NGU Skyliner

Cory Guinn
Copy Editor

On Sept. 26, the North Greenville Crusaders traveled to Summerville, S.C., in hopes of coming away with the season’s first win against in-state rival and Division I FCS team Charleston Southern. The North Greenville defense once again played a strong first half but tired late in the game as the Buccaneers downed the Crusaders 34-0 in a one-sided game.

The Crusader offense mustered just 90 yards of total offense on the day compared to 516 total yards by the Charleston Southern offense. Leading the way for North Greenville (0-5) was running back Montez Hatten, sophomore business, who rushed 12 times for 19 yards.

Quarterback Richard Harb, junior history, continued his struggles, completing five of 12 pass attempts for only 20 yards. The biggest offensive play for the Crusaders came from the special teams unit when Justin Jones, senior sport management, faked a third quarter punt and completed a 20-yard pass to defensive back Jereme Green, sophomore print media, for a first down.

“We need to continue ‘striking the stone’ every day in practice,” said offensive lineman Jordan Floro, junior interdisciplinary studies, of the struggling Crusader offense.

“The coaches are putting us in the position to be successful on Saturdays. It really comes down to the fact that it takes all 11 guys on the field every snap to be a strong offense. I feel like we are taking the necessary steps to be successful, and we are very close to becoming a good offense.”

The defense was the strong point once again for the Crusaders in the first half, but a powerful Charleston Southern offense wore them down as the game went on. Damien Wright, graduate student, led the defense with 11 tackles.

Jamarius Robinson, sophomore business, finished the game with seven tackles and linebacker Nathan Batchelor, sophomore business, chipped in four tackles and forced a fumble. Brandon Aldridge, freshman undecided, and Tyran Melvin, junior business, each had an interception in the game.

The Crusaders will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 3 to take on Edward Waters in hopes of coming home with the first win of the 2009 season.

Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 4

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.