No. 13 Lenoir-Rhyne Too Much For No. 15 West Chester, 42-14

Box Score
Post-Game Notes

HICKORY, N.C. – Lenoir-Rhyne ran its triple option to perfection en route to a 42-14 victory over visiting West Chester in the NCAA Division II national semifinal at cold and rainy Moretz Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
West Chester (13-2) saw its four-game winning streak come to a close as well as its eight-game road winning streak, dating back to last year, while Lenoir Rhyne (13-1) advances to the national championship game next weekend in Florence, Alabama. The Bears increased their winning streak on the year to 13 games.
 
Brandon Monk got things started with a bang when he returned the opening kickoff 70 yards down to Lenoir-Rhyne's 10-yard line. Two plays later, Sean McCartney found tight end Tim Brown open in the back of the end zone for a 7-0 West Chester lead.
 
The host Bears answered with a touchdown drive of its own, but missed the extra point and the Golden Rams held a 7-6 advantage. Lenoir-Rhyne then scored another touchdown early in the second quarter, but that extra point was blocked, and the Bears had their first lead of the game, 12-7.
 
Rondell White caught a screen pass in the flats on West Chester's next possession and raced 60 yards for a touchdown that put the Golden Rams back on top, 14-12. From there, it was all Lenoir-Rhyne and its triple option out of its flex bone offense.
 
The Bears put up 20 points in the second quarter and had ran up 302 rushing yards of offense by halftime without attempting a pass. That put the hosts up 26-14 heading into the locker room at the break.
 
White finished with 67 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards, to go along with his receiving TD. McCartney was 12-for-22 for 135 yards and two TDs. He threw one interception.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne ran 70 plays – all of them rushes.