Weekly SAC Football Notes Sept. 24
Weekly game notes and recaps from around the SAC for the week ending September 23:
CARSON-NEWMAN - Matt Ward rushed for more than 100 yards and Aubrey Ingham connected on two field goals as Carson-Newman defeated Virginia State, 27-21 ... The Eagles (4-0) won their eighth straight game over a CIAA opponent despite committing five turnovers. With the win, head coach Ken Sparks ties the all-time NCAA Division II record for career wins with his 255th career victory ... VSU took an early 7-0 lead after completing a seven-play, 81-yard drive. After two offensive drives stalled due to a fumble and interception, respectively, the Eagles answered with a 10-play, 68-yard drive capitalized by Ward's first rushing touchdown of the day from 10 yards out ... VSU reclaimed the lead in the second quarter after Aaron Knight recovered an Alex Good fumble and ran it to the Eagles' 3-yard line. Three plays later, VSU scored to take a 14-7 lead. The Eagles would respond with a seven-play drive. Ward rushed for 67 of his 115 first-half yards during the drive, including an 11-yard TD run to even the game at 14-14 ... C-N's defense stepped up in the second quarter. LeBraun Caffey recovered a VSU fumble that led to an Ingham field goal of 24 yards to put the Eagles ahead for good at 17-14. Otis Ballard recovered another fumble with 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter ... Quarterback Alex Rouse rushed for six yards and Ward rushed 11 yards to the VSU 27 yard-line to set up Ingham's second field goal of 44 yards which gave C-N a 20-14 lead at halftime ... In the second half, Carson-Newman held VSU to just eight plays in the third quarter and embarked on a 13-play, 72 yard drive that took 5:41 off the clock ... The drive culminated in an eight-yard TD run by DeWayne Mims to extend the Eagle lead to 27-14. In the fourth quarter, VSU had the ball with 9:24 remaining and drove to the Eagle 24 yard line. Linebacker Eric Rice dashed any hope of a VSU comeback by sacking quarterback Lamar Blizzard for a seven-yard loss on 2nd and 10. After an incomplete pass, Rice sacked Blizzard for a 12-yard loss on 4th and 17 to give possession over to the Eagles; however, Rouse fumbled the ball on the fourth play of their ensuing drive. VSU cut the Eagle lead to 27-21 with a seven-play drive as Blizzard tossed a 14-yard TD pass. VSU attempted an onside kick, but the ball did not go the required 10 yards and the Eagles ran out the clock to preserve the win ... The Eagles will begin South Atlantic Conference play at Newberry on Saturday, September 30. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
CATAWBA - Catawba was idle Saturday before opening conference play at Mars Hill on Sept. 30.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (2-2) moved back to .500 on the season with a 17-0 win over Benedict College (2-3) Saturday night at the newly-opened, 11,000-seat Charles W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia, S.C. … This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools and Lenoir-Rhyne shut out its first opponent in nearly three years (their last shutout was on September 6, 2003, a 24-0 win over Jacksonville) … Lenoir-Rhyne limited Benedict to just 139 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers in the contest … Sophomore running back Ronnie Edwards (Union Hall, Va.) tallied his first 100-yard rushing game of his career, 104 yards on 25 carries, and scored the game's first touchdown on the Bears' opening drive … L-R put the contest away with 10 points in the third stanza, a 42-yard field goal by junior placekicker Andrew Coln (Simpsonville, S.C.) and a seven-yard touchdown run by freshman tailback Brad Walker (Louisville, Tenn.), his first collegiate touchdown … Redshirt freshman Justin Sanders managed the game at quarterback for Lenoir-Rhyne, finishing nine-for-21 passing for 121 yards but no interceptions ... On defense, junior defensive back Chima Okoro (Charlotte, N.C.) and senior defensive back Rian Jefferson (Irmo, S.C.) each tallied a team-leading seven tackles … Lenoir-Rhyne opens South Atlantic Conference play next Saturday at defending league champion Presbyterian (2-2) at Bailey Memorial Stadium in Clinton, S.C., beginning at 1:30 p.m. … Presbyterian leads the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne, 31-17-4, and has won six straight meetings between the two schools … L-R last defeated PC in 1999 (24-21 in double overtime) and their last win in Clinton came in 1994 (42-14).
MARS HILL - A strong offensive ground game combined with a solid defensive performance led to a 14-7 Lion victory over St. Augustine's College in football acton in Meares Stadium Saturday afternoon. MHC improved to 3-1 on the season while the Falcons fell to 1-3 on the year ... Travoris Carter (Anderson, SC) gave the Falcons a 7-0 advantage with 8:31 on the clock in the first quarter after he scampered 62 yards for the contest's first score. Carlos Peoples' (Bear Creek, NC) PAT kick was successful. Brandon Sims (Spartanburg, SC) then hit Jarvis Mathis (Spartanburg, SC) on a 20 yard touchdown strike with 14:52 left in the first half of play to tie the contest. Chase Harris' (Chiefland, FL) PAT kick was good ... The teams took the 7-all score into the locker room at halftime. Trandon Dendy (Laurens, SC) capped off a 13-play, 52-yard drive, scoring on a two-yard rush to give MHC the lead for good. The score was set up by strong running from Kendrick Johnson (West Columbia) who accounted for 28 yards of the 52-yard scoring drive carrying the ball five times. Harris again put the ball through the uprights to give the Lions a 14-7 advantage they would not relinquish ... The Lions' defense stifled the Falcons in the fourth quarter to seal the home opener for the Lions ... MHC accumulated 276 yards of total offense in the game, 197 of those came on the ground. The Lions' defense allowed St. Augustine's only 71 net rushing yards ... Johnson led the Lions' ground attack with 141 yards on 26 carries. Sims threw for 79 yards and one score converting on 5-of-14 passes ... Stacy Young (Gainesville, GA) led the Lions' defense with five tackles, an interception return for 29 yards and two pass break-ups. Ryan Douglas (Charlotte, NC), Nathaniel Smith (Georgetown, SC) and Marzarius Samon (Jacksonville, FL) each recorded six tackles in the win. Samon put pressure on the Falcons' quarterback the entire game. He ended the game with a couple of sacks and a tackle-for-loss ... Punter Chris Cromer (Asheville, NC) did a great job for the Lions' special teams. He punted five times for a 41.4 yard average placing two punts inside the Falcons 20 ... MHC is now 108-84-1 in Meares Stadium after this afternoon's victory. The Lions will open league play next Saturday when they host SAC rival Catawba College at 1:30 p.m.
NEWBERRY - Newberry College jumped out to a 28-6 lead in the first half, but had to hold off a fourth-quarter Elizabeth City State rally, to hold on for the 49-33 victory on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 1,534 at Setzler Field… The Indians move to 4-0 on the season, the first time since 1979 that a Newberry football team won the first four games of the season. ECSU drops to 3-1 on the season… On Newberry's first play from scrimmage, receiver Kelton Tindall took an end-around and raced down the sidelines for a 79-yard touchdown run, to give the Indians the 7-0 lead… The Indians used a 10-play, 72-yard drive to take a 14-0 lead. Quarterback Josh Stepp capped off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run… The Vikings cut the lead to 14-6 when quarterback Curtis Rich completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Carter in the second quarter. The Indians countered with a touchdown when Alex Haynes scored from two yards out to make it a 21-6 game… The Indians used a key special teams play to set up their next score. Tindall came through the Viking punt protection unit to block the punt of ECSU Kevin Dodson, giving Newberry the ball at the five yard-line. On the first play, Stepp completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Charles Brandon to move the lead to 28-6… The Indians scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the second half. Receiver Tymere Zimmerman hauled in a 20-yard touchdown fro Stepp to cap off a 14-play, 88 yard drive and giving Newberry a 35-6 lead. On the next drive, Stepp completed a pass to Tindall who outraced the Viking defense down the sidelines for a 27-yard touchdown reception while pushing the lead to 42-6… The Vikings got back in the game, scoring 27 points in the frame… Rich found Carter once again for a 48-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-13… Newberry countered when Elvin Bussy forced a fumble on a punt, which was recovered by Isaac Johnson, who returned it for a touchdown to push the score to 49-13… The Vikings would go on to score three more touchdowns, but were unable to make a valiant rally as time expired… The Indians totaled 477 yards of total offense and recorded 19 first downs on the day. The Indians won the time of possession battle, holding the ball for 35:22 to ECSU's 24:38… Haynes had a big day offensively for the Indians, rushing for 107 yards and accumulating 205 all-purpose yards on the afternoon. Stepp finished 15-of-23 with 209 yards and three touchdowns. He completed passes to six different receivers. Corey Seawell and Zimmerman led the way in terms of receptions with four each. Seawell was the high-man in yards with 90… Defensively, Will Newell finished with seven tackles, four coming as solos. Jonathan Breaux finished with five tackles and three solos while Brandon Jones and Derrell Mills recorded a sack and interception, respectively… Josh Stepp is closing in on yet another milestone that of passing yards… He needs just 43 more yard passing to overtake former quarterback Dustin Coats for the all-time lead with 5,679 yards… Alex Haynes in closing in on 1,000 for his career, he needs just 15 more yards to reach the 1,000 yards mark… Freshman Kelton Tindall is averaging a team-best 25.2 yards per-catch… The Indians will kickoff conference play in grand fashion as they face Carson-Newman College next Saturday at 4:00 p.m… The game will be available for viewing over the World Wide Web as part of a webcast partnership with the NCAA and CSTV.
PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian was off last week. The Blue Hose will look to defend their SAC title when they open conference play at home against Lenoir-Rhyne at 1:30 p.m.
TUSCULUM - Tusculum College posted its second consecutive shutout as the Pioneers blanked Brevard College 33-0. The back-to-back shutouts are the first by Tusculum since 1933 ... It was the first meeting in 60 years between the two schools ... Freshman Jerlmichael Sykes rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns, while Jamichael Caldwell added 96 yards on his seven receptions, including two scores. Sykes also returned blocked punt 30 yards for his third touchdown of the day ... Tusculum amassed 446 yards, while the Pioneer defense limited the Tornadoes (0-5) to 95 yards, including 35 on the ground. Tusculum entered this week as the No. 5 rushing defense in the country ... The quarterback duo of Corey Russell and Cody Baugh passed for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns ... Jamaal Gray added six catches for 51 yards, while Candics Jones made four receptions for 52 yards ... The win was the 50th career win by Tusculum head coach Frankie DeBusk. He is now the seventh winningest football coach in SAC history ... Sykes' 100-yard rushing performance was the first 100-game by a TC player since 2003 ... The Tusculum defense has not allowed a point in nine consecutive quarters. TC also hasn't allowed a rushing touchdown all season, including 17 straight quarters, dating back to the third quarter of the Mars Hill game in 2005 ... TC's 11 opponents have a combined 29-12 record so far this year, including four opponents that are nationally ranked ... Tusculum was led by Antrez McDaniel's seven tackles, including five solo hits ... Tusculum will open South Atlantic Conference this week with a road trip to Wingate. It will be the 11th meeting between the two schools as Wingate leads the series 6-4.
WINGATE - The Wingate Bulldogs (3-1 overall) were open Saturday. This week, Wingate hosts Tusculum (1:30 p.m. kick-off). The Bulldogs lead the series between the two schools 6-4 ... The Bulldogs won the first four meetings and the last two meetings between the two schools, while the Pioneers won four WU-TC series games in a row from 2000-03 ... In a game that was dominated by defense, the Wingate University football team defeated host Tusculum College 10-7 Saturday, Sept. 24, 2005 at Pioneer Field in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams ... Neither team scored an offensive touchdown in the 2005 contest, while the two defenses combined for 14 sacks on the afternoon, including nine by Wingate and five by Tusculum ... The Wingate University football team was featured in the September 11 edition of The NCAA News. Wingate hosted the third annual Special Olympics Field Day on Saturday, August 19 at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus. The Bulldogs hosted approximately 20 Special Olympians for a full morning of activities ... Each athlete had an opportunity to visit five stations, encompassing the entire range of football skills: offense, defense and kicking game. Participants received a personalized certificate and a Wingate football T-Shirt.