By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
Brad Roach, the South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, threw for a school-record five touchdown passes to lead his Catawba Indians to a 66-35 win over Albany State in Saturday’s first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The former Williamston High School star was 18-of-34 for 340 yards to go with the five scores and two interceptions.
Roach had scoring tosses of 19 and 6 yards in the first quarter, 14 yards in the second quarter, 63 yards in the third quarter and 31 yards in the fourth quarter. The last touchdown pass broke his own record of TD tosses in a game, which he had shared.
For the season, Roach is 205-of-344 (59.6 percent) for 3,044 yards. He’s thrown 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
The yardage and touchdown totals are both school records.
On the ground, Roach has rushed for 91 yards and three scores on 32 carries.
Roach is close to two other passing records, completion percentage (60.7 percent) and completions in a season (211), both held by Luke Samples.
In his career, Roach has completed 589-of-1,067 passes (55.2 percent) for 7,596 yards. He’s thrown 59 touchdown passes and 47 interceptions.
The Catawba senior co-captain also has 138 rushing yards and six scores.
The Indians (11-1), a No. 4 seed, will play at top-seeded Valdosta State (9-1) next Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon.
The winner will face the survivor between North Alabama (9-1) and Delta State (10-1) in the Dec. 1 quarterfinals. The semifinals will be held Dec. 8 and the championship game Dec. 15 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala.
HAYWOOD SCORES 3 TD’S IN UPSET
Bryan Haywood scored three touchdowns to lead the N.C. Wesleyan Bishops to their first-ever playoff victory Saturday, a stunning 35-34 overtime upset of top-seed and previously undefeated Washington &Jefferson in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
The Bishops (9-2), a No. 8 seed, went on the road and knocked off the No. 1 seed Presidents (10-1). It was the ninth straight victory for Wesleyan.
Haywood returned a kickoff 87 yards for one touchdown, while also finding the end zone on rushes of 3 and 1 yards.
The former Southside High School standout, voted to the USA South All-Conference Second Team at running back, finished with 142 return yards on three kickoffs (47.3 average). Haywood also had 21 yards rushing and the two scores on six carries, along with three receptions for 39 yards.
His 1-yard plunge early in the second quarter tied the game at 7-7 and his 87-yard kickoff return with 30 seconds remaining in the first half helped to give the Bishops a 14-13 lead. Haywood’s 3-yard touchdown early in the fourth knotted the game at 28-28, which helped force overtime.
Former Southside star Davelle Whitney and former Washington standout Nigel Rodgers are celebrated Wesleyan’s historic victory. Whitney had four tackles, including two tackles for loss. He was credited with half a sack.
For the year, Haywood has 12 touchdowns. He has 99 carries for 790 yards rushing (8.0 average) and 10 touchdowns, 13 receptions for 142 yards and a score, and 16 kickoff returns for 407 yards (25.4 average) and another score. Haywood’s 1,339 all-purpose yards leads the Bishops.
Whitney, a former teammate of Haywood’s at Southside, has a total of 31.5 tackles, two interceptions and 1.5 sacks on the year.
Rodgers, a former standout at Washington High School, has 10 tackles and one fumble recovery this season.
The Bishops will play in Texas at Mary Hardin-Baylor (10-1), a 52-23 winner over Trinity, Texas, next Saturday in the second round.
The Wesleyan-Mary Hardin-Baylor winner will face the survivor between Wesley (10-1) and Muhlenberg (11-0) in the quarterfinals on Dec. 1. The semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 8 and the Amos Alonzo Stag Bowl will be held Dec. 15 at Salem Stadium in Salem, Va.
GODDARD MAKES 4 STOPS
Trimane Goddard, a starting safety for the North Carolina Tar Heels, had four tackles and a forced fumble in Saturday’s 27-25 loss to Georgia Tech.
For the season, Goddard, a safety and former standout at Roanoke High School, has 58 tackles, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and one sack.
Jock Moore, a fullback and former standout at Washington High School, has not compiled any stats to date.
The Heels (3-8, 2-5 ACC) close out the season next Saturday at home in a 3:30 p.m. game against Duke.
CLEMMONS IN ACTION
Jamaine Clemmons, a defensive lineman for the N.C. State Wolfpack, didn’t record any stats in Saturday’s 38-18 loss to Wake Forest.
Clemmons, a former standout at Williamston High School, has three tackles and one quarterback pressure this season.
The Wolfpack (5-6, 3-4 ACC) plays host to Maryland in a noon game next Saturday to close out the regular season.
WILSON HAS OFF DAY
C.J. Wilson, a defensive end for the East Carolina Pirates, had the weekend off.
For the season, Wilson, a former standout at Northside High School, has 34 tackles. Wilson has six sacks for 42 yards in loss, 11 quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one blocked field goal and one blocked PAT.
The Pirates (6-5, 5-2 C-USA) close out the regular season next Saturday in a 1 p.m. home game against Tulane.
VALENTI RUNS AT NATIONALS
Gina Valenti placed 172nd overall and the Lees-McRae Bobcats placed 23rd out of 24 teams in Saturday’s NCAA Division II national cross country championships in Missouri.
Valenti, a former standout at Washington High School, was the fourth runner to cross for the Bobcats.
The sophomore finished in 24 minutes, 48.7 seconds.
Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific was the individual champion among the 189 runners, finishing in 20:29.1.
Adams State won the team championship with 63 points, 115 points better than runner-up Seattle Pacific.