ANDERSON, S.C. — The Anderson University football team defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 42-22 on Saturday at Melvin & Dollie Younts Stadium. The Trojans created separation with 21 unanswered points across three scoring drives from late in the second quarter into the third. The offense passed for 353 yards and four touchdowns and added 167 rushing yards with two scores, including
Darren Lloyd's 94-yard touchdown run. The win moved AU to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while L-R fell to 2-3 and 1-2.
Head coach
Bobby Lamb credited AU's group effort after the home win, saying, "All right, first of all, my hat's off to our entire organization." Lamb pointed to the team's response after consecutive road games, adding, "We're still a little bit of work in progress, but to come here in our stadium after two tough road trips, it's tough to go on the road where we had to go, you get beat up a little bit and then come back and win a game like that, just proud of the fight and the effort."
The win moved AU to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Bears fell to 2-3 and 1-2.
Wilson Edwards completed 21 of 34 passes for 353 yards and four touchdowns. Edwards recorded a career-high of 353 passing yards. Lloyd rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and added a 29-yard reception.
Lennix Valarie finished with three catches for 135 yards. Valarie achieved a career-high 135 receiving yards.
Alex Ledford recorded a team-high nine tackles with one sack and a forced fumble.
AU broke through on its first offensive snap, with Lloyd going 94 yards up the middle for a touchdown at 10:19 and
Ross Burnette adding the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Earlier, the Trojans' defense forced a punt on the Bears' opening drive after Ledford hurried a third-down incompletion, setting up the offense at the AU 6. L-R answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive into the red zone, but the Black and Gold came away with the stop when LJ Turner fumbled at the goal line and
Zay Nalls recovered in the end zone for a touchback. AU's next drive included a third-down completion from Edwards to
Rob Sanders before an interception gave the Bears a short field at the AU 26. L-R scored on Eddie Clark's 3-yard run with 26 seconds left, but
Luke Rankin blocked the extra point and the Trojans ended the first quarter ahead 7-6.
Edwards threw two second-quarter touchdown passes as AU built a 21-9 lead by the end of the quarter. Earlier, the defense helped flip the field, with
Zack Ramsey and
Cade Eavenson combining on an 8-yard sack to end one L-R possession before Nalls broke up a pass and Ledford and
Scotty Miley stopped a run for a loss on another drive. After
Carter Wit's punt return and a Bears personal foul set the Trojans up at the L-R 48, Edwards hit
Kenneth Brown for a 48-yard touchdown at 4:08, and Burnette's extra point made it 14-6. The Bears answered with a 47-yard field goal, but AU went 75 yards in 51 seconds, highlighted by Edwards' 45-yard completion to Valarie before Edwards found Sanders for a 3-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left. Sanders achieved his first two touchdowns of the season during the game.
The Trojans stretched their advantage in the third quarter with two Edwards touchdown passes, moving ahead 35-9 after
Zach Rogers' interception return set up a short scoring drive. Earlier, Edwards hit Lloyd for 29 yards and followed with a 41-yard touchdown to
Zay Williams at 13:31, with Burnette's kick making it 28-9. Eavenson sacked Wells Bettenhausen on the Bears' next possession before Rogers intercepted Bettenhausen at the AU 30 and returned it 50 yards, and Lloyd's runs helped set up Edwards' 8-yard touchdown pass to Sanders. The Black and Gold added defensive plays later, including an Andre Goodman breakup, a Ledford sack and a Nalls breakup, before L-R scored with 48 seconds left and AU closed the quarter with a 40-yard completion to Valarie, carrying a 35-16 lead into the fourth.
AU responded to the Bears' fourth-quarter touchdown with a three-play, 62-yard scoring drive, highlighted by Edwards' 50-yard completion to Valarie and capped by
MyQuan McWhite's 1-yard touchdown run at 6:33 that made it 42-22 after
Phillip Bonacci's extra point. Earlier, the Trojans moved from the L-R 35 to the 17 before a 34-yard field goal attempt missed, and the Bears followed with an 80-yard touchdown drive to cut the margin to 35-22.
KD Whitt's 32-yard kickoff return helped set up AU's quick answer, and the defense followed by forcing a three-and-out from the L-R 14, with
Bryce Allen breaking up a third-down pass. The Black and Gold then put together a nine-play drive that reached the Bears' 25 before turning it over on downs with 1:06 left, and L-R ran out the remaining time as the Trojans finished off a 42-22 win.
Up next, AU hosts Emory & Henry on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m. in Anderson, S.C.
