Blue & Gold football earns dominating 42-7 win at SVU

Buena Vista, VA - For anyone who may have questioned how the North Carolina Wesleyan football squad would respond last week's season opening last-second loss to Apprentice, all was answered in the first half of Saturday's 42-7 dominating win at Southern Virginia.  The Blue & Gold jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter and increased their advantage to 35-7 at the half, cruising to their first victory of 2006.  Once again leading the Bishops, junior quarterback Cedric Townsend (pictured) completed 12-of-16 pass attempts for 241 yards and three touchdowns. 

Also turning in solid offensive efforts, freshman wide receiver Orlando Webb caught three passes for 108 yards and one touchdown, while Shelton Leverette added three receptions for 75 yards and two scores.   Andrew Quigley tallied five tackles to pace the Bishops defensively. 

SVU opened the game with a three-and-out possession and punted to the Bishops. The Bishops looked sharp on their first drive, moving 65 yards in six plays in 2:18 and scoring on a nine-yard pass from Townsend to Leverette.

After another Knight punt, Wesleyan took the ball at its own 20-yard line. After a 10-yard pass completion, Townsend hit Webb for a 70-yard score to put the Bishops up 14-0.

In the second quarter, the Bishops added another score after they recovered a fumble on a punt return at the 20-yardline. After two runs and a pass, Bryan Haywood punched it in on a two-yard run.

The Knights got on the board on their next drive when Michael Morriss ran it in from eight yards out. Quarterback Jared King broke for a 16-yard run to get SVU moving and hit Page for a 30-yard completion to set up Morriss’ scoring run.

Wesleyan added two more scores before the half, the first following another Knight miscue on a punt and the other on a 67-yard bomb from Townsend to Leverette.

The third quarter ended in a shutout as both defenses held strong. The Bishops added a score in the fourth to make the score 42-7.

For SVU, Hayes Page had nine rushes for 32 yards and one reception for 30 yards. Tye Hiatt was the leading receiver, catching five passes for 49 yards. Defensively, Matt Frame and Shea Owens each had 10 tackles, including two for losses, to lead the team. Nick Deniz added seven tackles and Cordarryl Talbert had one interception that he returned for 13 yards.

The Bishops remain on the road next weekend when they travel to Emory & Henry for a 1:00 p.m. kick-off, marking the first meeting between Wesleyan head coach Jack Ginn and his alma mater.

Parts of this story are courtesy of SVU Sports Information...