PEMBROKE — The University of North Carolina at Pembroke defense was far from perfect Saturday — they allowed 555 total yards and 380 through the air to Mars Hill.
But in a tight fourth quarter, the defense bent but did not break, as Mars Hill put together two long drives before both ended in pivotal defensive plays by the Braves, propelling the team to a 36-29 homecoming win.
“They came up big when we needed it,” UNCP coach Shane Richardson said. “There’s a lot of things we need to look at and get better. I was very frustrated with them in the first half, but I was really proud of them in the fourth quarter, too.”
The defense got gradually better throughout the game — they gave up two touchdowns in the first quarter, a touchdown and field goal in the second, and a single touchdown in the third — before coming through in the clutch in a close final quarter.
The first key play when Shawn Everett intercepted Lions quarterback Collin Sneed as Mars Hill was driving in the red zone with 5:54 left. That pick set up a drive in which Josh Sheridan scored on a 2-yard run to give the Braves the lead for good with 2:55 to go.
The second came on the game’s final play, after Mars Hill had driven to the Braves’ 11-yard line, when redshirt-freshman Tyreke King sacked Sneed to seal the victory.
“It was crazy out there; I can’t explain it,” King said. “I just tried to work a move, and it worked.”
“Tyreke is a guy that works hard,” Richardson said. “He’s focused and a guy that really takes it serious. I’m really happy he was able to do that.”
Sheridan’s go-ahead touchdown was his second of the game, as he rushed for 82 yards on 14 carries for the Braves.
“The players and the coaches, they were all saying we need to score (on the last drive), so no matter what I needed to get in the end zone,” Sheridan said. “The pressure was on and I needed to help my team out.”
Braves quarterback Josh Jones was 23-for-29 passing for 253 yards with three touchdowns. Quay Threatt caught seven passes for 81 yards and Marcus McDonald had three receptions for 88 yards with a touchdown.
Sneed completed 21 of 39 passes for the Lions for 380 yards with three touchdowns and the late interception. Craig Rucker caught eight passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns ad Javon Hurbison had four catches for 81 yards.
The game began at a frenetic scoring pace, with each team scoring quickly on its opening drive. The Braves needed just two plays to score as Jones, on a flea flicker play, found McDonald for a 64-yard touchdown. The Lions answered in five plays, scoring on a 51-yard pass from Sneed to Gilbert Johnson, making it 7-7 less than three minutes in.
From that point, the scoring pace slowed to that of a more normal game, with each team scoring one touchdown over the duration of the quarter. Sheridan scored his first touchdown on a 14-yard run for UNCP with 4:34 left in the period, then Sneed ran for a 1-yard touchdown for Mars Hill. The PAT was blocked, making it a 14-13 game after the opening stanza.
Rucker caught a 26-yard pass from Sneed for a touchdown with 7:39 left in the half, putting Mars Hill up 19-14 (the two-point try failed). UNCP retook the lead with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Tyshawn Carter, with Jones finding McDonald on the two-point conversion for a 22-19 lead with 9 seconds left in the half.
After the kickoff and one pass play, a Braves penalty moved the Lions into field goal range at the end of the half. Steven Sanchez was successful on a 33-yard attempt, tying the game at 22-22 at the break.
Each side scored a touchdown in the third quarter, starting with UNCP. Trey Dixon caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jones for a 29-22 lead, then shortly after Rucker caught a 50-yard pass from Sneed to tie the game at 29-29 going to the fourth.
