 yards by E&H. The Wasps ran for just 80 yards on the afternoon and gained 134 through the air.
MHU was 8-for-11 (73%) on third down compared to just 15 percent (2-for-13) for Emory & Henry.
The Lions controlled the ball for 36:30, marking the first time this season that the Wasps have not led on time of possession.
Up Next
Emory & Henry remains on the road next Saturday when it visits Tusculum University. Kickoff between the Wasps and Pioneers will be at 1:30 p.m.
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