Week 1 485 College notes

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Blake Brewer C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week

Junior K Blake Brewer (Concord, N.C./Cannon School) became the first Charlotte 49ers player to earna Conference USA Player of the Week award when he was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after Week 1. Players of the Week are voted on by a panel of the league’s media.

Brewer was 3-of-3 on field goal attempts and added two PAT’s in a perfect kicking perfomance that helped the 49ers defeat Georgia State, 23-20, in their FBS debut. Brewer connected from 45, 35 and 22 yards and kicked what proved to be the game-winner in the three-point win. His 45-yarder was the ninth successful kick from 40 or more yards in his career and he matched his own school record for most field goals made (3) without a miss.

The 49er Point After:

Charlotte 23 at Georgia State 20

Atlanta, Ga.  (Georgia Dome); Sept. 4, 2015

 49: Jamal Covington

Captains: Danny Book; Trent Bostick; Caleb Clayton-Molby; Branden Dozier

Flag carriers:  TL Ford II; Nick Cook; Anthony Covington

Game Ball:  Presented to Haley Ratliff, daughter of Offensive Line coach Phil Ratliff, who died, Aug. 9

 The 49ers first game at the FBS level

The 49ers first game against an FBS opponent

The 49ers first FBS win

 Three players started their 23^rd straight game (every game in 49ers history):

 OL Danny Book;  OL Jamal Covington;  DL Larry Ogunjobi

 Key stat of the game:  3^rd down conversions – CHA 11 of 21; GSU 3 of 15

TL Ford II caught five passes – each one for a first down, twice on 3^rd and long (3^rd & 10; 3^rd & 9) Matt Johnson was 10-of-12 on third down with 7 completions for first downs.  On three of four scoring drives, Johnson completed a 3rd and long for a first down to keep the drive alive.

1. 3^rd & 10 – 19 to TL Ford II during FG drive, 10-0
2. 3^rd & 9 – 9 to TL Ford II during 74-yd TD drive, 20-3
3. 3^rd & 17  – 30 to Kofa in FG drive, 23-6

CB Terrance Winchester returns fumble 43 yards for TD on 4th play from scrimmage:

Terrance Winchester scored the sixth defensive TD in 49ers history and the second fumble return for a TD in school history. 

Winchester tied the school record with two takeaways in a game (FR; INT) and joins Greg Cunningham (2014) and Micah Bryan (2013) as the only 49ers with both a fumble recovery and interception in the same game.

Charlotte is 5-1 in games in which it scores a defensive TD.

Winchester’s TD came just 1:32 into the game.  It was the fourth fastest TD in school history.

1. 00:17 – Matt Johnson – Austin Duke 65 yd TD at NCCU, 2014 (1^st play)
2. 00:30 – Matt Johnson 8 yd TD run at JMU, 2013 (2^nd play)
3. 00:46 – Mark Hogan 32 yd INT return vs. Campbell, 2013 (2^nd play)
4. 1:32 – Terrance Winchester, 43 yd fumble return, 2015 (4^th play)
5. 1:43 – Kalif Phillips, 6 yd TD run vs. Johnson C. Smith, 2014 (6^th play)

Matt Johnson hits Austin Duke for 63-yard TD reception:

Austin Duke’s 63-yard TD catch is his eighth career TD catch of 60 or more yards.

7 of Duke’s last 8 TD catches have been 60 or more yards.

Matt Johnson threw a TD pass for his eighth straight game (7 games before injury, last year).

Johnson and Duke have connected for 8 career TD passes of 60+ yards.

The 63-yard TD pass was the 10^th of Johnson’s career of 50+ yards

The TD drive took 1:21.   The 49ers had 22 TD drives of 1:30 or less, last year. 

Blake Brewer Hits Three Field Goals:

Blake Brewer tied his own school record with three field goals made (45, 35, 22)

His 3-of-3 kicking also ties his record for most FGM without a miss

His 45-yarder is the 9^th FGM of 40+ in his career.

Defense:

LB Nick Cook, who missed all but one game, last year, forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery while leading the 49ers with six tackles (six solo).

S Branden Dozier, last year’s leading tackler, shared the game-high with six tackles (five solo).

Charlotte had 8.0 tackles for loss, led by DL James Middleton (2.0) and LB Caleb Clayton-Molby (1.5)

Defensive linemen James Middleton (2.0), Larry Ogunjobi (1.0) and Devon Johnson (1.0) each had at least one tackle for loss.

Back on Defense: 

The 49ers had several starters who missed some or all of last year but returned as starters in game one to make immediate impacts:

1. CB Terrance Winchester (missed 4 games with injury): FR for TD; INT, 4 tackles
2. LB Nick Cook (missed final 10 games with injury): tm-hi 6 tackles; 1 FF; 1 FR
3. LB Caleb Clayton-Molby (missed final 8 games with injury): 3 tackles, 1.5 TFL
4. DL Devon Johnson (missed all of 2014 rehabbing injury):  2 tackles, 1.0 TFL
5. DB Devin Pearson (missed all of 2014 as red-shirt): 3 tackles, 1 FF

Rushing Balance:

Kalif Phillips had 19 carries (90 yards), Matt Johnson had 17 carries (32 yards) and West Virginia transfer Andrew Buie had 16 carries (56 yards).  Last year, Phillips (229 carries) had 52% of the 49ers rushes.

Turnovers:

The 49ers lost the turnover battle, 5-3 – the second time in 49ers history that they won the game despite losing the turnover battle.  Charlotte beat Wesley, last year despite losing TO battle, 3-2. 

The 5-3 margin is the largest TO deficit that the 49ers have had, yet still won.

The five turnovers are the second most in school history

 Charlotte improved to 10-0 in program history when it leads at the half.

Dating back to last year, the 49ers have won three straight games.

Charlotte ran 86 offensive plays

 NEXT UP:

The 49ers host Presbyterian (FCS) Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12 noon (ASN/WCCB).

Charlotte is 2-0 in their first home games in its first two years

Charlotte is 1-0 vs. Presbyterian.  The 49ers posted their first FBS road win at Presbyterian, 45-21, in 2013. 

The two teams also faced each other when the CCUNC was a two-year institution playing a combination of varsity, JV and B teams from 1946-48. 

Tough opener for Davidson

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Davidson football team fell to The Citadel Bulldogs, 69-0, in their season opener Saturday evening at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

In addition to 602 yards on the ground and eight rushing touchdowns, The Citadel (1-0) held the Wildcats (0-1) to just 104 total yards.

Running back Evan McField recorded a game-high 132 yards off 20 attempts with one touchdown, while Isiaha Smith ran for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead both teams.

Defensively, the Bulldogs held Davidson (0-1) to just 46 yards rushing, while forcing four interceptions.

Linebacker Zack Popovec led both teams with a career-high nine tackles for the Wildcats, while defensive lineman Chris Woods and defensive back Ben Rowell each tallied a personal-best eight tackles.

Catawba falls to #4 West Georgia

SALISBURY, N.C. — NCAA II fourth-ranked West Georgia scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to claim an opening 44-13 win over host Catawba on Saturday afternoon at Shuford Stadium and Kirkland Field.  The Wolves overcame five turnovers in the win, forcing four and holding the Catawba Indians to just 145 total yards.

Quarterback Dallas Dickey was nearly perfect for West Georgia, completing 15-of-17 passes for 204 yards and a pair of scores.  He also ran for a touchdown.  Aares McCall eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground with 107 yards on 11 carries.

Dickey threw both of his touchdown strikes in the third quarter to help the Wolves break away from a 16-13 lead at the half.  His first strike went for 47 yards to Qa Walker and the second went to Shaq Hall for 29 yards to push the margin to 30-13 midway through the period.  West Georgia tacked on two fourth-quarter scores for the final margin.

Cary Littlejohn (Columbus, N.C./Polk Co. HS) produced the lone Catawba touchdown with a five-yard run late in the second quarter to pull the Indians within 16-13.  He finished with 57 yards on the ground.  Bruce Smith (Winston-Salem, N.C./N. Davidson HS) caught three passes for 22 yards.

Kyle Kitchens (Decatur, Ga./Decatur HS) had a big day on defense for Catawba.  He was in on seven tackles with three going for losses, including a sack.  He would force two fumbles and recover one.

Wingate blanks Johnson C. Smith

Charlotte, N.C.—-Wingate University redshirt junior quarterback Kyle Johnson (Hickory, N.C.) passed for a touchdown and rushed for a score, leading the Bulldogs to a 14-0 victory over Johnson C. Smith University Saturday night at the Irwin Belk Complex and Eddie McGirt Field. The contest was the season opener for both teams.

The shutout is Wingate’s fifth during the school’s senior college football history (1986-present). Four of Wingate’s five shutouts have come at the expense of CIAA members. The Bulldogs blanked Saint Augustine’s 30-0 last season (Sept. 13, 2014) and Fayetteville State 19-0 on August 26, 2006. Wingate opened the 2002 season with a 24-0 decision over the JCSU Golden Bulls (August 31).

“We believe this was a good first game for us,” Wingate head coach Joe Reich says. “We saw good things on both sides of the ball. We had some penalty challenges…but we were able to overcome those with big plays on defense and ball control on offense.”

Johnson completed 15-of-20 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown. He rushed six times for 51 yards. The two-year team captain opened the Bulldogs’ scoring with a nine-yard TD run in the first quarter. Johnson’s scoring scamper concluded a 13-play, 80-yard drive. Wingate junior place kicker Caleb Baird (Kinston, N.C.) added the PAT to make the score 7-0 ‘Dogs with 8:27 left in the first frame.

Wingate took the slim margin to the halftime locker room. Johnson and his offensive teammates struck again in the third quarter, putting together an eight-play, 79-yard march to take a two-touchdown margin. Bulldog redshirt junior wide receiver Jody Fuller (Indian Trail, N.C.) did the honors, hauling in a 38-yard TD pass from Johnson. Baird’s extra point concluded the scoring with 5:52 remaining in the third stanza.

The Bulldogs forced three fumbles to win the turnover margin 3-1. In his first game in the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold, redshirt freshman Robert Wallace (Covington, Ga.) had a team-best eight tackles with three tackles for loss (14 yards), 1.5 quarterback sacks (13 yards) and one fumble recovery. Three Wingate defenders had six tackles each.

Wingate senior defensive back Nortavius Otis (Gastonia, N.C.) forced the fumble which led to the Bulldogs’ second score. The JCSU Golden Bulls had second-and-two on the Wingate 23-yard line when Otis made his big play. Robert Wallace recovered and the Bulldog offense went to work.

Reich improves to 13-2 overall in season openers during his 15 Wingate seasons. He believes the Bulldogs are ready to take the next step. “We have some film now, so we can see where we need to improve,” Reich says. “Everyone always says the most improvement comes from game one to game two. We hope this is true.”

“We didn’t execute all the way through the game,” Reich says. “We give much credit to Johnson C. Smith. They have a young freshman QB with a tremendous upside… and they are very well coached. We were fortunate to pick up the victory.”

Wingate sophomore running back Lawrence Pittman (Charlotte, N.C.) made a triumphant return to his hometown, rushing 19 times for 94 yards (both career-highs). The Mallard Creek High School product also caught one pass Saturday night.

Both Fuller and junior wide receiver Jordan Berry (Irmo, S.C.) caught five passes each. Fuller had five catches for 64 yards and one touchdown. Berry recorded five receptions for 39 yards. Wingate redshirt sophomore tight end Jake Jensen (Fayetteville, N.C.) had two catches for 23 yards.

Wingate hits the road again next week, visiting Durham County Memorial Stadium to face Shaw University (6 p.m. kick-off). The WU Bulldogs and SU Bears will meet for the first time in history. Johnson C. Smith is also on the road next Saturday, visiting Kentucky State University.