LINCOLN, PA. – Behind a program record 493 yards rushing, the Chowan Football team ended the season on a high note taking down Lincoln 44-20.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 44, Lincoln 20
RECORDS | Chowan 3-7, Lincoln 0-10
LOCATION | Lincoln, Pa. (Lions Stadium)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Chowan owns the top two CIAA single-game rushing yards record as Deshaun Wethington rushed for 307 yards on 33 carriers and found the endzone three times. Wethington finished his first season with the Hawks as the leading rusher for a single season with 1,382 yards and the top running back in the CIAA.
Tyrell Freeman, the CIAA single-game rushing leader (308), tallied two carriers for 38 yards and found the endzone. Bryce Witt tossed for 103 yards and threw for a touchdown.
Brandon Hughes hauled in three receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Hawks held Lincoln to 267 total yards and forced three turnovers. Antoine Brown led the assault with nine tackles and a fumble recovery. Raydarius Freeman had six tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery. Arthur Radford picked off a pass for eight yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter:
Chowan's opening drive ended as quickly as it started as a pass that deflected off the hands of a Hawks receiver found the waiting arms of a Lions defender.
The Hawk defense would stand tall as the Lions moved their way into the redzone. On 3rd-and-goal from the CU06, a snap over the quarterback's head led to a 19 yard loss, as Raydarius Freeman was there to make the stop. The Lions would go for it on fourth down and Freeman would pick up another sack to give the ball back to Chowan.
CU was able to move the ball on their next possession as Bryce Witt found Brandon Hughes for a 16 yard reception. Adrian McNeil would take the jet sweep for 18 more and Witt connected with Hughes again for 19. Deshaun Wethington would punch it in from 15 yards out to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead.
Chowan would recover the ensuing on-side kick near midfield. The Hawks' drive would stall and force a punt by John Kight, who pinned the Lions at their own 20.
The next drive for the Hawks would show promise as Deshaun Wethington racked up 39 yards on the drive. Back-to-back sack would force a 4th-and-long. Bryce Witt's attempt would be dropped near the pylon and turn the ball over at the LUPA31.
Second Quarter:
Lincoln would put points on the scoreboard as a pass interference aided the drive. The Lions evened the score at 7-all. The Lions would convert their onside kick but would be forced to punt on the drive.
Deshaun Wethington broke off a 34 yard run before Bryce Witt found Brandon Hughes on the throw back for a 41 yard touchdown to take a 14-7 lead.
The Lions were once again aided by a pass interference call. Lincoln tried a screen play but was picked off by Arthur Radford to end the drive.
The Hawks' drive moved down the field on an abundance of running plays by Imeek Watkins, Deshaun Wethington, Brandon Hughes, and Tyrell Freeman. The drive stalled and a pooch punt would be downed at the LUPA 36.
The next couple drives for both teams ended in punts and fumbles as Raydarius Freeman recovered a fumble for the Hawks.
Chowan took a 14-7 lead into the half.
Third Quarter:
After a pair of stalled drives to open the half, Lincoln evened the score at 14-all with a four-play 74 yard drive as three penalties helped the Lions down the field.
The score would not stay even for long as Deshaun Wethington chewed up 41 yards on four carries and found the endzone to lead 21-14.
Lincoln answered the touchdown with one of their own but the PAT would fail to bring the score to 21-20 late in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
Deshaun Wethington broke off a long run of 64 yards but the Lions' heads up play would punch the ball out before the goal line for a touchback.
The drive would go backwards for the Lions as a long run would come back on a penalty. The snap on the punt attempt would sail over the head of the punter and out of the back of the endzone for a safety.
Chowan turned their next drive into points as Demetrius Moore sparked the drive with a 36 yard run. Deshaun Wethington capped off the drive with a 17 yard touchdown run. Jackson Brooks' PAT would be blocked by the nation's leading blocker, Solomon Bassett.
Chowan continued to pour it on as Raydarius Freeman forced a strip sack allowing Antoine Brown to recover the fumble. Tyrell Freeman scampered 30 yards on the next play for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful to take the score to 37-20.
Brandon Hughes scored on a 16 yard touchdown run to finish off the scoring. Chowan would run out the clock on the ground with runs by Sam Brown-White recording 18 yards on the drive.
2019 SEASON
Chowan finished with a 3-7 overall record and a 2-5 record in CIAA play.
