Wesleyan earns 47-28 gridiron victory over Shenandoah

Winchester, VA - Behind 143 receiving yards and two touchdowns by junior wide receiver Orlando Webb, the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan earned a 47-28 gridiron victory over USA South foe Shenandoah University on Saturday night in Winchester, VA. Webb (pictured) put NCWC up 6-0 with a 79-yard TD catch in the first quarter, and the Bishops would never trail en route to their fourth victory in their last five outings. NCWC climbs above the .500 mark for the first time this season at 4-3, and more importantly, moves to 3-1 in league play. The Hornets fall to 2-5 overall, 1-3 in the USA South.

Webb's 79-yard scoring catch was the second longest receiving play in program history and came off the arm of freshman QB Jarret Coffield, marking the first TD pass of the back-up's young career.

Coffield made the toss on the Bishops' fourth play from scrimmage. After starting QB Bo Jordan handed off to his tailback, the ball was pitched to the rookie coming off the left side. Coffield proceeded to deliver a strike to Webb down the middle of the field, who was untouched on his way to the endzone. A botched snap on the ensuing extra point left NCWC up 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bishops scored 13 unanswered points in the second period. Jordan notched the first of his three TD passes with 9:28 remaining in the half when he hit Patrick Williams with a 25-yard completion in the endzone. The touchdown was the first for the junior wideout and gave the Bishops a 12-0 advantage.

Jordan's second TD strike came just 1:08 later when he hit Antonio Harris with a short screen pass that Harris turned into a 30-yard touchdown reception. Wesleyan took its 19-0 lead into the break.

The second half was full of offense as each squad tallied 28 points.  In the third quarter, Shenandoah quarterback Vern Lunsford found wide receiver BJ Smoot for 23-yard and 64-yard touchdowns, and Travis Bishop's two PATs pulled the Hornets to within five at 19-14 with 10:20 remaining in the period.

Shenandoah, however, would get no closer as Wesleyan answered on its next drive with a 58-yard scoring run by freshman tailback Stedman Mathis. Kevin Quicker's PAT extended the Bishops' lead to 26-14 entering the final stanza.

In the fourth, the Bishops out-scored the Hornets 21-14. The two squads alternated touchdowns throughout the period, beginning with a one-yard TD rush by NCWC freshman Tyreck McFadden that was countered by a 26-yard scoring strike from Lunsford to Rico Wallace.

Mathis followed suit with his second rushing TD, a 15-yard scamper with 12:51 remaining that was answered by a six-yard run by Smoot. After Wesleyan successfully recovered the Hornets' on-side kick attempt, however, Webb's 19-yard TD reception ended any thoughts of an SU comeback.

For the second straight week, Wesleyan's offense tallied over 500 yards of offense. Jordan finished 16-of-29 for 215 yards and three TDs, while Mathis racked up 158 yards on the ground. Defensively, senior Quinderra Spellman continued to impress onlookers with a game-high 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks, and Carlos Railey and Reshard Patterson each recorded interceptions.

SU's Lunsford finished 15-of-31 for 198 yards, three TDs, and two picks. Kevin Roberts picked up 66 rushing yards, and Smoot had 115 receiving yards. Joe Lunsford paced the Hornets on defense with a team-high nine takedowns.

Wesleyan returns to action at home next Saturday when Christopher Newport visits the Northern Nash Football Complex on "Take a Kid to the Game" day. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m.