Tigerville, S.C. – Tracy Scott ran for 130-yards and two touchdowns while the defense picked off two Mars Hill passes leading the Crusaders to a 56-21 win over Mars Hill University.

North Greenville’s special teams came through early in the game as Roderick McCray recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to give the Crusaders a 7-0 lead. NGU’s defense set the tone early, forcing a three and out on the Lions’ first series, forcing the visitors to punt from their own 31-yard line.

The defense would come through once more for North Greenville as the Lions failed to convert on a fourth down and four, turning the ball over to NGU on downs. It would only take two plays for NGU’s offense to convert the turnover into points as Tracy Scott scampered for a 59-yard touchdown, his eighth of the season. Scott would find pay dirt once more, scoring from two yards out in the second quarter.

Simeon Byrd would extend North Greenville’s lead to 21-0 in the first quarter with a four-yard run. Mars Hill would end NGU’s bid for a shutout with 28-seconds left in the quarter as Jamel Harbison hooked up with Keshaun Taylor for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The score by Mars Hill cut the NGU lead to 14.

The Crusaders would turn in another big quarter in the second, scoring twice more to take a 35-14 lead into the locker room. The Lions would also found end zone once in the second quarter.

North Greenville opened the second half with an impressive drive, using nine plays to take up five minutes of game time. Will Hunter ended the suspense with a 37-yard touchdown strike to Mason Sanders, putting NGU up 42-14 over the visiting Lions. Hunter added one more touchdown pass in the quarter, hooking up with Bobby Foos one drive later, while Collin Sneed found Javon Smith for another, turning a Tiko Thompson interception in to seven points and giving Crusaders a 56-14 lead.

The Lions would tack one more touchdown to their total, but North Greenville’s defense would muster one more turnover as Nigel Gay intercepted an Austin Brown Pass. Mars Hill’s final score came on its ensuing drive on an eight-yard rush that cut North Greenville’s lead to 56-21.

Time would run out on the Lions though as North Greenville would run out the clock on its next drive, breaking a two game losing skid, and earning the Crusaders their second straight win over Mars Hill and third overall.

Will Hunter finished with 186-yards through the air and two touchdowns. Simeon Byrd added 78 yards on the ground and a touchdown. North Greenville finished with a season high 518-yards on 63-plays. Sam Houston led the Crusader defense with 11-tackles.

North Greenville improved to 3-2 on the season with a three-game road trip on the horizon. The Crusaders will travel to Charleston next weekend for a 2pm kickoff with The Citadel before making the trek to Greenville, Tennessee to take on Tusculum on the 15^th.