COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Bears playing better as they head to Mars Hill

HobbsDailyReport.com

HICKORY – After Lenoir-Rhyne University’s 22-10 win over North Greenville (S.C.) last Saturday at Moretz Stadium, there’s an increasing level of hope and optimism.

“You hope that the win makes them (players) realize not that they are capable of winning but the work it takes to win,” LRU head football coach Mike Kellar said during a broadcast of “Bear Talk” on Wednesday night. “I thought we started to grow following our loss to West Alabama, and this past week the scoreboard was on our side. We are on the right road and headed in the right direction.”

LRU (1-1) plays its first road game of the season Saturday at 1 p.m. when it faces Mars Hill (1-1) in a South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams at Meares Stadium.

The Bears have won just twice in their 13 visits to Mars Hill while going 7-14 against the Lions.

One of the keys, Kellar said, is still for his players to play focused on the next play and not the scoreboard.

“We have to get our kids to understand that whatever the situation is, their job is to play the next play and not worry about the scoreboard,” said Kellar. “They just have to execute, and the coaches will worry about the scoreboard and all the other things.”

Mars Hill has won two straight in the series by a combined score of 90-37. The Lions won 49-0 in Hickory last season.

Kellar describes himself as a process-driven coach and says team progression starts with the team in the locker room.

“The first thing we have to do is get into the locker room and to get the players to buy into the work ethic, responsibility and attitude that it takes for us to be a national program,” said Kellar.

Two of the biggest differences from the season’s first game to the North Greenville game were turnovers and time of possession.

“Last week, we had a team meeting and talked about (how) most teams beat themselves more than they go out and beat the other team,” said Kellar. “If we would eliminate that, we would give ourselves a chance.

“It showed this past Saturday in that we made North Greenville beat us instead of us beating ourselves and that gave us a chance to win.”

In the season opener, the Bears were minus-4 in turnover margin. They scored a plus-2 against North Greenville.

In the season opener, West Alabama had the edge in time of possession (33 minutes, 36 seconds) to LRU’s 26:24. Against North Greenville, the Bears’ time of possession was 43:26 to North Greenville’s 16:34.