Lenoir-Rhyne Football Overview The Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team rides Lenoir-Rhyne a three-game winning streak into a battle 2018 Schedule with Tusculum in South Atlantic Confer- (3-1, 1-0 SAC) ence play. Both teams enter the game Aug. 30 at #12 West Alabama L, 32-36 unbeaten in league play. Sept. 8 at North Greenville W, 51-24 Today’s matchup is a classic battle of Sept. 13 MARS HILL# W, 59-27 strength vs. strength. LR enters as the No. Sept. 22 at Wingate# W, 31-24 2 offense in the league, averaging 448. Sept. 29 TUSCULUM# 6 p.m. Oct. 6 at Newberry# 4 p.m. yards per game. Meanwhile, the Pioneers Oct. 13 ^LIMESTONE# 2 p.m. defense leads the SAC in yardage, per- Oct. 20 at Fort Valley State 2 p.m. Game No. 5 mitting opponents just 246.3 yards per Oct. 27 UNC PEMBROKE 2 p.m. contest. Also, the Bear offense averages Nov. 3 at Carson-Newman# 1 p.m. Lenoir-Rhyne Nov. 10 CATAWBA# 2 p.m. 44.3 points per game, while the Pioneer (3-1, 2-0 SAC) defense allows just 12.3 points. # = South Atlantic Conference Game ^ = Homecoming vs A season ago, LR beat Tusculum 23-7 to Tusculum take control of the all-time series. LR has Tusculum (2-1, 1-0 SAC) won 11 of the head-to-head matchups, 2018 Schedule while the Pioneers have won 10 times. (2-1, 1-0 SAC) Date Tusculum’s most recent game was Aug. 30 NORTH GREENVILLE L, 13-3 Saturday, September 29, 2018 postponed as UNC Pembroke was still Sept. 8 at Shorter W, 61-14 battling the remnants of Hurricane Flor- Sept. 14 LIMESTONE# W, 37-10 Time ence. Sept. 22 UNC PEMBROKE PPD 6:00 p.m. Sept. 29 at Lenoir-Rhyne# 6 p.m. Location Oct. 6 at Mars Hill# 1:30 p.m. Hickory, N.C. Oct. 13 NEWBERRY# 3 p.m. Oct. 20 at Catawba# 1:30 p.m. Stadium Bear Facts Oct. 27 CARSON-NEWMAN# 1:30 p.m. Moretz Stadium Nov. 3 at VMI 1:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at Wingate# 3 p.m. Series • The Bears garnered one vote for the Lenoir-Rhyne leads, 11-10 Top 25 for Division II. # = South Atlantic Conference Game • Lenoir-Rhyne ranks 10th in the na- Last Meeting Lenoir-Rhyne 23, Tusculum 7 tion in scoring, averaging 43,3 points (Sept. 30, 2017 - Greenville, Tenn.) per game and rank 22nd in the nation with 220.5 rushing yards per game. National Rankings The Coaches • Wingate was a perfect 6-0 under n/a the lights at Irwin Belk Stadium before Lenoir-Rhyne Live Streaming the Bears ended that streak last Head Coach: Drew Cronic lrbears.com weekend. It was LR’s first victory over Alma Mater: Georgia, 1998 Radio Wingate since 2014. Record at Lenoir-Rhyne: 3-1 (first year) The 2018 Lenoir-Rhyne Football Broadcast • The Bears three-game winning Overall Record: 25-4 (third year) Team includes JuJu Phillips (“Voice Of The streak is the longest since 2015. Bears”) and Bears Sports Hall Of Famer Jack Huss (color analyst). Tusculum Head Coach: Jerry Odom Alma Mater: Florida, 1991 Record at Wingate: 11-13 (3rd year) Overall Record: 11-13 (17th year) lrbears.com • @BearsSports #GOBEARS Game Sponsor Lenoir-Rhyne Football Lenoir-Rhyne’s Last Game Drew Cronic (Sept. 22, 2018) Head Football Coach WINGATE N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Football Lenoir-Rhyne University Team (3-1, 2-0 SAC) proved they are a force to be reckoned with as they went into Wingate (2-2, 0-2 SAC) and came away with Hired on December 7, 2017, Drew Year. In 2016, Reinhardt produced 14 a 31-24 victory. The Bulldogs were picked to Cronic became the 22nd Head Football all-league picks and 24 academic all- finish second in the SAC Preseason Coaches Coach in Lenoir-Rhyne University conference honoree (both Mid-South Goldsmith’s Year-By-Year Poll, while the Bears were picked sixth. history. Conference highs). However, it’s Lenoir-Rhyne who stands atop Overall SAC the conference standings. Year Record Record Cronic’s squads also excelled in the Cronic2007 was the Offensive0-0 Coordinator0-0 classroom as his team posted a 3.11 INSIDE THE MATCHUP: at Furman University this past fall, Totals 0-0 0-0 grade point average while 18 student- Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 31, Wingate 24 leading the Paladins to an 8-5 record – athletes carried perfect 4.0 grade point Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (3-1, 2-0 SAC), Wing- 6-2 in the Southern Conference – and averages. ate (2-2, 0-2 SAC) a second-place finish in the league Location: Irwin Belk Stadium | Wingate, N.C. standings. The Paladins were ranked Cronic’s first stint at Furman lasted Get Social: Twitter - @BearsSports | Insta- as high as No. 22 in the nation and nine years (2002-10) where he worked gram - @BearsSports | Facebook - /LRbears advanced to the second round of the under Bobby Lamb and served in playoffs. Cronic spearheaded an of- several coaching roles including wide STATS OF THE GAME: fense which averaged 34 points a game • The Bears jumped out to a 31-7 lead in receivers, running backs, tight ends and the beginning of the third quarter but the and coached the All-SoCon Second recruiting coordinator. Team Quarterback in P.J. Blazeowski. Bulldogs clawed their way back. In a seven- minute span, the Bulldogs scored three His first tenure with the Paladins Before his second stint with Furman, touchdowns to narrow the deficit to 31-24. included a 10-3 campaign and a SoCon However, the LR defense would tighten and Cronic coached at Reinhardt (Ga.) Title in 2004 and an 11-3 season in University for five years (2012-16) and keep Wingate off the scoreboard for the final 2005 which ended with a trip to the 16:47 of regulation. was instrumental in the startup of the national semifinals. • Grayson Willingham continued his out- program in November of 2011. For standing play, going 12-for-22 for a pair of the first three seasons, Cronic served In 1999, Cronic began his coaching touchdowns and 239 yards. Willingham con- as Assistant Head Coach, Offensive career after graduate school with James tinues to lead the SAC in efficiency, posting Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach and Madison where he served three seasons a 174.0 rating and also leads the league with Recruiting Coordinator for the Eagles as receivers coach and assistant recruit- 11 touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore has before being named the head coaching ing coordinator. The Dukes won the gone back-to-back games without throwing prior to the 2015 campaign. Atlantic 10 Championship in his first an interception. year with the Dukes (1999) and earned • Jaquay Mitchell was one of the biggest In his first season, Cronic directed a bid to the NCAA Division I-AA weapons on offense, accounting for 58 Reinhardt to a 9-2 season before a yards on the ground (on just eight carries) Playoffs. and reeling in three balls for 87 yards and a record-breaking in 2016. The Eagles went 13-1, won the Mid-South Confer- touchdown in the air. Cronic, a native of Sharpsburg, Ga., • Eric Jackson finished with a pair of inter- ence Championship and advanced to played quarterback for his father – the NAIA National Quarterfinals. Re- ceptions and racked up 61 return yards on Danny Cronic – at East Coweta High those two picks. Amari Houston produced inhardt averaged 51.1 points per contest School before playing collegiately and totaled 550.6 yards of offense per a pair of sacks and linebacker Clayton Horn at the University of Georgia. As a had 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks on the night. game, ranking first in the nation in Bulldog, Cronic played wide receiver both categories. and was a member of the special teams. BEYOND THE BOXSCORE: Cronic lettered twice and participated • The biggest play of the game came mid- Reinhardt also led the nation in rush- in the 1995 Peach Bowl and 1997 Out- way through the fourth quarter when a tired ing offense (360.0 ypg) and rushing back Bowl. LR defense came up with a huge goal-line touchdowns (71) while having the na- stand. Facing a fourth and inches, Wingate tion’s second-highest passing efficiency Cronic received his bachelor’s degree in dialed up a quarterback sneak but a great in- (178.0) to go along with 25 touchdown mathematics education from Georgia terior push at the line of scrimmage stopped passes. In addition, the Eagles’ defense in 1998 before serving as a graduate as- Wingate QB Shaw Crocker for no gain and finished second in the nation in points sistant (wide receivers) at West Georgia proved to be the game winner. allowed (13.8 ppg) and sacks (46) and where he earned his master’s degree in • Wingate entered tonight’s game with a fifth in total defense at 283.5 yards per perfect 6-0 record under the lights at Irwin educational leadership in 1999. Belk Stadium before the Bears handed them contest. their first loss. Cronic and his wife, Amelia, are the • The Bears have won three straight games As Reinhardt’s mentor, Cronic was proud parents of three sons: Noah, named the Mid-South Conference West for the first time since 2015. Elijah and Isaiah. • This marks the first time LR has defeated Division Coach of the Year twice and the AFCA NAIA Region I Coach of the Wingate since 2014.