In another dominant showing, the No. 14/15 Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team thumped UVA Wise 56-3 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Moretz Stadium. The Bears scored the first 49 points of the contest to improve to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in league play.

It was all LR from the get go as the Bears took the first possession and marched down the field in six plays before Jalen Ferguson connected with Malik Simmons on a 23-yard strike. Dwayne McGee would break through with a 52-yard touchdown run just 2:23 later to make it 14-0. With 1:39 left in the first quarter, Zayvion Turner-Knox scampered 17 yards to complete a 7-play, 88-yard touchdown drive to put the Bears up three touchdowns.

Hickory High grad Malakei Sumner caught a 20-yard touchdown and McGee broke loose for a 44-yard touchdown to push the lead to 35-0. Turner-Knox would close the first half with a 7-yard TD burst as it was 42-0 Bears at the break. McGee found the end zone for a third time with a 1-yard plunge to give LR a seven touchdown advantage.

The only score of the contest for UVA Wise came off the right foot of Kellan Dalton who booted a 42-yard field goal with 5:27 left in the third quarter to pull Wise within 46 and 49-3. On the ensuing possession, Dominique Marshall took a slant 56 yards to the house to close the scoring.

McGee finished the game with 201 yards rushing on 17 carries and three touchdowns and Turner-Knox had five carries for 48 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In his second career start and first between the bricks, Ferguson went 13-for-18 for 234 yards and three passing touchdowns. He added three carries for 30 yards. DeAree Rogers had his first career 100-yard receiving game with six grabs for 105 yards. As a team, the Bears ran for 327 yards on 37 carries and held UVA Wise to just 27 yards on 36 carries.
• LR outgained UVA Wise 563-203 and held the Cavaliers to 1-of-14 on third down conversions.

The Bears are 5-0 for the third time since 2014. LR improves to 52-12 when playing as a ranked team and 24-6 at home as a ranked squad. In home games this year, the Bears have outscored opponents 163-10. The Bears haven’t allowed more than 10 points in a game all season and came in as the second lowest scoring defense in the nation, allowing just 6.0 points per game. This is the third straight game where LR scored a touchdown on their opening drive. The Bears haven’t committed a single turnover in four of their five games this year.

LR will hit the road for a battle with Limestone next Saturday at noon.