EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry University Football Team (2-0, 1-0 SAC) stayed perfect to begin the 2025 season as the Wasps dominated visiting South Atlantic Conference opponent Catawba College (1-1, 0-1 SAC) inside Fred Selfe Stadium Saturday afternoon. E&H established a 14-7 halftime lead and poured it on in the second half as the Wasps' defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way for the 35-7 victory.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 35, Catawba 7
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Fred Selfe Stadium at Nicewonder Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (2-0, 1-0 SAC); Catawba (1-1, 0-1 SAC)
How It Happened
Neither team could get much going offensively to begin the game as the two squads exchanged punts on their opening drives. The Wasps forced another three-and-out on Catawba second possession, and senior punt returner Cam Peoples (Reidsville, N.C.) gave E&H a spark as he took a punt return 83 yards all the way to the Catawba nine yard line. Emory & Henry found paydirt two plays later when senior quarterback Charles Mutter, III (King George, Va.) scampered in from seven yards out to make it 7-0.
Each team stalled on their ensuing possessions, but special teams came up big yet again as the Wasps punted the ball away but it was muffed by the Catawba returner. Senior defensive back Jarrell Harrison (Virginia Beach, Va.) was there to recover the muff and set the Wasps up at the Catawba nine. Mutter found sophomore tight end Austin Talley (Bumpass, Va.) in the end zone for another score to push the E&H advantage out to 14-0.
The Catawba Indians had an answer with their next turn with the ball as they marched 75 yards in nine plays, capped off by a 36-yard touchdown pass from Preston Brown to Dee Mitchell to trim the deficit to 14-7 where the score would stand at the halftime break.
Emory & Henry got back on the board with their second possession of the second half when Mutter strolled into the end zone on a four-yard run to cap off an eight-play, 61-yard drive for his second rushing touchdown of the day to make the score 21-7. Mutter would complete his triumvirate of scores on the ground on the next E&H possession when he broke free for a 34-yard touchdown gallop to balloon the score out to 28-7.
The home team put the icing on the cake at the end of the fourth quarter as the Wasps matriculated 68 yards down the field on 10 plays in 6:19 of game time. Senior running back Jordan Jackson (Richmond, Va.) plunged into the end zone from eight yards out to round out the scoring and give the Wasps the 35-7 win in the SAC home opener.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
Mutter was 10-for-21 through the air for 163 yards and a touchdown while adding a whopping 99 yards and three scores on the ground.
Jackson rushed for 27 yards on 12 carries and added a score. Junior running back Rudolph Paul (Douglasville, Ga.) finished with 19 yards on five carries and had one catch for eight yards. Redshirt freshman running back Devin Bryant (Midlothian, Va.) went for 19 yards of his own on a pair of attempts.
Peoples led the receiving corps with 132 yards on six catches while sophomore wide receiver Tristan Stitt (Indian Trail, N.C.) added 14 yards on a pair of receptions. Talley finished with the touchdown on his lone catch of the afternoon.
Defensively, senior linebacker A.J. Burgess (Roxboro, N.C.) had a team-high 11 tackles, .5 for loss, while Junior defensive lineman Ean Rhea (Glade Spring, Va.) had six tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a sack. Sophomore defensive lineman Connor Roberts (Bluefield, Va.) posted six tackles in the win.
Catawba Individual Leaders
Brown threw for 144 yards on 12-for-24 passing and a touchdown while carrying the ball six times for just six yards.
Bennett Galloway led the Catawba Indians on the ground with 85 yards on 14 attempts and Kevon Rivera added 36 yards on eight carries. Mitchell had two catches for 37 yards and the score while Amari McArthur registered a pair of receptions for 36 yards.
Evan Simons paced Catawba defensively, finishing with eight stops while Jaylen Hinton had eight tackles, one for loss. Nigel Gay had six tackles while Dru Dotter added four tackles.
A Deeper Look
Emory & Henry finished with 340 yards of total offense on 53 plays, including rushing for 165 yards on 31 attempts. The Catawba Indians had 304 yards on 64 plays from scrimmage.
The Wasps were 6-for-11 (55%) on third-down while Catawba converted just 41% (7-for-17) of their third-down chances and failed to convert on three fourth-down attempts.
Each squad coughed up the ball once via the fumble.
Up Next
Emory & Henry hits the road next Saturday, September 13 when the Wasps travel to take on nationally-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University in another SAC showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Hickory, N.C..
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