North Greenville football falls to 0-4 with 32-16 loss at Lenoir-Rhyne
Posted by The Skyliner on September 23rd, 2009Stephen Lane
Staff Writer
North Greenville again struggled to get on the scoreboard as Lenoir-Rhyne defeated the Crusaders 32-16 Saturday in Hickory, N.C. One of the top rushing teams in Division II, the Bears rushed for 377 yards on the Crusader defense.
“We really shot ourselves in the foot on offense,” Chadwell said. “If we can eliminate turnovers, we’ll be a lot better football team.”
The Crusaders (0-4) had averaged three turnovers a game and did improve in that area, with only two against Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Crusaders’ first-half performances have been sub-par so far in the first three games, and unfortunately they did not fare any better against Lenoir-Rhyne (3-1). North Greenville managed only 32 yards of offense and zero points in the first half and trailed 20-0 going into the locker room at halftime.
Lenoir-Rhyne struck early in the second half, but after that the Crusader offense finally started to show signs of life. The Crusaders took the ball 55 yards in 11 plays and took over five minutes off the clock. Zack Sears, freshman business, kicked a 36-yard field goal to cut the lead to 26-3 with 4:56 left in the third quarter.
The Crusader defense could not keep Lenoir-Rhyne out of the end zone, and the Bears tacked on another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to go up 32-3. The Crusaders then took the ball 55 yards in three plays for a touchdown. Josh Murph, freshman undecided, rushed for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 32-10.
With just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, Isaiah Johnson, freshman business administration, returned a Lenoir-Rhyne punt 79 yards for a touchdown. Sears missed the extra point, but the lead was cut to 32-16.
Sears’ on-side kick was recovered by the Crusaders at nine yards instead of 10 yards, and it was too little, too late as the Crusaders lost their fourth straight game and dropped to 0-4 on the year.
Chadwell did have some positive things to say about the performance.
“We showed a tremendous amount of effort and that’s something to build on,” Chadwell said.
The Crusaders also had their highest point total of the year, surpassing the previous 14 that were scored against Wingate. Ironically, the Crusaders have scored 30 points in their away games and only three points in their home games.
The Crusader football team is now on a six-game losing streak dating back to the their last victory on Oct. 21, 2008, against Edward Waters. The Crusaders look to end their losing streak this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Charleston Southern.
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 3