WISE - - No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne hosts UVa-Wise for its annual Homecoming Game Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bears are coming off a 56-28 win at Mars Hill. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have lost three consecutive games since winning their season opener over Chowan. A week ago, UVa-Wise allowed 42 unanswered points in a 42-7 loss at Carson-Newman University.

Lenoir-Rhyne has yet to lose a South Atlantic Conference game with Drew Cronic as its head coach posting a perfect 9-0 record. A former offensive coordinator at Furman, Cronic has had one of NCAA Division II's best offenses since reaching Hickory following the 2017 season. A year ago, the Bears ranked ninth in the nation in scoring (41.0 ppg) and 10th in rushing offense (268.1 ypg) as the school won the SAC and reached the third round of the NCAA playoffs.

This fall, things have been much the same for Lenoir-Rhyne. Cronic's squad is fourth nationally in rushing yards per game at 293.5 while ranking seventh in scoring offense at 46.5 points per game. Most impressive has been the play of the offensive line. The unit has yet to allow a sack, making Lenior-Rhyne one of two NCAA Division II schools yet to allow a sack.

While offense has been the calling card for the Bears, the team has arguably the best defensive duo in NCAA Division II. Linebacker Sherrod Williams led the SAC with 105 tackles in 2018 while leading the nation with six forced fumbles. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder won SAC Defensive Player of the Week three times as a junior and has amassed over 250 career tackles, 10 forced fumbles, five interceptions, 17 pass deflections and six fumble recoveries to this point in his career. On the defensive line, Jaquan Artis has been difficult for opponents to block. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound senior leads the nation with 5.5 sacks while having tallied 20 sacks for his career. As a unit, the Bears' defense ranks 22nd nationally holding opponents to just 15.8 points per game.

Cronic's team also has the reigning SAC Player of the Week on offense and defense. Running back Jace Jordan gained 159 yards on 15 carries while scoring twice in last week's win at Mars Hill while defensive back Eric Jackson picked off three passes in the final 22 minutes of play to secure the victory.

For UVa-Wise, the Cavaliers will look to find some consistency in all facets of the game. Last week, Carson-Newman accumulated 557 yards of offense while holding UVa-Wise to just 195 yards. In the game, the Eagles rushed for 464 yards. The 446 rushing yards put up by Carson-Newman were the most allowed by UVa-Wise since 2013 when NCAA Division I FCS Campbell rushed for 521 yards against the Cavs.

Dane Damron's team played three quarterbacks in the contest while eight players had a rushing attempt. A bright spot was freshman Shaheim Revel who caught the first touchdown pass of his collegiate career on his first reception. The team also managed to play penalty free football for the first time this season.

Punting continues to be a strong point for the Cavs. Freshman Drew Vermillion is averaging 40.5 yards per punt and has established a new season-long each week of the season. At Carson-Newman, the punter had two punts sail over 50 yards, including a new career-long of 68 yards.

This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. UVa-Wise is in its first season as a SAC member, Lenior-Rhyne has claimed five league titles since 2011 and has 22 conference championships to its credit since 1951.

Next week, UVa-Wise will wrap up its three-game road trip with a trip to Newberry to face the Wolves; kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. Lenior-Rhyne will travel to Tusculum for a 1:30 p.m. kick.