Davidson College
Lenoir-Rhyne
Football Opens Two-Game Road Swing at Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday
9/10/2010 10:14:15 AM | Football
Davidson Wildcats (0-1) vs. Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (1-1)
Sept. 11, 2010 - Hickory, N.C.
Moretz Stadium (8,500) - 7 p.m. - Natural Grass
Today's Game
• Davidson opens a two-game road swing by traveling to Lenoir-Rhyne for a 7 p.m. contest Saturday.
• The Wildcats are 3-8 in their last 11 road games, dating back to 2008. One of the victories was the last time Davidson played at Lenoir-Rhyne, a 20-16 win two years ago.
• Davidson is coming off a 20-10 setback to Georgetown in the season opener at home last Saturday.
• The Wildcats return 45 lettermen and 15 starters from the 2009 squad.
• Lenoir-Rhyne has 58 lettermen and 17 starters back from last season's 5-6 team.
• Davidson was picked seventh in the Pioneer Football League, while Lenoir-Rhyne was picked sixth in the South Atlantic Conference in their respective preseason coaches poll. The Bears did garner a first-place vote.
• This is the Bears' third straight game at home. They opened the season against Chowan Aug. 28, and recorded a 59-10 victory but fell 20-17 to Concord last week.
Series Record
• The Wildcats trail the series, which began in 1910, 8-7 but have won three of the last four games.
• Andrew Courman led Lenoir-Rhyne with 140 rushing yards, and the Bears ran for 370 as a team to post a 42-0 win in last year's meeting in Richardson Stadium. LRU averaged 7.3 yards a carry for the afternoon.
• The Wildcats committed five turnovers in the game, and the Bears took advantage, scoring 21 points off of the miscues. One fumble was returned for a touchdown, and Lenoir-Rhyne also blocked a punt, which led to another touchdown.
• Kenny Mantuo led the Wildcats with 83 yards on 13 carries, and Michael Blanchard threw for 190 yards. Andrew Aldrich finished the day with 70 yards on four receptions, and Jonathan Adams had three catches for 48 yards.
• Prior to that game, the last four games were decided by an average of 5.5 points. That stretch included a one-point Wildcat win in 2007 and a 20-16 Davidson victory at LRU in 2008.
• Justin Williams scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-goal with 18 seconds left in that contest.
• Ben Behrendt hit the point after, and Peter Bakke intercepted a pass at the Davidson 18-yard line on the first play after the kickoff to seal the victory.
• The Bears won five straight against Davidson from 1974 to 2005.
Scouting the Bears
• Lenoir-Rhyne is averaging 487 yards and 38 points a game. The Bears rush for a whopping 416 yards a contest. Eight of LRU's 10 touchdowns have come via the ground game.
• Major Herron leads the team in rushing with 171 yards, and three other Bears have already run for over 100 yards this season.
• Herron has also completed 13-of-22 passes for 94 yards, and Nick Stutts has eight catches for 74 yards.
• The Bears are giving up 308 yards a contest and have 16 tackles for loss, seven sacks and five interceptions.
• Marcus Shufford, Demetrius Green and Jamont Jones all lead the team with 16 tackles.
Claw Marks
• During head coach Tripp Merritt's tenure, the Wildcats are 16-5 when winning the turnover battle.
• Senior running back Kenny Mantuo needs 72 yards to move into the top-10 on the Davidson career rushing list.
• Senior Justin Williams needs 85 punt return yards to become the school's all-time leader. Already Davidson's record holder in kick return yards, Williams needs 1,527 all-purpose yards to break the school's career mark in that category.
• Davidson has now lost eight of its last nine season openers and are 7-3 in its last 10 home openers.
