Football closes out season with solid showing at N.C. Wesleyan

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – The Huntingdon football team closed out its season with a 37-20 win over North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday.

The Hawks (7-3, 6-2 USA South) led 20-14 at the half and pulled away from the Battling Bishops (5-5, 4-4 USA South) in the second half.

The win was the fourth in four meetings with N.C. Wesleyan. It was also the 70th win in Huntingdon history. This was the sixth time in 12 seasons the Hawks have won at least seven games in a season.

"I'm happy these seniors were able to finish with a win," Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk said. "They have been good leaders for us and have accomplished a lot for us. My only regret is that we won't get to keep playing with them a little longer. It's a special group."

This Huntingdon senior class reached seven wins three times during its career and won 26 games in four seasons. The group was also part of the first Huntingdon team to beat a nationally ranked team in 2011 and the first Huntingdon team to earn a national ranking in 2012. They helped the Hawks post an 11-4 record in the USA South the past two seasons.

"I'm going to miss being on the field with these guys," senior captain and defensive back Jeremy Murphy said. "It's a great feeling to go out with a win with these guys."

Huntingdon jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but three first-half fumbles hampered the Hawks. Two Huntingdon fumbles set up a pair of N.C. Wesleyan touchdowns in a two-minute span in the second quarter.

The Hawks took a six-point lead into the second half, built a 30-14 lead in the third quarter and closed the scoring in the fourth quarter.

"Overall, I'm proud of the way we played today," Turk said. "We weren't happy with the turnovers in the first half, but other than that, we played really well today. The turnovers kept the game closer than we wanted, but when we finally got going, our offense did well. We ran the ball 63 times, which is pretty amazing.

"Our defense turned in another solid performance. We faced the top running back in the conference, and he got his yards, but we did a good job against him. We didn't give up any big plays or long touchdown runs."

Huntingdon finished with 530 yards of offense and rushed for 339 yards on 63 attempts. The rushing yards are tied for the ninth most in program history and the attempts were two short of the school record.

The defense held the Battling Bishops to 166 yards in the first half and 395 yards for the game. N.C. Wesleyan running back Jacques Alston, the conference's leading rusher finished with 119 yards, 30 yards below his season average, and no touchdowns.

Senior linebacker Zach Brownell led the defense with 12 tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception. Brownell, who had already set the Huntingdon record for tackles in a game and solo tackles in a season, finished the year with a school-record 99 tackles this season. He accomplished the feat in eight games, averaging 12.4 tackles per game this season.

Brownell ends his three-year career as the Hawks' fifth all-time leading tackler with 212 total tackles. He finished with 139 solo tackles, third most in program history.

"I'm really proud of Zach and how he handled himself and his senior year," Turk said. "He was certainly the glue that held our defense together. We were fortunate to have him the past three years and we're sad to see him go."

Brendon Brown and Jake Green also had interceptions for the Hawks. Murphy blocked his fourth kick of the season on a N.C. Wesleyan field goal attempt in the second quarter. Entering this weekend, four blocked kicks were tied for the most in Division III this season.

Offensively, sophomore quarterback Luke Bailey finished the day with 179 yards, one touchdown and an interception on 10-of-16 passing. The 27-yard touchdown pass to Brantley Carr on the Hawks' first possession was Bailey's 23rd touchdown pass of the season and set a new single-season Huntingdon record.

Running backs Jay Ware and John Iwaniec became just the fifth pair of Huntingdon backs to each rush for 100 yards in a game. Ware ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries and Iwaniec added 114 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Iwaniec scored on a 7-yard run late in the first half. Ware scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter and a 7-yard run to close the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Taylor Hughes scored his final collegiate touchdown on an 11-yard run late in the first quarter to give the Hawks a 14-0 lead. Senior Jimbo Turk converted 4-of-5 extra points and kicked a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter.

Carr led the receivers with three catches for 66 yards. He ends his career with 50 receptions for 974 yards and 13 touchdowns. He ranks sixth in program history in receiving yards and tied for fifth in touchdown receptions. His 19.48 yards per catch are the best in program history.

"This is a great way to go out," Carr said. "To get a touchdown in my final game is pretty nice. But to get one last win with these guys, that means a lot."