Catawba 20, Winston-Salem State 10

August 27, 2005

Winston-Salem, NC – Catawba College’s 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter would prove to be the Rams’ undoing on Saturday evening at Bowman-Gray Stadium as WSSU fell in defeat to the visiting Indians by the score of 20-10 to drop the 2005 football season opener.

The first half of play would not be as anyone would have expected as the two very powerful offensive teams combined for only 199 yards of total offense. The Rams tallied 91 yards on 24 total plays while the Indians tallied just a shade more yardage, amassing 108 yards on 30 plays.

Despite losing the yardage battle, it would be the Rams who would hold the halftime lead as they clung to a narrow 3-0 advantage heading into the locker room at halftime.

The first half’s lone score would come courtesy of the foot of junior placekicker Matt Hind (Clemmons, NC). Following a stalled offensive drive, Hind, still suffering the ill-effects of a recent motorcycle accident that required skin grafts, split the uprights with a 39-yard kick that gave the Rams a 3-0 lead with 8:47 remaining in the first half.

First-half highlights would see Catawba’s All-American wide-receiver Corey Ready (Aiken, SC) record four first-half catches for 50 yards as the Indians recorded 93 of their 108 total first-half yards via the passing attack.

The Rams would see senior running-back Martin Hicks (Oxford, NC) record a first-half high of 43 yards on seven attempts as he carried the WSSU offensive load.

The second half of play was the mirror opposite of the first as the two teams looked markedly different than they did during the first 30 minutes of play as the two offenses awoke, combining for 27 total points in the second half.

The Rams would strike first as Jed Bines would tally the first WSSU touchdown of the 2005 season as he recorded a one-yard TD run capping off an 11-play 75-yard drive that took 5:12 off the play clock.

However, the celebration would be short-lived as the Rams gave up 20 unanswered points as the Indians recorded a pair of touchdowns and a pair of field goals in the game’s final quarter to pull out the 20-10 win.

The first of the Indian’s touchdowns would come courtesy of tailback Mario Crowe (Charlotte, NC) who scampered five yards into the endzone to tie the game at 10-10.

Little more than two minutes later, tailback Kory Fisher (New Bern, NC) would record his own five-yard run for a score as the Indians would go up for good at 17-10.

A late-game field goal would ice the contest as the Indians improved to 1-0 on the season with the win.

Monte Purvis’ first game as the Rams’ starting quarterback would prove to be inauspicious at best as he finished the contest with 60 passing yards as he completed six of his 11 pass attempts. Despite his mediocre passing attack, he helped to pace the WSSU rushing attack as he recorded two 20-plus yard rushes in the contest.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 0-1 on the season while Catawba improves to 1-0. The Rams fall to 0-3 all-time versus the Indians with the loss.

The Rams return to action on Saturday, September 3rd, 2005 as they travel to Washington, DC to face the Bison of Howard University. The Bison, a MEAC member, and NCAA Division I-AA opponent will host WSSU at 1:00 pm. Catawba College returns to the gridiron next Saturday as they host CIAA-member Livingstone College.