MEMPHIS - Sophomore P.J. Settles showed glimpses of what could be late in the 2015 season during his freshman year. Tonight, under the lights at Crain Field, Settles showed he has arrived, finishing with 458 total yards and four passing touchdowns as the Rhodes Lynx defeated Willamette in their opener, 35-21.

With the win, Rhodes moves to 1-0 overall while the Bearcats fall to 0-1. It is first year Head Coach Jim Ryan's first win at Rhodes and his first ever win as a head ball coach.

The offense stole the show on Saturday afternoon under new Offensive Coordinator Peter Jennings, racking up 495 total yards including 323 through the air. Settles was a major key to the fireworks, going 15-for-27 for 323 yards and four touchdown passes while adding 17 carries for 135 yards rushing.

After each team exchanged a possession, Rhodes would strike first on only one play as Settles connected with one of his favorite targets on the day, senior Brandon Box, who made a beautiful catch in traffic and took it to the house for an 62 yards score and a 7-0 lead.

On the very next possession, Settles broke off a huge run to start the drive, scampering 54 yards deep into Bearcat territory. One play later, Settles connected again with Box for a 14 yard score.



The Rhodes defense swarmed throughout the first quarter and continued to play strong in the second, forcing a missed field goal after a 12 play drive to keep the score at 14-0. 

Following the miss, the Lynx put together a nice nine play drive with Settles connecting on his third touchdown of the day, finding sophomore Josh Lucas, who put a beautiful spin move to score from 27 yards out to make it a 21-0 game.

Rhodes appeared to be in control, but Willamette did not go down so easily as they finally began to find their groove behind the passing of Ryan Knowlton and the legs of Zack Moore.

The Bearcats used a couple of lengthy drives in the third and fourth quarters to cut the deficit to one touchdown at 21-14. 

With Rhodes needing a big drive early in the fourth, they answered the bell, going 66 yards on nine plays and ending the drive with points as Settles connected Box twice for huge first down play and finished the drive with a strike to senior Mason Windatt for his fourth touchdown pass of the game and a 28-14 lead.

Again, Willamette responded by using a 10 play drive and a fourth down conversion on the goal line to get it down to a one score game again with over eight minutes to go.

After 3-and-outs by both teams, Rhodes clinched the game with a key 11-play, 69 yard drive which included two huge third down conversions. On 3rd-and-16, Settles pass looked to be broken up, but it kicked off the receivers foot and into the hands of Box for a key first down. Rhodes capped the drive with a four yard touchdown plunge from freshman Nick Erickson.

Rhodes would force Willamette to turn the ball over on downs and ran the clock out to earn their first win of the season.

The Lynx receivers had a huge day with Box leading the way with six catches for 160 yards and two scores. Senior Xavier May hauled in a couple of huge catches for 79 yards. His 44 yard catch on the Lynx final drive set up their final score of the game. Windatt caught four passes for 28 yards.

The Rhodes defense was swarming on the day, led by 12 tackles by senior John Dodd. Sophomore Cody Stockton added eight tackles while junior Elliott Tostrud had six tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception. Junior Sam McLain had 1.5 sacks while sophomore Duke Sherell had five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks. Charlie Hughes added an interception on the day to go with a sack and five tackles.

Rhodes will get ready to hit the road for the first time this season as they head to the west coast next weekend for a tilt with Pomona-Pitzer. Kickoff from Claremont, Calif. is schedule for 9 PM CT/7 PM PT.