Weekly SAC Football Notes, October 14, 2007

Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games of Saturday, October 13:

BREVARD - The Brevard College football team returned home after being on the road the last two weeks only to have their homecoming spoiled by the Tusculum Pioneers, who defeated the Tornados 30-7 on homecoming weekend … The loss drops the Tornados to 1-6 on the year, while Tusculum improves to 4-3, having won their last four games … Tusculum got on the board first and did not look back as they scored 30 unanswered points, including 21 in the first half … Tusculum was able to move the ball both through the air and on the ground against a Tornado defense that was on the field for most of the game … The Pioneers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead with 12:43 remaining in their first quarter, as junior quarterback connected with receiver Chris Young for a six-yard touchdown reception, which capped of a nine-play, 79-yards drive … Russell would then score the next two Pioneer touchdowns with his legs, as he scrambled from two-yards out to score with 2:09 remaining in the first half. Russell than ran the ball in on a designed quarterback sneak with no time remaining on the clock in the first half, to push the Pioneers halftime lead to 21-0 … The BC defense was challenged throughout the first half, as they were on the field a lot as the Tornado offense was unable to move the ball effectively against the Tusculum defense. For the half, the Tornados had 79-total offensive yards, with all of them coming by way of the running game … After the Homecoming festivities during the halftime break, the Tornados looked ready to blow, as they lined up on the offensive side of the ball to start the half. However, BC was forced to go three-and-out, brining on punter Luke Lovelace for his fifth punt of the night … Tusculum's offense did not miss a beat, as Russell would throw his second touchdown pass of the game with 8:45 remaining in the third quarter, as he was able to throw up a pass to Brandon Dixon who was able to grab the jump ball away from the BC defender to score the touchdown and push the lead up to 27-0. The extra point attempt by Gareth Rowlands was no good … However, after two more Tornado offensive drives stalled, Rowlands made amends for his missed extra point attempt by connecting on a 45 yard field goal to give the Pioneers a demanding 30-0 lead … Yet the heart of the Tornados would not give in as BC would punch in a score early in the fourth quarter, putting points on the board and spoiling the Pioneers shutout … Sophomore receiver Donald Hudson would score on a pitch play, running the ball in from three-yards out. The score was Hudson's first of the season and capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive, by far the best drive of the game for the Tornado offense … Yet BC would not cross the goal line again, falling 30-7 … While the Tornados offense was able to muster up only 193-yards, they did not have a single turnover for the game, after having eight over the past two weeks … Running back John Taylor led the Tornados with 64-yards rushing on 13 attempts, while fullback Desmond Wilson came up with his best game of the season, rushing 11 times for 46-yards … BC's punter Luke Lovelace punted the ball 10 times on the night for 355-yards, an average of 35.5 for the game. Lovelace placed two punts inside the opponents own 20-yard line … Tusculum was led by quarterback Corey Russell who connected on 20 of 35 passes, throwing for 303-yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Russell also rushed for 40-yards on eight attempts and two touchdowns … The football team will look to regroup before next week, when they will play host to LaGrange College on Saturday, October 20, at 2 p.m.

CARSON-NEWMAN - Catawba rallied from a 35-20 halftime deficit to hand Carson-Newman its first defeat of the 2007 season, 55-49 in front of a Homecoming crowd of 5,041 at Burke-Tarr Stadium … The Eagles (6-1, 2-1 SAC) struck first when Reggie Hubbard hauled in a 20-yard Alex Good pass for a 7-0 Carson-Newman lead in the first quarter. Hubbard and Good connected again on a 34-yard TD play for a 14-0 lead with 6:37 remaining in the quarter. After a Cory Darnell field goal put Catawba on the board, Ricky Harris scored an 11-yard TD to cap a seven-play, 38-yard drive for a 21-3 lead … Catawba quarterback Brad Roach then sprung the Indian offense into action, firing a 28-yard TD pass to Brandon Bunn to cut C-N's lead to 21-10 in the second quarter. After Darnell booted a 44-yard field goal get within eight points at 21-13, Good raced around left end for a 54-yard TD run as Carson-Newman increased the lead to 28-13. Harris added his second TD of the day, a six-yard run, for a 35-13 lead. Roach tossed his second TD pass just before halftime to Brent Johnson to put C-N's lead at 15 points at halftime … In the third quarter, Catawba began their comeback. Jamelle Cuthbertson capped a three-play, 76 yard drive with a one-yard TD run. Kory Fisher set up the score with a 69-yard run on the first play of the third quarter to the Carson-Newman seven-yard line … Roach hurled his third TD pass, a 41-yarder to fullback Walter Horne, with 7:18 remaining in the third quarter to complete the comeback and tie the game at 35-35 … Good directed another Eagle scoring drive, finding Otis Miller in the right corner of the end zone for a 41-yard TD pass to put C-N back on top 42-35. Roach then engineered Catawba's best drive of the day, directing a 19-play, 79-yard drive that took seven minutes off the clock. George Bell's one-yard TD plunge tied the score at 42-42 with 6:23 left in the fourth quarter. Good and Hubbard connected for their third score of the day, this one a 74-yarder to give C-N the lead again at 49-42. Roach and the Indians would not be denied as Bell scored on an 11-yard run with 3:11 remaining to tie the game again at 49-49 … The Eagles received the ball back on their own 11-yard line with 3:05 to play, but James Banks was tackled for an 11-yard loss by James House and Good's deep pass to Hubbard fell incomplete to give Catawba the ball back on their own 40 with 1:42 remaining. Roach completed five straight passes to put the Indians at the Eagle one-yard line. Bell scored his second TD of the game with 26 seconds remaining to put Catawba up 55-49 … Good completed a 54-yard pass with one second remaining to Otis Miller. Miller tried to lateral the ball to Hubbard, but was stopped by the Indian defense to end the game … Good finished with 14 carries for 161 yards and one touchdown and had a career day passing. He completed 12-of-22 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns, all career highs … Hubbard caught five Good passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns while Miller added three catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Roach set a school record, completing 37 of 64 passes for four touchdowns. Fisher rushed 11 times for 120 yards while Johnson caught a school record 13 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Mario Russell made a career high 11 tackles to lead the Eagles … Carson-Newman will seek a return to their winning ways at Lenoir-Rhyne on October 20. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians rallied from a 35-13 deficit to claim a thrilling 55-49 win over seventh-ranked Carson-Newman on Saturday in Jefferson City, TN … It marked the first win for the Indians at C-N since taking a 2-0 victory back in 1987 … Brad Roach threw for a career-high 486 yards and four touchdowns in the win, completing 37-of-64 passes with no interceptions and going over 6,000 career yards … The day just missed school records set by Luke Samples against the Eagles in 2003 when he went 38-of-66 for 492 yards … Brent Johnson did set a school mark in receptions as he hauled in 13 of Roach's tosses for 172 yards … He broke a standard of 12 which had been done four time, including once himself last season vs. Tusculum when he accounted for 196 yards … Antwan Strong picked up a career-high nine catches for 110 yards … the stirring rally started with a minute and half left in the first half after the Eagles had grabbed a 35-13 lead … Roach led the team to a last-second score, hitting Johnson from nine-yards out with just six tick left … Fisher opened the second half with a career-long 69 yard run, setting up a score that cut the lead to 35-27 … A drive later, Walter Horne caught his first career pass and turned into a 41 yard score … Roach tossed a two-point pass to Strong to tie the score at the 7:18 mark of the third … George Bell caught a one-yard pass for the first of his three scores to tie the game at 42-42 with 6:23 left … Catawba rallied to tie one more time as Bell carried in from 11 yards with 3:11 remaining … James House turned in huge play on defense as he corralled James Banks for an 11-yard loss on a second and one play … Catawba forced a punt and took the lead for the first time with 26 seconds left on Bell's one-yard run … the teams would combine for 1,280 yards of total offense, with Catawba racking up 651 … The win was the third straight for Catawba over a ranked opponent, the first time the Indians have done so in consecutive weeks vs. ranked teams … Catawba will travel to Tusculum this weekend to face a Pioneer team that defeated the Indians 21-20 last season in Salisbury.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The 2007 Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (2-5, 0-2) fell to No. 19 Wingate University (6-1, 1-1), 31-13, Saturday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference game in front of 7,131 fans on Bears Homecoming at Moretz Stadium ... Bulldog running back Nelson Woods rushed for 132 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns while receiver Shawn Barrett caught two touchdown passes as Wingate defeated Lenoir-Rhyne for the third straight year … Lenoir-Rhyne was able to tie the contest at 10 despite falling behind 10-0 early in the game thanks to four Bulldog first-half turnovers … Freshman fullback Chris Durm (Franklin, N.C.) scored the Bears' lone touchdown with 6:46 remaining in the second quarter from one yard out after Wingate muffed a catch on a Bear punt that put the ball on the Bulldog one-yard line … Wingate, however, took control in the third quarter with two touchdowns that put the Bulldogs ahead 24-10 … A blocked punt set up Wingate's game-winning touchdown as Nelson scored from four yards out to give the Bulldogs the lead for good with 10:42 remaining in the third quarter … Barrett's 13-yard touchdown catch from quarterback J.D. Moore (221 yards passing) was started by an interception by Wingate's Dietrich Wright later in the stanza and Nelson's 11-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter was sparked by a sack and fumble recovery by Jermaine Wallace … Wingate held Lenoir-Rhyne to just 191 yards of total offense while the Bear defense was led by sophomore linebacker Dewayne Jones' game-high 14 tackles and freshman defensive back Marcus Shuford (Newton, N.C.) with two interceptions ... Shuford now has three interceptions in his last two games … For the first time this season, Lenoir-Rhyne failed to rush at least 100 yards … Freshman quarterback Daniel Anderson (Douglas, Ga.) passed for 119 yards while freshman running back Andrew Courman (Beaufort, N.C.) rushed for 58 yards to lead the Bears … For the second straight week, senior kicker Andrew Coln (Simpsonville, S.C.) hit a career-long 50-yard field goal and the Mauldin High School native moved into third on Lenoir-Rhyne's all-time list for scoring for kickers with 160 … Lenoir-Rhyne hosts No. 7 Carson-Newman (6-1, 2-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m., at Moretz Stadium in a league contest … Carson-Newman leads the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne, 38-9, and has won 28 straight meetings between the two schools … L-R last defeated Carson-Newman in 1978, a 35-28 victory in Hickory, N.C.

MARS HILL - The Newberry College football team defeated the Lions of Mars Hill College, 48-24, at Setzler Field on Saturday. Newberry moves to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in SAC play, while Mars Hill drops to 4-3 overall and 0-3 in the league … Mars Hill's George Washington (Warner Robbins, GA) rushed for 161 yards on 28 carries, while Chappell Rose (Orlando, FL) scored two touchdowns on the ground to lead the Lions … The Lions opened the scoring on the first drive of the game, as Chase Harris' 30-yard field goal gave Mars Hill a 3-0 lead after a 10-play, 33-yard drive … Newberry replied on the next drive, as Kelton Tindal (Sumter, S.C.) hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to give the Indians a 7-3 advantage. After forcing the Lions to go three-and-out on their next drive, Newberry scored quickly, with a five-play, 58-yard drive capped by a 2-yard Tharry Salley touchdown. The scoring play was set up by a 38-yard reception by Corey Seawell (Columbia, S.C.), which put Newberry on the MHC 2 … Mars Hill attempted to use a trick play to cut the lead down, but wide receiver Demario Zachery's (Atlanta, GA) pass was intercepted by Andre Moyd (Andrews, S.C.), who returned it to the Mars Hill 22. The Indians immediately capitalized on the interception, as Michael Johnson and Tindal hooked up for a 22-yard touchdown to give Newberry a 21-3 advantage … Newberry's defense held Mars Hill to another three-and-out and put together a five-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown scamper from Salley to put Newberry ahead 28-3. Mars Hill responded with a well-manufactured 12-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Rose's first touchdown of the game from one yard out. Washington rushed for 54 yards on the drive … Once again, Newberry struck quickly after the Lions' score following an Antonio Patton (Woodruff, S.C.) kickoff return which set the Indians up at midfield. The Indians only needed three plays to reach paydirt, as Johnson and David Smith (Union, S.C.) connected for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 7:08 before halftime, giving Newberry a 35-10 lead … The Lions once again put together a nice drive, pushing the ball 72 yards down the field on 14 plays, but one defensive play on the 1-yardline would swing the momentum further in Newberry's favor. On a first-and-goal play from the Newberry 2, Devin Robinson (St. Helena, S.C.) hit Tyrea Allen as he tried to dive into the endzone. The ball popped loose, and Newberry's Isaac Johnson (Summerville, S.C.) fell on it for a touchback to stop the threat and keep Newberry's lead at 35-10 at the half … On the opening kickoff of the second half, Patton showed why he is one of the most dangerous return men in the South Atlantic Conference, as he returned the ball 68 yards to the Mars Hill 20. After Derek Young (Wellford, S.C.) was stuffed for a loss of five on the opening paly of the drive, Salley recorded his third touchdown of the night on a 25-yard scoring run, giving Newberry a 42-10 lead … Mars Hill put together another good drive that paid off, as the Lions drove 69 yards on 10 plays and scored on a quarterback keeper from Ricky Spradling (Roan Mountain, TN), to cut the deficit to 42-17 … Salley proved to be a quick strike scoring threat for the fourth time on the night, as he carried the ball 59 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the drive to finish off the Newberry scoring … The final score of the night came in the fourth quarter, as Rose earned his second score of the night at the end of an 11-play, 69 yard drive. Mars Hill won many statistical battles, as the Lions had 28 first downs to Newberry's 18, and recorded 300 rushing yards. But Newberry only ran 50 plays to earn 417 yards, while Mars Hill gained 466 yards on 89 plays. Defensively, Derrell Mills (Gray Court, S.C.) and Stewart Good (Rock Hill, S.C.) led the Indians with 10 tackles apiece. Those performances are the first double-digit tackle games by Indian players this season. Moyd and Temarcus Thompson (Greenville, S.C.) each had interceptions, while the team forced two fumbles. Xavier Jordan (Tiffton, GA) led the Lions with seven tackles. Mars Hill has an open week before hosting Lenoir-Rhyne on October 27 in their annual Homecoming game.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College Indians won on Homecoming night, 48-24, over Mars Hill College behind an efficient offensive performance... The hosts racked up 417 yards of offense on only 50 plays... Sophomore running back Tharry Salley ran for 174 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries in just his second collegiate start... It was his first 100-yard game following a 95-yard game at Catawba last week... Salley scored on carries of 2, 30, 25 and 59 yards... Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Johnson earned his second start of the season, and the signal caller showed why he was chosen, as he was 10-of-13 passing for 170 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions... Receiver Kelton Tindal hauled in touchdown passes of 25 and 22 yards, while David Smith snagged a 27-yarder in the second quarter... The Newberry defense was led by Derrell Mills and Stewart Good, who each recorded 10 tackles... Andre Moyd and Temarcus Thompson each tallied interceptions, while defensive end Devin Robinson forced a fumble as the Mars Hill running back attempted to dive across the goal line... The Indians will look to even their SAC record and improve their NCAA Southeast Region playoff hopes next Saturday at Wingate University. Kickoff at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field in Wingate, N.C., is slated for 1:30 p.m. The game will be available for viewing on the NCAA's Division II webstream at http://www.cstv.com/ncaa/divii/ .

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (4-3) recorded its fourth consecutive win with a 30-7 victory at Brevard College… The Pioneers posted 618 yards offensively (348 passing, 270 rushing) as junior QB Corey Russell accounted for four touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing) on the night... Russell tied a Tusculum career record with his 37th career touchdown pass, matching the all-time mark by former All-SAC signal caller Tony Colston (2002-04)… Russell went 20-for-35 for 303 yards… He also rushed for 37 yards on eight carries including two touchdowns, both coming in the final two minutes of the second half… Tusculum's 618 yards are the third most total offensive yards in school history… TC established a new school single-game record with 33 first downs… TC's leading rusher was Jamar Ferguson as he finished with 56 yards on 10 carries… Brandon Dixon recorded his fifth TD catch of the year, tying Ryan Tallent for the team-lead… Ten different players recorded a reception for Tusculum… The win ended a three-game road losing streak for the Pioneers… The Tusculum defense limited the Tornados to 14 passing yards on the evening… TC head coach Frankie DeBusk records his 57th career win and is now one victory shy of tying former Presbyterian skipper Cally Gault for sixth all-time in the SAC record book… Jamichael Caldwell has recorded a reception in 36 consecutive games… Caldwell also moved into second place on the TC all-time receiving yards list (1,846)… Tusculum hosts nationally-ranked Catawba in an important South Atlantic Conference showdown at Pioneer Field… Catawba leads the all-time series 8-3, but the Pioneers have won two of the last three meetings, including last year's 21-20 decision in Salisbury… TC is 9-18 all-time against nationally ranked opponents, with two of those wins coming against Catawba (23-21 in 1998; 42-35 in 2004)… Tusculum is 3-0 at home this season.

WINGATE - The Wingate University football team outscored Lenoir-Rhyne College 21-3 after intermission to take a 31-13 South Atlantic Conference victory over the Bears Saturday afternoon. The contest was the Bears' homecoming game … Wingate redshirt freshman running back Nelson Woods rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Bulldog redshirt junior wide receiver Shawn Barrett added 72 yards receiving on a game-high nine catches and two scores as Wingate defeated Lenoir-Rhyne for the third straight year and fifth time in the last six tries … Bulldog redshirt junior quarterback JD Moore helped Wingate score on its first two possessions to jump ahead 10-0 eight minutes into the contest. Barrett's five-yard touchdown catch from Moore gave the Bulldogs the 10-point advantage with 6:48 remaining in the opening frame … Moore completed 20-of-36 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, the East Gaston High School graduate has completed 124-of-216 passes for 1625 yards and 18 touchdowns … Lenoir-Rhyne was able to take advantage of four first-half Wingate turnovers to tie the contest at 10 going into intermission. Bear freshman fullback Chris Durm scored from one yard out following the muffed catch on a punt that put the ball at the Wingate one … Bear senior place kicker Andrew Coln tied it at 10 with a 50-yard field goal. Coln's field goal was set up from an interception by L-R freshman defensive back Marcus Shuford late in the second stanza … Wingate took control early in the second half with two touchdowns to push its advantage to 24-10. The Bulldogs were never threatened again. "We made too many mistakes (in the first half)," Wingate head coach Joe Reich said. "I give our guys credit. We stayed focused. We've been in similar situations. I thought we executed well in the second half." … Wingate redshirt sophomore defensive back Brandon Lawson blocked a third-quarter punt to set up Woods' first of two touchdowns. The Lawndale Burns High School graduate scored from four yards out, giving Wingate the lead for good at 17-10 with 10:42 to go in the third frame … "I thought Brandon Lawson's blocked punt turned the tide (of the game)," Reich acknowledged. "He makes many things happen on special teams. His play was big today." … Wingate made it 24-10 later in the third quarter with Barrett's 13-yard touchdown reception on a drive started by Dietrich Wright's interception. Woods put the contest out of reach with an 11-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter … Wingate's fourth and final touchdown of the game was set up by senior defensive lineman Jermaine Wallace's sack and fumble recovery. For the day, Wallace had four tackles, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and 1.5 quarterback sacks … The Bulldog defense limited the Bears to only 191 yards of total offense. Redshirt senior linebacker Bobby Floyd and senior linebacker Tyler Johnson topped the Wingate defensive charts with 12 tackles each. One of four Bulldog team captains, Johnson played his scholastic football at Hickory High School … Wingate redshirt senior place kicker Jonathan Beford added another field goal to his ledger Saturday. He opened Wingate's scoring with a 32-yard field goal at the 12:42 mark of the first quarter. Beford leads Wingate in scoring with 57 points … Beford has converted nine-of-12 field goals and 30-of-33 extra points this season. An Olympic High School graduate, Beford leads the SAC in kick scoring. In addition, he is second on the SAC charts in field goals made per game … The Wingate football team was ranked number 19 in this week's American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll, released Tuesday from the AFCA headquarters. The Bulldogs climbed four steps from the previous week's number 23 spot. In addition, Wingate charted at number 32 in last week's Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division II Top 40 poll … The Wingate University home football game versus Newberry College on Saturday, October 20, has been selected by the NCAA Division II President's Council and the Media Advisory Group as one of four broadband streaming video NCAA Division II Football Games of the Week for the aforementioned weekend … The 1:30 p.m. game will be broadcast live from Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Internet at http://NCAAsports.com/dii. The Newberry at Wingate contest is one of only four Division II football games to be broadcast (via streaming video) by the NCAA on October 20 … The 2007-08 academic year is the second year that the NCAA has offered Division II regular season broadband packages. This fall, Division II football and volleyball games are being aired over the Internet. During the winter, the NCAA will broadcast men's and women's basketball contests on TV and over the Internet … Last year at Newberry, the 17th-ranked Indians edged the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs 36-24 on Saturday night, Oct. 21, 2006. Wingate quarterback Anthony Metzelaars completed 22-of-42 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns. Bulldog wide receiver Dan Brooks led the Wingate receiving corps with eight catches for 90 yards … For the Wingate defense, Johnson had 11 tackles. Bulldog safety Jeremy Kent recorded 10 tackles. Both Johnson and Kent had six solo stops.