Hawks knock off Battling Bishops for second straight win

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C.  – The Huntingdon football team earned its second straight win with a 50-29 victory over North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday.

The Hawks took a 21-3 lead in the first quarter and handed the Battling Bishops their second conference loss of the season.

Aside from a seven-second possession to end the first half, Huntingdon scored on nine of its first 10 possessions. Running back Eric Thomas, quarterback Michael Lambert and kicker Chase Young helped account for 44 of Huntingdon's 50 points.

Thomas finished with 240 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns and Lambert completed 20-of-27 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns. Young, who accounted for 14 points on three field goals and five extra points, set one conference record and one Huntingdon record and tied another Huntingdon record.

Young's third field goal of the day, his 34^th of his career, broke the USA South Athletic Conference record for career field goals made. The senior, who matched his career-long with a 42-yard field goal, also tied Huntingdon's single-game record for number of field goals made and set Huntingdon's single-game record for points by a kicker.

Records: Huntingdon (3-5, 3-3 USA South); N.C. Wesleyan (5-3, 4-2 USA South)

The Turning Point: Huntingdon's first three possessions ended with touchdowns. Thomas ended the first drive with a 4-yard touchdown run and capped the third drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. 

In between Thomas' touchdown runs, Lambert threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to freshman Zack Self for Self's first collegiate touchdown.

Leading 21-3 in the second quarter, Young converted a 40-yard field goal and a 42-yard field goal to put Huntingdon in front 27-9 at halftime. Kobe Smith's 1-yard touchdown run on the first possession of the third quarter made it a 33-9 game.

The Hawks closed their scoring with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Lambert to Garrett Headley, a 20-yard field goal by Young and an 8-yard touchdown run by Thomas.

Notable:

Young closing in on conference scoring record: In addition to setting the USA South record for career field goals on Saturday, Young moved closer to another conference record. With 304 career points, he is within two points of tying the conference's career scoring record. Former North Carolina Wesleyan receiver Malik Adams set the conference record with 306 points from 2013-16. 

100-yard receiving tandem: Receiver Jay Davison and H-Back Colton Chinn became the seventh pair of Hawks to finish with at least 100 yards receiving in the same game. Davison had six catches for 119 yards and Chinn had four receptions for 100 yards. This was the first 100-yard game for each player.

Stat Leaders

Offense

Passing: Michael Lambert: 20/27 for 353 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving: Jay Davison: 6 receptions for 119 yards

Colton Chinn: 4 receptions for 100 yards

C.J. Pugh: 2 receptions for 65 yards

Garrett Headley: 20-yard touchdown reception

Zack Self: 4-yard touchdown reception

Rushing: Eric Thomas: 16 rushes for 123 yards, 3 TDs

Dontavion Cunningham: 9 rushes for 56 yards

Kobe Smith: 1-yard touchdown run

Kicking:  Chase Young: 5/6 PAT; 3/3 Field Goals (connected on field goals from 42, 40 and 20 yards)

Defense

Tackles: Trey Hayes (7), Ke'Darius Thornton (7), Mal Caldwell (7)

Sacks: Trey Hayes (1), Gavin Walker (1)

Interceptions: Ke'Darius Thornton (1)

Head Coach Mike Turk on Saturday's win: "We played really well for four quarters. At the beginning of this week, we challenged the guys. We had a really good week of practice last week and we played well against a team with a record similar to ours.

"The challenge this week was to take the same approach against a team that was tied for second in the conference. I'm proud of the way our guys worked this week. We played well today and it was fun to watch."

Coming Up: Huntingdon hosts LaGrange on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m.