By Jayden Berkin, Sports Reporter
The Mark Hall era is officially here as the UNC Pembroke football team finished their 2023 season in a record setting fashion making quick work of the Concord Mountain Lions 68-21 while breaking six school records in the process. The Braves finished the last part of their season going 6-1 in their last seven outings and compiling a record of 7-3 overall and a 6-3 record in the Mountain East.
The Braves started off the game on a hot start scoring 17 points quickly starting with a 26-yard field goal from Ty Woods to go up a 3-0. A few drives later Colin Johnson connected with Trey Dixon for a 12-yard touchdown to give the Braves the 10-0 lead heading into the second quarter. To start the second quarter Sincere Baines found a opening up the middle for the six yard touchdown making it 17-0 Braves before the Mountain Lions found the end zone on a Kevon Young-Warren two yard touchdown run. The Braves went into halftime with a 17-7 lead.
Hall iterated that the team was not satisfied with their lead and they expressed that they wanted more in the locker room at halftime . Here is what coach Hall had to say.
“We were pretty upset at halftime, people were probably outside of the locker room thinking what the heck is going on because we were pretty upset in there.”
The Braves got what they wanted in the second half when they put the game out of reach by scoring 51 points total in that second half starting with a Baines 43-yard touchdown run followed up with another Baines touchdown run to make it 31-7. The Mountain Lions recovered a fumble for a touchdown to make it 31-14. Baines found the end zone once again right before the end of the third quarter with a 21-yard touchdown run to make it 45-14.
The fourth quarter was even electric for the Braves when they put on a scoring clinic after the Mountain Lions got a score on a touchdown run by T.J. Finney making it 45-21. The Braves scored just seconds apart on two drives starting with a 31-yard touchdown run by Johnson and then a pick six by Keshawn Pickett to make it 59-21. The Braves finished things off with a Baines eight yard touchdown run and a special teams safety to close out the win.
Johnson had 309 passing yards on the night along with one touchdown and two interceptions and had 157 yards rushing on the ground. Baine had an explosive game, leading the team in both rushing and reception yards with 178 rushing yards and 76 receiving yards while also setting an individual touchdown record with 5 total touchdowns in a game. Dixon recorded 73 yards and one touchdown on the night.
On the defensive side of the ball Jamae Blank led the team in sacks with two while also breaking the school record for individual sacks in a single season with 12.5.