Bears too much for RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     PIKEVILLE, Ky. - In the first night game of the University of Rio Grande's football rebirth, the RedStorm hung tough with the University of Pikeville.
     But the host Bears methodically pulled away over the final two quarters and the RedStorm headed back to the Buckeye State still in search of an elusive first win.
     UPike survived nearly 160 yards in penalties by churning out 650 yards of total offense and rolling to a 44-0 win, Saturday night, in Appalachian Athletic Conference play at the Hambley Athletic Complex.
     The Bears improved to 1-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play with the victory.
     Rio Grande slipped to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the AAC.
     Xavier Malone completed 31 of his 44 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns to pace Pikeville's offensive explosion, while Jordan Williams caught nine passes for 148 yards and a touchdown and Cobe Stribling hauled in a pair of scores.
     Amon Williams also ran for 130 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries for the Bears, who finished with 37 first downs after cashing in on nine of their 14 third down situations and converting three of four fourth down tries.
     The only real negative for the hosts were three turnovers and 16 accepted penalties for 159 yards.
     Rio Grande, on the other hand, was just 1-for-11 on third down, 0-for-3 on fourth down and managed only 198 total yards en route to being shutout for the third time in five games.
     The RedStorm also hurt their own cause by being penalized eight times for 84 yards.
     Despite its offensive issues, Rio Grande still found itself within striking distance at halftime.
     Malone threw a 12-yard scoring strike to Brandon Netwon to cap a 13-play, 71-yard march and give UPike a 7-0 lead with 9-1/2 minutes left in the opening period.
     A safety - the second in as many games against the RedStorm - and a TD pass by Malone to Stribling with 4:35 left before the intermission gave the Bears a 16-0 cushion at the break.
     Pikeville snuffed out any hopes of a Rio Grande uprising over the final two quarters, scoring just 3:46 into the second half on a 1-yard run by Williams to make it 23-0.
     Malone hit Jordan Williams with a 15-yard TD pass later in the third quarter to push the lead to 30-0, while a second scoring toss from Malone to Stribling and a TD pass by Peter Zamora to Jayden Pepper in the final stanza set the final score.
     Sophomore Peyton Molter (Louisville, KY) completed 14 of his 31 passes for 83 yards to led Rio Grande, while freshman Jaedyn Cartwright (Riverview, FL) rushed for 97 yards on eight carries and freshman Mikelle Moore (Cincinnati, OH) had nine receptions for 51 yards.
     Sophomore Nathaniel Lopez (East Mims, FL) and freshman Marlon Reed (Hamilton, OH) had 13 and 11 tackles, respectively, to pace the RedStorm, while freshmen Andy Meldick (Oak Hill, OH) and Beamer Walker (Cincinnati, OH) recovered fumbles and freshman Braylon Robertson (Bainbridge, OH) had an interception.
     Sophomore Dakari Reese (Streetsboro, OH) recorded the only sack of the game for Rio Grande.
     The RedStorm will return to action next Saturday when they host Union Commonwealth University in another AAC contest at Jackson High School's Alumni Stadium.
     Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.