Memphis - It was a toasty afternoon at Crain Field as the Rhodes College Lynx took down conference rival Birmingham-Southern College Saturday to improve to 2-2 on the year and 1-2 in conference. The win give the Lynx the edge in the all-time series (6-5).
Rhodes' offense got off to a slow start when BSC recorded three field goals to lead 9-0 with eight minutes left in the second quarter. After Monroe McKay rushed for a five-yard touchdown, kicker Kyle Edmiston would convert on the next two plays. After a good extra-point attempt, the senior squeezed the football on the kickoff straight up the middle and came up with the ball himself, completely turning all momentum Rhodes' way. The Lynx went on to score 35 straight points to secure their first SAA victory of the year.
Rhodes scored on that same drive when quarterback PJ Settles threw to junior Josh Lucas for a 32-yard touchdown. It only took three plays for the Lynx to go 47 yards down the field and take the 14-9 lead.
BSC's field goal attempt from 40 yards out hit the left post and came back into the field of play, turning possession over to Rhodes with 54 seconds left in the first half. Rhodes completed six plays before Edmiston tried for the 52-yard field goal to end the half. The kick missed just wide right.
After Rhodes received the ball to start the third quarter, the Lynx were forced to punt the ball. BSC's drive was cut short when Alden Seger intercepted the Panther pass and ran back for 19 yards to give Rhodes the ball on their own 44 yard line. Settles finished the drive with yet another Rhodes touchdown when he rushed for nine yards to give the home team a 21-9 advantage.
Hunter Kountz was given the ball during the fifth play of BSC's next drive. He would try to rush for four straight handoffs but Trent Holt and Tony Heywood tackled him for losses, on third down and one and fourth down and two.
On the day, Rhodes' defense came in clutch with Zac Stuart and D'On Coofer leading with seven tackles apiece. "Our defense really showed up to play today," said head coach Jim Ryan. "Despite being put in some tough positions they were able to keep the game in reach until our offense could get going. I was also very proud of the play of our special teams units. They were able to get a key turnover and really neutralized Birmingham-Southern's return game for most of the day."
Monroe McKay caught a 41-yard pass and crossed the endzone for a touchdown as time expired to end the third quarter and give Rhodes a 28-9 lead. BSC turned the ball over on their opening drive after 10 plays and a missed field goal. The 39-yard attempt was just short.
Micah Battle forced a BSC fumble and recovered the ball to give Rhodes possession on BSC's 18 yard line. Settles rushed five yards for his second touchdown of the day to finish the day's scoring with 6:05 left to play.
Settles threw for 304 yards with Josh Lucas as his top receiver. The Lynx totaled 473 yards on the day and held BSC to 342. Lucas tallied 179 receiving yards while Micah Battle ran back four kickoffs totaling 74 yards including a 22-yard return.
The Lynx defense tallied two sacks for 15 yards against BSC. Coofer, a sophomore, notched one for a nine-yard loss in the fourth quarter. Senior Bron McPherson's sack for a six-yard loss.
Rhodes is at home next weekend, Sept. 30th when they host Millsaps College for bragging rights at 1 p.m.
Rhodes Football scores 35 straight points to defeat Birmingham-Southern
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20170923_gzrq.xml
2017
Birmingham-Southern
9
Rhodes
35
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham-Southern (1-2) | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Rhodes (2-2) | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
Sep 23, 2017