LRU FOOTBALL
(2018 schedule)
AUGUST
30, at W. Alabama, 7 p.m.
SEPTEMBER
8, at N. Greenville, S.C., 7 p.m.
15, MARS HILL, 6 p.m.
22, at WINGATE, 6 p.m.
29, TUSCULUM, 6 p.m.
OCTOBER
6, at NEWBERRY, S.C., 4 p.m.
13, LIMESTONE (HC), 2 p.m.
20, at Fort Valley State (Ga.), 6 p.m.
27, UNC Pembroke, 2 p.m.
NOVEMBER
3, at CARSON-NEWMAN, 1 p.m.
10, CATAWBA (Senior Day), 2 p.m.
HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – The first game with Drew Cronic as head football coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University will be on a Thursday night.
The Bears announced their 2108 schedule on Wednesday, and the season starts on Aug. 30 with a battle with West Alabama in Livingston, Ala.
CRONIC
West Alabama beat the Bears 46-7 to start last season, in Hickory, and finished 10-3 with a Gulf South Conference championship, a top region seed and a No. 12 national ranking.
LRU finished 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) under Mike Kellar, whose contract was not renewed.
Kellar guided the Bears to six wins in 21 games (5-9 SAC) in his two seasons at LRU, and they had their first back-to-back losing seasons since 2008-09.
Cronic comes to LRU from Furman University.
This year’s Bears will have five home games in Moretz Stadium with Cronic’s first coming on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. in a SAC game against Mars Hill.
The other home games are: Sept. 29 against Tusculum; Oct. 13 against Limestone (homecoming), Oct. 27 against UNC Pembroke and Nov. 10 against Catawba.
LRU’s road games include battles with league foes Wingate, Newberry, S.C. and Carson-Newman.
Wingate went 9-2 last season, won the SAC regular-season title and was ranked No. 24 in NCAA Division II.
— Reported by LRU Sports Information