Owings Mills, Md. - North Carolina Wesleyan's football team kicked off its 2013 slate on Friday night, dropping a road contest at Stevenson University by a 19-9 score. The Bishops held a 9-3 advantage late in the third quarter, only to see the Mustangs reel off the final 16 points of the contest to secure the win. NCWC junior Jacques Alston paced Wesleyan with nearly 200 total yards of offense on the night.
Neither team was able to get on the board in the first quarter, but Stevenson opened the door for Wesleyan in the second by fumbling a punt deep in Mustang territory. Three plays later, freshman kicker Chris Richardson booted home his first career field goal from 27 yards out for a 3-0 Bishop lead that they would carry into the break.
The Bishop defense continued to hold SU offensively into the third quarter, but after a critical pair of roughing-the-kicker and roughing-the-passer penalties extended the Mustangs' first drive of the half, SU was able to knot the score at 3-3 with a 25-yard field goal that deflected off the goalpost and through.
Wesleyan's offense countered with its most impressive drive of the evening behind the play of Alston and sophomore quarterback Robbie Lanier. An 11-yard scoring strike from Lanier to freshman Devante' Batey capped a 6-play, 63-yard drive that put the Bishops back on top 9-3 with just over two minutes left in the third.
Stevenson answered quickly thanks to a 46-yard kickoff return that gave the Mustangs excellent field position. It took just four plays for SU to find the endzone, and a successful extra point gave the Mustangs their first lead of the night, 10-9, heading into the final period. SU proceeded to push its lead to 16-9 midway through the fourth by marching 80 yards down the field, while the Bishop offense struggled to replicate its impressive third quarter drive.
Late in the fourth, NCWC's defense came up big when freshman Rocky Carlisle recovered a Mustang fumble at the Bishop 19-yardline. Lanier's first pass, however, floated high and was intercepted, setting the stage for a game-sealing field goal that provided the 19-9 final in favor of Stevenson.
Alston finished with 164 yards on the ground and 24 through the air, while starting QB Dustin Midgett and Lanier combined to go 11-of-20 for 126 yards. Batey finished with a team-high five catches for 49 yards.
Defensively, Carlisle and senior James Wallace each tallied nine tackles, with Wesley Thompson and Macdonald Payoute adding eight stops apiece. Sophomore William Gonzales notched Wesleyan's lone pick.
Statistically, the Mustangs amassed 336 yards of offense to the Bishops' 292 on the night.
Wesleyan returns to action next Saturday when the Bishops host their first game back at the Rocky Mount Athletic Stadium since 2007. Kickoff versus Southern Virginia University is slated for 1:00pm.