ANDERSON, S.C. — The Anderson University (5-5, 4-4) football team scored 17 unanswered points and held off Mars Hill (5-4, 4-4) for a 17-14 win Saturday at Melvin & Dollie Younts Stadium. The Trojans' defense recovered two fumbles, blocked a field-goal attempt and recorded seven quarterback hurries. AU also held the ball for 32:24 while finishing with 118 rushing yards and 108 passing yards.
Head coach
Bobby Lamb credited Mars Hill while pointing to AU's ability to keep playing through swings in the win. "First of all, let me give kudos to Mars Hill," Lamb said. "They are a gritty bunch." He added, "They're very, very difficult to prepare for." For the Trojans, Lamb said the response mattered throughout the game: "But I thought our kids just stayed the course." He continued, "We hung in there, and that's what you gotta do to come up with a big win because obviously this game is about momentum, ebbs and flows."
Wilson Edwards completed 13 of 25 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown and added 41 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Darron Parry rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Carter Wit recorded eight tackles and blocked a kick.
Phillip Bonacci converted his only field-goal attempt from 24 yards and made both extra-point tries.
Defensively, AU kept Mars Hill scoreless through three quarters, held the visitors without a first down in the third quarter and ended the game with a red-zone stop when Wit blocked a 22-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. Offensively, the Black and Gold extended drives with third and fourth-down conversions, including
Wilson Edwards' 13-yard completion to
Kenneth Brown on third-and-8 and Edwards' 4-yard run on fourth-and-1 during the third-quarter field-goal drive.
The Trojans converted their second takeaway into the first quarter's only score, with
Zach Rogers forcing a Lukas Kachilo fumble,
Zack Ramsey recovering at the Mars Hill 45 and Parry finishing the short-field drive with a 30-yard touchdown run at 9:20 before Bonacci's extra point made it 7-0. Earlier,
Addison Nickles' opening kickoff was muffed and
Kyler Giddens recovered at the Mars Hill 20, and
Parr Folsom's 14-yard run on third-and-12 moved AU inside the 10 before the drive ended on a fumble near the goal line. The defense followed the scoring drive by forcing a punt after
Alex Ledford broke up a third-down pass at the AU 41, while the offense's next possession picked up a first down on a Mars Hill personal foul before Samuel Mullis punted 47 yards. Mars Hill moved back across midfield late, but the Black and Gold closed the first quarter ahead 7-0 with the ball at the AU 42.
The Trojans' defense kept Mars Hill off the scoreboard throughout the second quarter, and the quarter closed with AU ahead 7-0.
Cade Eavenson helped end the opening Mars Hill possession with an 11-yard sack, and the Black and Gold later moved across midfield behind completions from Edwards to Brown and
Lennix Valarie before Mullis pinned Mars Hill at its 4-yard line with a 42-yard punt. Mars Hill put together its longest drive of the quarter from there, but
Zay Nalls dropped a completion for a 3-yard loss on third down to force another punt. Late in the quarter, AU overcame an Edwards fumble that he recovered himself and got a 14-yard run from Parry before punting, then
Jimyll Lundy added pressure and Nalls forced a fumble on Mars Hill's final snap as the clock expired.
The Black and Gold held Mars Hill without a first down in the third quarter and made it 10-0 when Bonacci hit a 24-yard field goal with 5:14 left. Earlier,
KD Whitt returned the second-half kickoff 33 yards to the AU 35, and the defense answered the opening offensive punt by forcing Mars Hill off the field after Rogers broke up a third-down pass. The Trojans then turned a short punt into a 12-play, 42-yard march, converting third-and-8 on Edwards' 13-yard pass to Brown, fourth-and-1 on Edwards' 4-yard run at the Mars Hill 25 and later reaching the Mars Hill 12 on a 24-yard completion to
Zay Williams before the field goal.
Bryce Allen broke up another third-down pass on Mars Hill's next possession, and AU used completions to
Devin Larry of 12 and 11 yards plus Edwards' 14-yard run on the final snap to reach the Mars Hill 16 as the third quarter ended with AU ahead 10-0.
The Trojans finished their opening drive of the fourth quarter when Edwards hit
Tre Broughton for a 4-yard touchdown, and Bonacci's extra point made it 17-0 with 13:03 left. Mars Hill responded with two rushing touchdowns to cut the score to 17-14, while AU was limited to 10 yards on its next two possessions. Mullis' 52-yard punt and a Mars Hill penalty backed the visitors up to their own 9 with 2:42 remaining, and the Black and Gold held on through a 16-play drive that reached the 5 before Wit blocked a 22-yard Mars Hill field-goal attempt as time expired, and Eavenson recovered at the AU 30 to seal a 17-14 victory. Wit's game-sealing field-goal block was the fifth blocked kick of the season for the Trojans.
Looking ahead, Lamb said, "Just a great win. Credit our kids. I told him it puts us at .500. We got an opportunity to go to Newberry, South Carolina and have the first winning season in the history of Anderson football."
Up next, AU visits Newberry at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, in Newberry, S.C.
