OWINGS MILLS, Md. - In his first collegiate game, Stevenson football freshman Trey Lee (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) rushed for 132 yards while junior Madison Townley (LaPlata, Md./LaPlata) hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass to help lift the Mustangs to a 19-9 victory over N.C. Wesleyan Friday at Mustang Stadium in front of 2,292 fans.
With the win, Stevenson (1-0) won its first season-opener in its third season in school history while improving its record to 2-1 in home openers.
Lee is the fifth different player to rush for 100 yards in school history and the third freshman. Ryan Crawley rushed for 105 yards at FDU-Florham on Oct. 29, 2011 while K.K. Smith rushed for 100 yards in seven out of 10 games last season.
After a stagnant first half in which both teams combined for just 255 yards of total offense and three points, the Mustangs tallied 10 third-quarter points to take the lead for good. Senior Charlie Cornell (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) tied the game with a 25-yard field goal before sophomore John Gasparovic (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink) found Townley from 13 yards out with just 20 seconds remaining.
Holding a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the Stevenson defense held the Battling Bishops (0-1) to just 51 yards of total offense while limiting Jacques Alston to just 30 yards rushing after he totaled 134 through three quarters.
Nursing a seven-point lead with under three minutes remaining, sophomore Billy Lewis (Centreville, Md./Queen Anne's) intercepted a pass from Robbie Lanier to set up Cornell's second field goal of the game, a clinching 30-yarder with just 56 seconds to play.
Lewis finished with a team-high six tackles and one interception while junior Tim Campbell (Millersville, Md./McDonogh) and junior Moses Anoh (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) also had six tackles. Anoh added half-a-sack and one tackle for loss.
The defense totaled 3.5 sacks while the offensive line, who ranked fourth in the MAC a year ago in fewest sacks allowed, did not surrender one for the fourth time in the last seven games dating back to last season. During that time, the o-line has surrendered just six sacks.
The Mustangs went in front 16-9 with 6:51 left in the fourth quarter after sophomore Jarret Bragg (Sicklerville, N.J./Camden Catholic) capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard run for his first career rushing touchdown.
Gasparovic completed 10-of-21 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown while junior Anthony Reid (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic) totaled 84 all-purpose yards with 29 rushing, nine receiving and a 46-yard kickoff return that set-up the go-ahead touchdown from Gasparovic to Townley.
Stevenson averaged 28.7 yards per kick return which helped the team boast an average starting field position of its own 38-yard line, including its own 44 in the second half.
The Mustangs look for their third-straight win, both overall and at home, when it hosts Albright next Saturday, September 14 for a 1:00 p.m., kickoff at Mustang Stadium. The Lions, who went 8-3 a year ago and finished fourth in the MAC, edged out a 29-22 victory versus Stevenson at home a year ago after freshman Dan Sobolewski made a 47-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime.