Lenoir-Rhyne set a number of school offensive records this past weekend in its 63-17 NCAA Division II first round playoff win over visiting Shepherd University. Courtesy photo

HICKORY, N.C. — Lenoir-Rhyne set a number of school offensive records this past weekend in its 63-17 NCAA Division II first round playoff win over visiting Shepherd University.

The once-beaten Bears delighted a shirt-sleeve crowd announced at 3,212 by opening an 18-point lead by halftime and then outscoring the Rams, 28-0, in the second half.

Not only did the Super Region Two’s fourth-seeded Bears carve out 617 yards of total offense, but had its two quarterbacks throw for a combined 461 yards and six TDs.

Lenoir-Rhyne, now 11-1, advances to play undefeated Benedict this weekend. Shepherd completes its fourth consecutive playoff season with an overall 9-3 record.

The homefield Bears rarely stopped scoring after winning the coin toss, choosing to receive the opening kickoff and then flying overhead to the game’s first points.

Quarterback Sean White completed 10 straight passes to get his team to the doorstep of the Shepherd end zone from where he ran a well-designed keeper for the first of the Bears’ nine TDs on the fan-comfortable and sun-drenched afternoon in North Carolina’s Piedmont area.

Shepherd returned the favor by scoring on its first possession, making it 7-7, but then quickly fell behind at 21-7 as the potent Bears continued their avalanche of passing yardage.

The Rams managed 17 first-half points but still trailed 35-17 by intermission. Lenoir-Rhyne advance its already near-lethal lead with another three scores in the third period.

It was 56-17 into the anticlimactic final quarter.

In all, the Bears’ two QBs completed 28-of-35 passes and made obsolete a number of previous school offensive records.

Shepherd’s offense cooled considerably as the game carried through the whole of the second half and it managed 303 yards of total offense. The Rams suffered three turnovers and the Bears had none. Ram receiver Barry Hill had three catches for 100 yards and one acrobatic TD reception.

The Super Region Two playoffs continue this weekend with Lenoir-Rhyne traveling to South Carolina to face Benedict and Delta State (Mississippi) hosting Valdosta State (Georgia).

Shepherd finishes with a 9-3 overall record and was one of the four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference representatives in the Division II playoffs. Both Kutztown and Slippery Rock had comfortable wins in their respective first-round games, while East Stroudsburg lost to homestanding Slippery Rock.