HICKORY, N.C. – Sean White completed 25-of-31 passes for 398 yards and five touchdowns to lead Lenoir-Rhyne (11-1) to a 63-17 win over Shepherd (9-3) in first-round action of the 2023 NCAA II Football Championship at Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday.
Lenoir-Rhyne took a 7-0 lead when White scored on a six-yard run with 7:57 left in the first quarter.
Shepherd tied the game at 7-7 when redshirt junior running back Malakai Brown (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) scored on a two-yard plunge with 4:20 left in the first quarter. Sophomore kicker James Bozek (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield) added the extra point.
Lenoir-Rhyne answered back on a 53-yard scoring pass from White to Yates Songa with 3:11 left in the quarter to take a 14-7 lead.
Zayvion Turner-Knox scored on a three-yard run off a direct snap with one second left in the quarter to up the Lenoir-Rhyne lead to 21-7.
Bozek connected on a 20-yard field goal with 11:29 left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 21-10.
White fired a 65-yard scoring strike to Kelin Parsons with 10:52 left in the second quarter to increase the lead to 28-10.
Junior quarterback Seth Morgan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon/VMI) scrambled to his right and fired a 39-yard scoring strike with junior wide receiver Barry Hill (Highland Springs, Va./Varina/West Virginia State) with 5:40 left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 28-17.
White fired his third touchdown pass of the half on a 31-yard toss to Songa with 1:19 left in the half to give the Bears a 35-17 advantage at the break.
The Bears scored three unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 56-17 advantage.
Lenoir-Rhyne got a one-yard sneak by White with 11:22 left, a 40-yard scoring pass from White to DeAree Rogers with 7:06 left, and White combined with Deondre Lester on a 16-yard score as time expired in the quarter.
The Bears added a fourth-quarter score when Rogers scored on a 14-yard pass from Jalen Ferguson with 9:25 left.
Shepherd had 303 yards of total offense, while Lenoir-Rhyne totaled 617.
Morgan connected on 13-of-28 passes for 209 yards for the Rams.
Brown had 14 carries for 74 yards to lead the Rams. McGee had 16 carries for 96 yards to pace Lenoir-Rhyne.
Hill had three catches for 100 yards to lead Shepherd. Junior wide receiver Jeremiah Taylor (Upper Marlboro, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School/Fairmont State) added five grabs for 73 yards. Yates had six catches for 141 yards to pace the Bears.
Junior linebacker Harold O'Neal (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) recorded a game-high 12 tackles (eight solos) to lead the Rams. Jon Ross Maye had seven tackles and an interception to lead Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Bears advance to face top-seeded Benedict next Saturday at a yet-to-be-determined time.
