September 23, 2006
Monarchs Lose Lead to NC Wesleyan Bishops
Mike Hill rushes for more than 100 yards in third straight game

ROCKY MOUNT, NC-  The Monarchs went into the third quarter at NC Wesleyan leading 9-7, but the Bishops came back and made it 9-15 on the first drive of the fourth quarter to win it.  Methodist falls to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in the USA South while NC Wesleyan moves to 2-2 and 1-0 in the conference.

The first quarter kicked off in Rocky Mount with both teams' defense stifling the opposing offense.  The Monarchs finished the quarter with only 36 yards offense on four drives.  The second quarter started with a push by the Bishops to reach the Methodist 27 yard line before Bishops quarterback Cedric Townsend was sacked for a loss of 8 yards by Monarch defensive tackles Michael Green and Kyle Smith to force the punt.  The Monarch offense had a chance to capitalize, but could not move the ball out of their own territory.  Senior Patrick Larkin punted 49 yards before Davon Collins returned it four yards to the NC Wesleyan 36 yard line.  Bishop Jere Robertson made a 5 yard push before Teron Bush ran 59 yards for a touchdown with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter.  Kicker Brian Vaughn made the extra point to give NC Wesleyan the 7-0 lead.

The Monarchs turned around and on their next possession moved the ball down the field on a string of rush attempts by Mike Hill and a couple of big pass completions by sophomore quarterback Antonio Bartee for first downs to George Sands and Patrick Doleman.  The Monarchs reached the NC Wesleyan 20 yard line before Hill ran for 12 and then 8 yards to score for Methodist.  Larkin missed the extra point, but the Monarchs were on the board, down by 1 at half.

Methodist came back out in the third quarter with big defensive plays to limit the Bishops' offense.  Blake Farrell intercepted a Townsend pass at the NC Wesleyan 27 yard line and after a 19 yard return, handed the ball to the Monarch offense on the 8 yard line.  The Bishop defense prevented the Monarchs from advancing any further.  Monarch sophomore Antwin Shuford caught the second interception of the game with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter.  Bartee started moving the offense down the field with some help with runs from Hill.  Larkin came in and hit a 47 yard field goal to give the Monarchs the lead with 4:25 left in the quarter.

On the next possession, NC Wesleyan came back moving the ball almost to midfield.  After a big stop by Shuford, the Bishops were sitting with third down and 13 to go.  Quarterback Townsend kept the ball for a 6 yard run, but the quarter ended with the Bishops 7 yards short of the first down.  Kenny Flythe came out to punt for the Bishops, but the Monarchs fumbled on the return and turned the ball over to the Bishops on the Monarchs own 5 yard line.  Townsend completed a five yard pass to Mish Gilliam for the touchdown and then finished the play with a pass to Shel Leverette for two extra points.  The Bishops regained the lead 15-9 with 13:44 left in the game.

On what would be the Monarchs' last possession, they moved the ball to NC Wesleyan's half of the field but were stopped at the 15 yard line 7 yards short of the first down.  The Bishops burned the rest of the clock to defeat the Monarchs for the first time with a 15-9 score.

Mike Hill finished with 112 yards rushing for the Monarchs.  Quarterback Antonio Bartee went 10 for 18 with one interception on the day.  Shuford led the defense with 6 unassisted tackles.

The Monarchs will travel to Emory & Henry next Saturday to face the Wasps at 1 pm.