Hickory, N.C. – The Brevard College football team jumped back into SAC play on Saturday night, as they traveled to Hickory, N.C. to square off with the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne in a battle between two 1-3 teams. 

 

The Bears were able to score late to score the 23-12 victory in what was a defensive struggle throughout.

 

The first half was sloppy as the two teams combined for five fumbles, a safety, a missed field goal, and nine penalties, while only putting up 11 points on the scoreboard.

 

After failing to convert on a fourth down conversion deep in the Bears territory on their opening offensive possession, the Tornados defense stood strong forcing Lenoir-Rhyne to go three and out and punt. On the punt the snap was high and mishandled by the punter Travis Rigdon, as the ball went out of bounds in the back of the end zone giving the Tornados a safety and an early 2-0 lead.

 

On the Tornados next drive, a John Taylor fumble on first down was recovered by Lenoir-Rhyne, giving their offense great field position as they started on the Brevard 33-yard line.

 

The Tornado defense would once again stand strong forcing the Bears to settle for a field goal attempt. The Bears kicker Andrew Coln lined up for the 36-yard field goal attempt, but pushed it to the right, turning the ball over to the BC offense.

 

Yet BC could not take advantage as again they would cough up the ball, fumbling it at their own 32-yard line.

 

Lenoir-Rhyne would punch the ball into the end zone early in the second quarter, as fullback Chris Durm scored on a four-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 6-2 lead. The Bears would go for the two-point conversion, but would fail as quarterback Daniel Anderson’s pass was incomplete.

 

The teams would exchange a series of punts over the rest of the second quarter, as neither team could get their offense going.

 

With time winding down on the first half, Lenoir-Rhyne’s Coln would add a field goal to push their lead to seven at 9-2 heading into the halftime period.

 

At the start of the second half the Tornado defense would prove to be a factor, as they would pick up two turnovers in the Bears’ first two offensive possessions. On Lenoir-Rhyne’s first possession, freshman cornerback Dominic Simon was able to cut in front of a Bears’ receiver and intercept the pass attempt by Anderson. After BC went three and out, linebacker Devin Simpson would recover a Chris Durm fumble to again breathe new life into the Tornados offense.

 

The Tornado offense would capitalize on the turnover this time, as they put together a nine play, 50-yard drive that was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown scramble by freshman quarterback Trey Wilborn, his first ever collegiate touchdown. After a Chase Henry extra point, the score was knotted up at 9-9.

 

Brevard would score again on their next possession, as Henry kicked a 30-yard field goal through the uprights, giving the Tornados a 12-9 lead with 1:38 remaining in the third quarter.

 

However, the fourth quarter belonged to Lenoir-Rhyne as they would score twice in the last period to pick up the victory.

 

The Bears would put together a long drive led by the running attack of fullback Durm that was 17 plays for 61-yards that not only lasted 8:07, but more importantly kept a tired BC defense on the field for most of the fourth quarter. The drive was finished off by running back James Pone, who scored from 12-yards out on a sweep play, giving the lead back to Lenoir-Rhyne, 16-12 with only 2:43 remaining in the game.

 

On the kickoff, the Bears would add some insurance points, as during the return BC’s return specialist Shaton Pratt, who was swarmed by a number of Lenoir-Rhyne defenders, had the ball fly out of his hands where it was picked up by the Bears Graphenreed who then ran it back for a touchdown. Coln’s extra point was good and the Bears found themselves up 23-12 with only 2:27 left in the game.

 

Brevard College’s last effort would falter as the Bears would then run out the clock to pick up the tough home win.

 

Freshman quarterback Trey Wilborn led the Tornados with 55-yards on 13 carries and one touchdown. Running back John Taylor added 47-yards on 11 attempts.

 

Wilborn was perfect in the air, as he completed all three of his pass attempts for a total of 68 yards, including a 39-yard completion to Stephen Dawson which helped to setup the Tornados only touchdown of the game.

 

On the defensive side of the ball, BC was led by safety Joshua Durm and linebacker Elliot Collins who each posted 13 tackles for the game. Linebacker Stanley Jones recorded 10 total tackles, while defensive end Brandon Rawls and linebacker Devin Simpson had eight tackles apiece.

 

Defensive tackle David Arrowood posted two tackles for a loss of seven yards while also forcing a fumble.

 

The Tornados next game will be next Saturday, October 6, when they will travel to Wingate, N.C. to take on the Bulldogs of Wingate University. The game is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m.

 

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