HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – One quarter of the way into the 2017 season, it’s been a bumpy road for Lenoir-Rhyne University’s football team, with a mixed bag of results.
BEARS TALK
All of LRU’s football games will be broadcast on the radio courtesy of WAIZ 63 BIG WAYS (630 AM and 105.9 FM).
Additionally, “Bears Talk” is held on Wednesdays at the American Honor Ale House. The show begins at 7 p.m. and is streamed live on lrbears.com.
“It’s early in the season but it’s good to see a lot of our recruits and younger kids have developed and that’s been the best thing to see,” said LRU head football coach Mike Kellar. “Our size and athleticism is considerably better than it was a year ago.”
KELLAR
LRU (1-2, 0-1 South Atlantic Conference) is in the same position it was a year ago after three games overall, but it is 2-4 in its last six games dating back to last season.
“We have lost two and we aren’t happy about the results,” said Kellar. “It’s taken us a year to get the program where it learns how to practice and where we are able to game plan.
“I think we are moving in the right direction. The thing we have to do is not focus on the past but focus on that’s week’s opponent.”
LRU plays Wingate (3-0, 1-0) in a SAC game on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Moretz Stadium.
Positives for the Bear have been sophomore running back Nelson Brown having back-to-back 100-yard rushing games.
As a team — after going minus-4 in turnovers in the season opener against West Alabama — the Bears are plus 1 1/2 over the last two games.
“The first game, we came out all big eyed and we didn’t take care of the football and didn’t give ourselves a chance to get into any rhythm,” said Kellar. “In the last two games, we did a much better job of taking care of the ball and we have executed better.
“We can’t look back and dwell on the past. We have to take the previous game, look at what we did right, and keep doing those things while correcting the mistakes.”
In third-down conversions, LRU was five of 14 (35 percent) in the season opener. That’s improved to 19 of 38 (50 percent) in the last two games.
Following a solid showing in the second game against North Greenville, the Bears traveled to Mars Hill last Saturday and had some bright spots with a season-high 485 yards of total offense but fell 43-28. That’s the most the Bears have had under Kellar, surpassing last year’s 398 against Tusculum.
Against Mars Hill, LRU had three touchdowns called back, a blocked field goal and 166 yards in penalties.
While the Bears had fewer penalties than the Lions, it was the timing and type of penalties that were problematic.
LRU was called for two roughing the kicker penalties – one that was returned for a TD – and an unsportsmanlike on the bench. Those three penalties accounted for 45 yards and a score negated.
“The two roughing the kickers penalties were huge,” said Kellar. “It was a lot like the West Alabama game where we did some things to hurt ourselves.
“When you have a team that is young and growing you are going to have some growing pains.”