(Salisbury, NC) – Shaw gave up 149 yards and 14 points in the first quarter, and never could fully recover, falling to Catawba 32-21.

The Bears were not able to force a single Indians punt in the first half, and allowed 14 points on Catawba's first two possessions.

On offense, the Bears struggled, in large part due to the play of Catawba linemen Brandon Sutton and Damien Lee.

"Defensively they did well, especially those tackles," said Shaw Head Coach Darrell Asberry. "I can't take anything away from them. But we came out flat, and just needed to play harder."

Bears quarterback Kevin Atkins was 22 for 31 for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for a third score. He also spent a lot of time either scrambling or on his back. He was sacked six times and lost 42 yards rushing away from those defenders.

Defensively, Shaw was led by Fred Sparkman (above), who amassed 12 tackles, including a sack and two tackles for a loss.

After allowing the Indians to drive down the field twice to open the first, Atkins put up three quick passes, one for 12, one for 38 and finally an 11-yard pass to Tyrone Bolden (left) for a touchdown that cut the Catawba lead to seven.

On the next two Catawba drives, the Bears stopped the Indians short of the goal line, holding them to field goals to trail 20-7 with 4:58 left in the half.

The defensive stops appeared to energize the Bear offense, as Atkins and Raymond Williams led a six-play drive down the field that ended with Atkins diving into the endzone to bring the Bears within six, 20-14. The Indians, however, answered with a field goal to put the score at the half at 23-14.

While the Bears forced the first Catawba punt on their first drive of the second half, Shaw failed on a fourth down conversion at the Catawba 40. The Indians put together a seven-play drive, ending with a touchdown that put the score at 30-14.

The Shaw defense was hampered by the absence of DeMarcus Roberson for much of the game. Roberson has been battling a strained ankle and did not play against Elon. Asberry had hoped to keep him out of this game, as well, inserted him into the lineup after Catawba scored their 30 points. Roberson provided a spark that allowed the Bears to shut down Catawba offense the rest of the game.

The Bears put together their first extended drive to open the fourth quarter, taking the ball at their own 20 and ending with a 15-yard pass from Atkins to Julius Gregory to close the gap to 30-21. While the drive ended with a score, it ate up over five minutes on the clock.

Darnell Evans got the ball back for the Bears when he intercepted a Patrick Dennis pass on the Shaw 12. Two plays later, though, Atkins was sacked in the endzone with 5:17 left. Neither team mounted a serious drive after that, and the final score remained 32-21.

For the Bears, Williams had 55 yards on 16 carries. Alberto Johnson had 63 yards receiving, while Bolden had 62 and the touchdown.

Rico Brown had ten tackles, Gerald Kennedy eight, and Darnell Evans seven and the interception.

The win improves Catawba's record to 2-1, while the loss drops Shaw to 1-2 with CIAA play set to begin next week.

On Saturday, the Bears visit Elizabeth City State for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

"We need to make sure Catawba doesn't beat us two weeks in a row," said Asberry of the start to the CIAA season. "And we need to get healthy."