Mars Hill 14, Saint Augustine's 7

MARS HILL, NC ­ Saint Augustine’s College played Mars Hill College close but mistakes cost the Falcons in a 14-7 loss Saturday at Meares Stadium.

The loss hurt because the contest against the South Atlantic Conference opponent was designated as a CIAA football game for the Falcons, losers of two straight to SAC teams. The Falcons fell to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the CIAA while Mars Hill improved to 3-1 overall.

Down 14-7 in the fourth quarter, the Falcons threatened when they drove to the Lions’ 19-yard line but a bad snap, a delay of game penalty and quarterback sack pushed them out of field goal range. A punt backed Mars Hill on its own 10-yard line but a personal foul penalty on the Falcons kept the drive alive and helped Mars Hill run off precious time. By the time the Falcons regained possession, only 30 seconds were left in the game.

“We are playing good enough to win but we are not winning,” said Falcons’ head coach Michael Costa. “It’s the little things.” Despite the mistakes, the Falcons almost pulled off a win like they did last year at Mars Hill. On Saturday, the Falcons led 7-0 in the first quarter on Travoris Carter’s (Anderson, SC) 62-yard touchdown run and Carlos Peoples’ (Bear Creek, NC) extra point. The touchdown, off a draw play against a blitzing Mars Hill defense, was the season’s longest running play for the Falcons.

The lead held until the first play of the second quarter when Brandon Sims found Jarvis Mathis on a screen pass and the Lions’ tight end ran untouched 20 yards for a touchdown. Chase Harris kicked the extra point to even the score at 7-7.

In the third quarter, Chris Cromer faked a punt and ran 17 yards for a Mars Hill first down. The fake punt set up Trandon Dendy’s 2-yard touchdown run which put the Lions ahead 14-7.

The loss spoiled a tremendous effort by the Falcons’ defense which collected 6 sacks and forced 3 turnovers. Middle linebacker Kevin Jones (South Hill, Va.), the nation’s leading Division II tackler, had a game-high 13 tackles and defensive back Curtonio Marshall (Belle Glade, Fla.) added 11 tackles and 1 interception. Outside linebacker Kente Blount had eight tackles and two sacks.

Offensively, Carter rushed for 75 yards on four carries and wide receiver Tim Riley caught 4 passes for 73 yards.

Next week, the Falcons will try to snap their two-game losing streak against CIAA foe Elizabeth City State at home. Game time is 1:30 p.m. at Broughton High School.

“We’ve got to bounce back,” Costa said.