Weekly SAC Football Notes Oct. 1
Weekly game notes and recaps from around the SAC:
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Newberry Indians took a 32-18 victory over the sixth-ranked team in the nation, the Carson-Newman Eagles… The win marked the first time since 1987 that a Newberry football team defeated Carson-Newman… Newberry racked up 500 yards of total offense during the game and caused a key Carson-Newman turnover in the second half to seal the game… On offense, the Indians (5-0, 1-0 SAC) out-gained the Eagles (4-1, 0-1 SAC) on the ground 260 to 226 and had a plus-10 advantage in first downs 25-15… On Carson-Newman's second drive, the Eagles drove down to the Newberry 18-yard line but failed to put points on the board when William Ingham's 36-yard field goal missed wide left… The Eagles would score just before halftime to cut the lead to 16-8… On a third-and-18 play, Carson-Newman quarterback Alex Good found Matt Ward open for a 54-yard touchdown pass… Good added the two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper to cut the lead in half just before intermission…Carson-Newman came back in the third quarter and made a 16-11 game when Inhgam's 23-yard field goal was good…Newberry pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points in the frame… Carson-Newman is home next week against Mars Hill at 3 p.m.
CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians dropped their first game of the season, falling 25-7 at Mars Hill on Saturday … The Catawba Indians allowed just 201 yards to Mars Hill, but three turnovers and a blocked punt aided the Lions in the win … Catawba totaled 276 yards and had 14 first downs to just nine for Mars Hill … The Lions committed no turnovers and held Catawba to just 2-of-13 on third downs … Catawba also failed to score at the end of the first half the defense allowed a 52-yard touchdown on a screen pass midway through the second quarter, but the final points were scored on a safety, an interception returned for a score, a field goal and a short drive after a blocked punt … Joe Brown and Ron Ellington led the Tribe defense with 10 tackles … Brown forced a fumble and had a sack … Darryl Locklear also had a sack … Catawba's lone score came on a one-yard plunge by Brad Roach early in the fourth quarter which brought the Indians within 15-7 … Roach threw for 220 yards on 17-of-38 passing … Robert Robinson led the rushers with 31 yards … Kory Fisher ran for 24 yards and caught four passes for 40 yards … Fisher has moved up to 12th on Catawba's all-time rushing list with 1,531 yards … Roach has moved past the 3,000 yard mark in career passing and stands ninth with 3,223 yards in just a little over a season as the signal caller … Brent Johnson is the leading receiver this season with 16 catches for 203 yards thus far … Catawba will hit the road again this week as the Catawba Indians travel to Newberry for a 7 p.m. kickoff … Catawba then plays three of the next four games at home.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (2-3, 0-1) opened South Atlantic Conference play with a 24-13 defeat to the hands of Presbyterian College (3-2, 1-0) Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium in Clinton, S.C., in the league's opening weekend … The Bears lost to the Blue Hose, the reigning South Atlantic Conference champions, for the seventh straight time … Presbyterian, behind the play of wideout Justin Durant (158 yards on four catches with two touchdowns), jumped ahead 21-0 early in the second quarter, a deficit Lenoir-Rhyne simply could not overcome … The Bears rallied and cut the margin to 21-13 in the fourth quarter but momentum when back to the host Blue Hose when an interception by Lenoir-Rhyne was fumbled right back … PC promptly took advantage and ended the contest with a 20-yard field goal … Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore wide receiver Pete Goodman (Charlotte, N.C.) and freshman wideout Dontez Simmons (Charlotte, N.C.) each tallied their first touchdowns receptions of their respective careers … On the ground, sophomore running back Ronnie Edwards (Union Hall, Va.) led the Bears with 85 yards on 20 carries while redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Sanders (Monroe, N.C.) was 12-of-30 for 110 yards with two touchdowns but was picked off twice … On defense, Lenoir-Rhyne senior lineman Benjamin McDowell (Forest City, N.C.) was the Bears took tackler with 10 including five for a loss and one and a half quarterback sacks … L-R held Presbyterian to just 55 yards of offense after the break … Lenoir-Rhyne looks to bounce back this week when it hosts Tusculum College (3-2, 0-1) Saturday at 2 p.m., in its annual Homecoming affair … The Pioneers lead the all-time series with the Bears, 6-3, but last season's 21-7 win (October 29, 2005) by Lenoir-Rhyne snapped a five-game losing streak to Tusculum … L-R is 35-19 (.648) all-time on Homecoming.
MARS HILL - The Lions' football team stunned No. 15 Catawba College Saturday in Meares Stadium defeating the Indians 25-7 in front of 3,112 fans. It was Mars Hill's first win over Catawba since 1995 when they defeated the Indians 36-16 in Salisbury, NC. MHC improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0- in the SAC while Catawba fell to 3-1 on the season and 0-1 in the league ... The defense and special teams were key in the Lions win holding the Indians to just seven points and forcing Catawba into three crucial turnovers ... MHC scored one touchdown off an interception return and the other interception stopped a late fourth quarter Catawba drive that led to a Lion field goal. The defense also recorded a safety in the win ... After a scoreless first quarter, Kendrick Johnson (West Columbia, SC) hauled in a screen pass from Ricky Spradling (Roan Mountain, TN) and scampered 52 yards for the Lions' first score. Chase Harris (Chiefland, FL) missed the PAT and MHC led 6-0 with 12:15 left in the first half ... The teams took that score into the locker room at the intermission ... With 11:44 on the clock in the third frame, MHC snuffed Catawba's tailback two yards deep into their end zone to record a defensive safety and extend their advantage to 8-0. The safety was set up by a 53-yard punt by Chris Cromer (Asheville, NC) that was downed at the Catawba one yard line. Cromer ended the day with six punts for a 40.5 average placing three inside the Catawba 20-yard line ... At the 4:02 mark in the third quarter, Mars Hill's Charles Chavous (Jackson, SC) deflected a Brad Roach (Williamston, NC) pass that was picked off at the Catawba 24-yard line by Derrick Williams (Jacksonville, FL). Williams ran the interception back for the Lions second touchdown of the afternoon. Harris' PAT kick was good and MHC led 15-0 ... Roach trimmed the Lions' lead to 15-7 after he plunged in from one-yard out with 13:10 on the clock in the fourth quarter. D.J. Gill's (Orlando, FL) PAT split the uprights ... A 42-yard pass from Raoch to Joe Mitchell (Tallahassee, FL) set up the score. Chavous deflected another Roach pass with 10:07 left in the game that was picked off by Ken Dockery (Murphy, NC). That interception led to a 27-yard field goal by Harris to extend the Lions advantage to 18-7 with 7:15 remaining in regulation. Johnson ended the Lions scoring with a three-yard run with 2:47 left in the contest. Harris PAT was successful to make the final tally, 25-7 in favor of the Lions ... The score was set up by a blocked punt at the Catawba 17-yard line. Alex Blucher (Miramir, FL) slipped through the Indians line to block the punt ... Johnson finished with 41 yards on 22 carries and one score followed by Spradling who threw for 80 yards completing 4-of-8 passes and one touchdown strike ... Demario Zachery (Atlanta, GA) caught four passes for 32 yards ... Chavous led a strong Lion defense. The defensive tackle recorded five tackles (4 solo), one tackle-for-loss, a sacks, three quarterback hurries and deflected a pair of passes that directly led to interceptions at critical points in the game ... Ryan Douglas (Charlotte, NC) led all tacklers with 11 followed by Chris Dowdell (Riverdale, GA) who tallied eight stops, two for loss, and a quarterback pressure ... Mars Hill will play at No. 6 Carson-Newman College on Saturday, October 7 at 3 p.m. Catawba will play at SAC foe Newberry College at 7 p.m.
NEWBERRY - It was a week of monumental proportions for the Newberry College football team… The week started off with the Indians earning their first-ever ranking in a national poll since moving to NCAA Division II… Newberry was ranked 24th in the nation in the AFCA Div. II Coaches Poll… The Indians capped off the week with a huge 32-18 victory over the sixth-ranked team in the nation, the Carson-Newman Eagles… The win marked the first time since 1987 that a Newberry football team defeated Carson-Newman… Newberry racked up 500 yards of total offense during the game and caused a key Carson-Newman turnover in the second half to seal the game… On offense, the Indians (5-0, 1-0 SAC) out-gained the Eagles (4-1, 0-1 SAC) on the ground 260 to 226 and had a plus-10 advantage in first downs 25-15… Josh Stepp finished with 261 yards on 21-of-25 passing and three touchdowns to become the school's all-time passing leader…The Indians used a 10-play 86-yard drive on their first possession to take the lead at 6-0 when Stepp found Tymere Zimmerman open on a 28-yard touchdown pass…On Carson-Newman's second drive, the Eagles drove down to the Newberry 18-yard line but failed to put points on the board when William Ingham's 36-yard field goal missed wide left… On Newberry's first drive of the second quarter, Stepp capped off a 14-play, 80-yard drive when he found Craig Jones open in the end zone for a one-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 13-0… The Indians put three more points on the board when Ryan Lukshis connected on a 26-yard field goal to make it a 16-0 game…The Eagles would score just before halftime to cut the lead to 16-8… On a third-and-18 play, Carson-Newman quarterback Alex Good found Matt Ward open for a 54-yard touchdown pass… Good added the two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper to cut the lead in half just before intermission…Carson-Newman came back in the third quarter and made a 16-11 game when Inhgam's 23-yard field goal was good…The Indians countered with a nine-play 67 yard drive to take the lead at 22-11… Stepp found Corey Seawell on a pass over the middle on a second and goal play to take an 11-point lead… Newberry pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points in the frame… Lukshis connected on his second field goal of the afternoon when his 22-yarder gave the Indians a 25-11 lead… The Indians cause a key turnover on the Eagles next drive when Emil Gibson forced a fumble which Derrell Mills fell on… From there, Newberry drove 78 yards down the field and was capped off when Alex Haynes found the end zone from seven yards out to make it a 32-11 game… Haynes finished with a single-game high 141 rushing yards on 26 carries… Zimmerman led all receivers with eight catches for 103 yards… Will Newell led the defense with 10 total tackles… Mike Grase contributed eight tackles, five coming as solos while Tony Ransom totaled 4 tackles, three solos, one sack and one tackle-for-loss…The Indians are 5-0 for the first time since 1979… Stepp continues to lead the nation in passing efficiency, throwing 13 touchdowns to zero interceptions… The offensive line has protected Stepp well, giving up no sacks this season… Haynes eclipsed the 1,000 yards mark in his career on Saturday… Seawell has caught a touchdown in four of the Indians five games this year… Lukshis moved into third place on the all-time career field goals made list with 19… Newberry will conclude their six-game homestand on Saturday as they face nationally-ranked Catawba for homecoming at Setzler Field.
PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian scored 21 points in the first 17 minutes of the game and never looked back as they defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 24-13 to acquire its 8th consecutive South Atlantic Conference victory … The 20th-ranked Blue Hose, who have now won seven straight against the Bears, improve to 3-2 (1-0) on the 2006 campaign, while L-R falls to 2-3 (0-1) … Justin Durant had one of the best days of his career in the contest, finishing the L-R victory with 158 yards receiving on just four catches. Durant finished the game with two touchdowns … PC's two quarterbacks (Doolitle and Mullins) combined for 188 yards (97 Mullins, 91 Doolittle) passing in the victory … Chetyuane Reeder found paydirt on the first drive, netting his first touchdown run of the year on a two-yard run to place the Blue Hose ahead 7-0 after a successful Carl Stevenson extra point attempt … It would not take long for PC to add more points to the scoreboard. On Lenoir-Rhyne's inaugural play of the contest, PC's Kevin Molony intercepted L-R starting quarterback Justin Sander's first pass attempt at the PC 42-yard line to give the Blue Hose excellent field position … The PC offensive attack was able to pick up another touchdown on their first play after the interception when Grayson Mullins found a striding Justin Durant for a 58-yard touchdown with 7:27 still left in the first quarter. The touchdown pass was the first of Mullins' intercollegiate career and after Stevenson's extra point proved to be the game-winner … The 58-yard touchdown pass from Mullins to Durant was the longest of the season thus far for Presbyterian … The first quarter ended with the Blue Hose up 14-0, but it would not take long for them to tack on seven more as Doolittle threw his second touchdown pass of the season to Justin Durant with almost two minutes off the game clock in the second quarter. The 53-yard touchdown pass from Doolittle to Durant earned the Blue Hose a 21-0 lead … The Blue Hose finally surrendered their first points of the game in the latter minutes of the second quarter after giving the Bears stellar field position on a fumble at their own 23-yard line … Justin Sanders found Pete Goodman for a 20-yard touchdown. The Bears' Andrew Coln missed the extra-point attempt, leaving the score at 21-6 going into halftime … Neither team would place points on the scoreboard in the third quarter, but Lenoir-Rhyne picked up their final points with 11:32 left in the final quarter on 23-yard pass from Sanders to Dontez Simmons. The touchdown made the score 21-13 … The Bears would not get any closer, but the Blue Hose did manage to get more confidence in their kicking game later in the quarter, as Carl Stevenson nailed 20-yard kick for his first field goal of the season and the Blue Hose's first field goal since the West Georgia game on Aug. 26 … Sherman Burnett led the Blue Hose defensively in the win, finishing with 10 total stops. … Presbyterian continues its SAC title defense next week as it welcomes Wingate to Bailey Memorial Stadium for its homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 7. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum College football team lost in its South Atlantic Conference opener at Wingate University, 21-3. Tusculum was limited to 86 yards offensively... The Pioneers only score came on a 45-yard field goal by senior Glen Black... It was Black's longest field goal of his career ... Tusculum's defense held the high-octane Bulldogs in check on the ground, limiting Wingate to eight yards rushing on the day. Freshman John Gregory established a new school single-game record with 424 yards punting in the game, surpassing the previous recorded of 402 yards set by Chad Busch against California (Pa.) in 1996. Gregory's 10 punts are tied for third most in TC history, one off the record held by Mike Carter (vs. Catawba, 1997) and Brice Stefanick (vs. Mars Hill, 2002). The Pioneers will wrap up the longest road swing (4 games) in school history this weekend as Tusculum travels to Lenoir-Rhyne College. It will be the 10th meeting overall between the two schools in a series that began in 1924. The 2 p.m. kickoff will also mark the first time the Pioneers have played a day game in Hickory. N.C. since that inaugural meeting on Nov. 15, 1924.
WINGATE - Wingate University senior wide receiver Dan Brooks caught three passes for a career-high 138 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs opened South Atlantic Conference play with a 21-3 victory over Tusculum College Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus. With the triumph, Wingate improves to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC ... On Wingate's second play from scrimmage, Bulldog senior quarterback Anthony Metzelaars found Brooks over the middle and the All-SAC standout rambled 84 yards for a touchdown to give the hosts an early lead. Redshirt junior kicker Jonathan Beford hit the PAT to give Wingate a 7-0 edge at the 10:43 of the first quarter ... Bulldog senior return specialist Donald Brown helped set up Wingate's next score. Brown returned a Pioneer punt 17 yards to the Tusculum 36 yard line. On the next play, Metzelaars hit junior tight end Chris Conklin with a 36-yard scoring strike. Beford's extra point made it 14-0 Wingate with 3:52 remaining in the first frame .... On the afternoon, the Bulldogs compiled 282 yards total offense against the Tusculum defense. The Pioneer defensive unit entered the game allowing 189.3 yards per game, good enough for number two in NCAA Division II. Tusculum was also fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only eight points per contest before Saturday ... The Bulldog defense held the Pioneers to 86 yards on 55 plays.Tusculum scored its only points of the evening with three minutes remaining in the second quarter. Pioneer senior place kicker Glen Black nailed a 45-yard field goal to put the visitors on the board.... Brooks and Metzelaars connected in the fourth quarter for Wingate's final points of the afternoon. The Bulldogs moved 57 yards on six plays, finishing the deal with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Metzelaars to Brooks with 4:28 to go in the ballgame. Beford added his final PAT to finish the scoring ... Metzelaars had a solid day, completing 15-of-24 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Seven different Bulldogs caught passes, led by sophomore wide receiver Gary Tatum and his four grabs ... Brown returned eight punts for 71 yards with a long return of 23 yards. He added a pass interception for the Bulldog defense. Brown and his defensive teammates allowed TC senior quarterback Cody Baugh to complete only 13-of-32 passes for 50 yards ... Wingate senior linebacker Stuart Sheppard led all players with 11 tackles (one solo, 10 assists). Bulldog junior defensive end Kenwin Cummings had four tackles and a game-high three quarterback hurries. A 2005 All-American, Cummings added one tackle for loss ... The Bulldogs travel to Presbyterian College Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest. Presbyterian leads the series between the two schools 11-6. PC has won 11 of the last 14 contests after Wingate won the first three games of the series. The first meeting was in 1989, when Wingate joined the SAC as the league became a comprehensive sports conference ... Wingate is 4-2 in the PC-WU series in games decided by eight points or less. On October 29, 2005, Presbyterian quarterback Zach Ellis tossed three touchdown passes and running back Corey Fidler topped the 100-yard plateau as the Blue Hose edged Wingate 27-21 at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus. The six-point margin was the closest SAC game of the 2005 season for Presbyterian. The Blue Hose won the 2005 regular season league title ... Metzelaars completed 21-of-46 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns in Wingate's 2005 contest against Presbyterian. Brooks caught a team-high five passes. Bulldog safety Jeremy Kent was one of five Wingate players with 10+ tackles. Kent had 16 tackles and a pass interception against the Blue Hose last season.