Tigerville – For the first time in more than 650-days it's GAMEDAY for North Greenville Football as the Crusaders welcome in-state foe Limestone College to Tigerville for the opening game of the 2021 football season. 
 
The Crusaders last kicked it off in an official game in November of 2019 against Florida Tech which is also a home game for NGU. The 2019 season ended with a 3-7 record with wins over Newberry, Shorter, and West Alabama. The Crusaders once again faced one of the toughest schedules in Division II football, including games against the defending National Champions in Valdosta State and the eventual National Champions in West Florida. 
 
Each of the two contests were decided by less than a touchdown. Valdosta State scored in the final minutes of the game to earn the five-point victory while missed field goals against the Argos proved the difference as NGU dropped a three-point decision down in Florida. West Florida would go on to win the NCAA Championship later in the year. 
 
Limestone finished the 2019 season with a 3-8 mark, dropping a pair of games to West Alabama and West Georgia, members of the Gulf South Conference. The lone wins for the Saints came against the likes of UNC Pembroke, Catawba, and UVA-Wise. Limestone played an abbreviated 2020-2021 schedule, playing four games, ending with a 1-3 record. 

New Faces on the Sidelines 

• North Greenville's sidelines will look a bit different this year with several new faces on the coaching staff. Carroll McCray returned to Tigerville as the Associate Head Coach and the team's new offensive line coach while former NGU signal-caller Donny Baker was hired on to head the wide receivers group. 
• Jireh Wilson was promoted from graduate assistant to full-time working with the outside linebackers while James Thurn, also a former NGU footballer returns to coach the tight ends. Thurn won a Victory Bowl with North Greenville as an offensive lineman. 
• Defensively, Maurice Duncan continues his work with the defensive backs and was also promoted as he is the team's new defensive coordinator while Brian Volz was named run game coordinator for the defense. 

• Kaelan Riley, a Mercer transfer, made his way to Tigerville in the Spring of 2021 and earned the starting quarterback spot during fall camp. Riley, the biggest quarterback to head the offense in recent memory, is a 6-4 230 presence that brings athleticism to the position. Riley played in 29-games for the Bears and threw for 4,286-yards and 30 touchdowns. He also rushed for five scores. 
• Aaron Watson is in his final year in Tigerville and the defensive back has already made a name for himself in the Gulf South circles. The Duncan native rarely sees the ball thrown his way and for good reason. He was second on the team in 2019 with 7 pass break-ups but led the team in interceptions with four was twice named All-Conference for the GSC and an All-American. 
• The Trenches will be a point of strength for North Greenville this season on both sides of the ball. Among the five named starters on the offensive front are 54 total games led by Jonathan Holton who has 20 under his belt. Elijah Lipscomb has played in 18-games for NGU while Daulton McKittrick has seen action in 16-games. 
• The defensive front is also an experienced group with names like Zeke Stringer, Jacob Stone, and Kwame Livingston returning for the 2021 season. The trio has combined to play in 46-games together and will look to replace Chauncy Haney who led the GSC in sacks and tackles for loss in 2019.  

Limestone Players to Watch 

• The Saints return a pair of All-South Atlantic Conference players from 2019 in senior RB Jerko'ya Patton (Charlotte, N.C.) and senior OL Cameron Thomason (Greenville, S.C.) Patton is the program's career leader in rushing yards (2,664), attempts (571), touchdowns (20), and rushing yards per game (80.7) – he is second with 4.67 career yards per carryHe set the team's single season rushing records with 965 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019 and added a pair of 100-yard games during the spring season
• With four starts under his belt in the spring, sophomore QB Dustin Noller (Rock Hill, S.C.) will be under center for the Saints on Saturday. Noller threw for 764 yards and nine touchdowns in the spring – he was picked off only three times. As a freshman, he engineered one game-winning drive and one game-tying drive in the fall. He tied a program single-game record with four touchdown tosses against Mars Hill
• On defense, junior DB Kris Williams (Clinton, S.C.) led the team with 25 tackles and a pick
• Graduate DB Jeremiah Bogan, a North Greenville transfer, added 20 tackles and a forced fumble. 
• Junior Zane Boozer (Liberty, S.C.) posted three sacks in the spring. 
• Graduate LB Jaiden Clayton (Gaffney, S.C.) added 17 tackles.  

• Saturday's game will be the fourth meeting between the two programs. The Crusaders lead the series 3-0 with the latest meeting coming in 2017, a 27-20 win for NGU in Tigerville. 
• Saturday marks the eighth season for Limestone Football. The Saints have an overall record of 17-50 with the program's best W-L mark coming in 2016 when they finished 5-6. 
• Limestone is the first of two South Atlantic Conference opponents for NGU in the 2021 season. The Crusaders will head to Newberry next weekend for the second of four out of conference games. 
• Series History: North Greenville vs. Limestone College 
• http://www.nguathletics.com/sports/football/opponent-history/limestone-university/1

• Saturday's game between the Crusaders and Saints will be carried by the Gulf South Network on Flo Sports. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE VIDEO 
• Live Statistics will also be available by CLICKING HERE. 
• Digital Gameday Program: North Greenville vs. Limestone College