Weekly SAC Football Notes, October 28, 2007
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games of Saturday, October 27:
BREVARD -The Brevard College football team faced perhaps their toughest challenge of the season on Saturday afternoon, as they faced off with the No. 13 ranked Carson-Newman Eagles in Jefferson City, T.N. … The Eagles are the second nationally ranked opponent that the Tornados have lined up against on the road this season having faced the Wingate University Bulldogs only three weeks ago when they were ranked No. 23 overall … The loss drops BC to 2-7 overall, while the win bumps Carson-Newman to 8-1 for the season … The Eagles got on the board first when running back Ricky Harris pushed the ball across the goal line from one-yard out, capping off an eight-play drive that started at the Eagles own 44 yard line. Place kick Aubrey Ingham added the point after attempt to push the Carson-Newman lead to 7-0 … Carson-Newman would add to their early lead only three minutes later, as the Eagles again would rely on the running attack. Running back Dwayne Mims would break through the left-side of the Tornado defense and scurry in to the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown run. Again Ingham's point after attempt was good, pushing C-N's lead to 14-0 in the opening quarter … After Brevard's second straight three and out on the offensive side of the ball, Carson-Newman went on the attack again, capping off a 58-yard drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Good to receiver James Banks to help push the score to 21-0 … The BC defense would hold strong on the Eagles next offensive possession, as defensive tackle Christian Lumbu picked up a huge sack on the first down play. After linebacker ReShawn Parks picked up a tackle in the Eagle backfield to force a third and long, the Eagles drive was ultimately stopped on the next play as Richard Ray and Butch Bridges combined to pick up another sack and for the Eagles to punt for the first time on the afternoon … Down 21-0 the Tornados offense looked to start the second quarter off on the right track but failed to get going as a fumble on the option pitch was recovered by the Eagles giving them great field position deep in BC territory … Again the defense would come up big for BC as Devin Simpson forced a Mims fumble which was recovered by Josh Durm on the Tornados five-yard line to give the ball back to the BC offense … Yet BC could not capitalize on the turnover and after they were forced to punt again, the Eagles pushed the score to 28-0 midway through the second quarter, as Clarence Goines would score on a 10-yard run and Ingham added the extra point with 7:58 remaining in the half … Late in the second quarter the Tornado offense began to find its rhythm, as they put together a string of first downs before being forced to punt once again … The Eagles would add a field goal right before the end of the half to put the lead at 31-0 going into the halftime break … Coming out of the halftime period, the Eagles scored on the first play of the second half as reserve quarterback Doug Belk hit an open Justin Long on a swing pass, who then took it 56-yards for the score. Kicker Marcello Roberts added the extra point to push the score to 38-0 … The heart of the Tornados would show through, as on the next possession the Tornado offense broke through when freshman quarterback Trey Wilborn broke through on a quarterback option run, going 65-yards untouched down the BC sideline for the score. Chase Henry's extra point attempt was blocked, as BC got on the board making the score 38-6 … Carson-Newman would answer back with a score of its own, which was set up by a 50-yard kick off return. The Eagles, who started on the BC 30-yard line, capped off a six play, 30-yard drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak by Belk. After Roberts' extra point was good, the Eagles increased the lead to 45-6 … Yet the will and determination of the Tornados was conveyed, as Donald Hudson finished off a four-play, 53-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown scamper to cut into the large C-N lead. Henry's extra point was good to make the score 45-13 with a little over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter … Carson-Newman tried to again answer the Tornados score with a score of their own, as they drove down the field on their next possession only to have Goines cough up the ball on the goal line. BC's Stanley Jones recovered the loose ball on the one-yard line, giving the ball back to the Tornado offense that had scored on its previous two drives … Yet both teams offenses would slow down as neither team would score over the next eight minutes heading into the final quarter of play … Carson-Newman added a late score with only six seconds remaining in the game to seal the 52-13 win for the No. 13 ranked Eagles … In the second half of play, the Tornados played well as they held the No. 13 ranked Eagles to 21 points, while scoring 13 points of their own. BC also gained 154 yards on offense in the final two quarters of play, after gaining only 32 yards in the first half … Wilborn led the Tornados with 91 yards on only eight rushing attempts. Hudson had 26-yards on the ground, while sophomore Derek Church and running back John Taylor had 20 and 18 - yards, respectively … The Tornados return home next Saturday, November 3, as they will play host to the Catawba Indians in the 2007 home finale. Kick off is set for 2 p.m.
CARSON-NEWMAN - Carson-Newman amassed 592 yards of total offense en route to a 52-13 victory over Brevard at Burke-Tarr Stadium … The Eagles (8-1) held Brevard to just 13 yards passing for the day and built a large lead in the first half. Ricky Harris started the scoring spree with a one-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. Dwayne Mims continued the rushing onslaught with a 33-yard sprint to the end zone for a 14-0 Eagle advantage. C-N quarterback Alex Good took to the air and found James Banks for a 41-yard score for a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter … In the second quarter, Clarence Goines capped an eight-play, 68-yard drive with a 10-yard TD run to put Carson-Newman ahead 28-0. Aubrey Ingham's 28-yard field goal for a 31-0 Eagle advantage at halftime … Doug Belk entered the game for C-N in the third quarter and promptly tossed a 56-yard strike to Justin Long for a 38-point lead. Long had five catches for 88 yards on the afternoon … Brevard ended the shutout on the next series when quarterback Trey Wilborn raced 65 yards down the left sideline to cut C-N's advantage to 38-6. Belk and Adam Townsend added one-yard TD runs in the final period to complete the rout … Belk completed seven of 11 passes for 111 yards and a TD while Good finished the game with 72 yards passing and a touchdown. Matt Ward continued his strong rushing performance, garnering 137 yards on 12 carries … Defensively, Eric Rice led the Eagles with four tackles including a sack. Brandon Harmon and Derrick Parker also had four tackles each with Harmon getting a sack … The Eagles face their final regular season road test next Saturday at Wingate. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
CATAWBA - Catawba bounced back from its first loss to take a 45-20 win over Wingate at home ... The 15th-ranked Indians moved back atop the league standings with a 4-1 mark, leading Tusculum and Carson-Newman by a half game ... The Indians, who are averaging just over 42 points per game this season, need just 22 points to set a new school record for points in a season ... George Bell had his best day as a collegian, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for the first time and scoring three touchdowns ... Bell has tied a school record with 16 touchdowns and has 15 on the ground this season ... the 15 rushing scores has equaled a mark set in 1930 and also reached in 1935 ... Brad Roach continued his solid play, completing 18-of-27 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns ... Senior receiver Brent Johnson caught six passes for 82 yards and reached 100 receptions for his career ... Kory Fisher ran for 88 yards and a score and moved into second place on Catawba's all-time rushing chart with 2,384 yards ... On defense, Charles McAfee made nine tackles and Leon Ager totaled a career-high eight stops ... Marqus Davis made one of the key plays, sacking JD Moore early in the fourth quarter to force a fumble which he recovered, leading to a 38-20 lead ... Joe Brown had a pair of interceptions as Catawba helped cause five Bulldog turnovers ... Catawba will travel to Brevard this weekend for a first-ever meeting with the Tornados ... Catawba, ranked fourth in the Southeast Region, will close out the regular season at home the following week against Lenoir-Rhyne.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The 2007 Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (2-7, 0-4) remained winless in the South Atlantic Conference after falling to Mars Hill (5-3, 1-3), 39-13, Saturday afternoon at Meares Stadium in Mars Hill, N.C. … The Lions' George Washington rushed for 159 yards and one score as Mars Hill held a 508-87 advantage in total yards en route to the win … Mars Hill's Chappell Rose added 104 yards rushing and one touchdown as the Lions rolled up 395 yards on the ground and limited Lenoir-Rhyne to just 30 yards passing in the contest … Mars Hill took control early with three touchdowns in the first quarter and never looked back … L-R freshman defensive lineman Everett Tucker (Brunswick, Ga.) recovered a fumble in the end zone in the first quarter and freshman fullback Matt Warren (Iron Station, N.C.) caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Daniel Anderson (Douglas, Ga.) in the third stanza for the Bears' lone scores in the game … Both touchdowns were the first in the their collegiate careers for the respective players … After Lenoir-Rhyne cut the margin to 29-13 on Warren's score, Mars Hill put the contest away with Washington's 69-yard touchdown run on the ensuing possession … The Bears also remained winless on the Lions' home turf since 1989 … Lenoir-Rhyne next hosts South Atlantic Conference-rival Newberry in its home finale on Saturday at Moretz Stadium with a 2 p.m. kickoff … The two teams play for the Bishops' Trophy, which is annual game between the Lutheran Schools in the conference … The trophy was established in 1987 by the ELCA with the Bears leading series, 12-8 … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series with Newberry, 40-26-7 … Last year, Newberry prevailed by a 45-21 score on November 4, 2006, in Newberry, S.C. … The two teams will be meeting in Hickory, N.C., for the first time since the 2004 season (a 14-10 Bear win on September 25, 2004).
MARS HILL - George Washington (Warner Robbins, GA) rushed for 159 yard and the Lions' defense held Lenoir-Rhyne College to 87 yards of total offense as Mars Hill defeated the Bears 39-13 at the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium Saturday afternoon … It was the Lions' annual Homecoming game. MHC improved to 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the SAC. L-R fell to 2-7 overall and 0-4 in the league … MHC jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead. Demario Zachery (Atlanta, GA) gave the Lions a 7-0 lead with 10:52 left in the opening quarter on a seven yard run and then Ricky Spradling (Roan Mountain, NC) hit Travis Prince (Jacksonville, FL) for a 29 yard touchdown strike with 9:08 on the clock … Chase Harris (Chiefland, FL) nailed both PAT kicks as he was perfect on the afternoon in extra point attempts and went 3-3 in field goal attempts … Everett Tucker (Brunswick, GA) recovered a Lion fumble and scampered 12 yards into the endzone to trim the deficit to just seven points (14-7) with 6:16 remaining in the first period. Andrew Coln's (Simpsonville, FL) PAT kick split the uprights … Chappell Rose (Orlando, FL) extended the Lions' advantage to 21-7 on a 20 yard scoring rush with 3:36 left in the first frame. Then with 6:19 on the clock in the second quarter, MHC forced the Bears quarterback to throw the ball away in the endzone. Unfortunately for L-R, he was charged with intentional grounding that gave the Lions a safety … Harris then hit his first field goal of 24 yards with 1:20 left in the first half to send the team to the locker room at the intermission with MHC enjoying a 26-7 lead … At the 12:52 mark in the third stanza, Harris hit a 26 yard field goal to extend the lead to 29-7 … Matt Warren (Iron Station, NC) ended the Bears scoring with 5:45 left in the third frame on a 16 yard pass from Daniel Anderson (Douglas, GA). Washington then out ran the Bears defense 67 yards for his only score of the day with 4:06 left in the third quarter to give MHC a 36-13 lead. Harris ended the scoring in the game with four minutes left in regulation when he nailed a 25 yard field goal … The Lions' defense held L-R to just 87 total yards, 30 yards in the air. MHC also forced and recovered a Bear fumble and blocked a Bear punt. Stan Galbraith (Birmingham, AL) led the defense with 11 tackles (6 solo), two tackles-for-loss and a quarterback hurry. Rashawn Champion (Jacksonville, FL) tallied three tackles, an interception, a tackle-for-loss and recorded one pass break-up … Josh Baker (Skyland, NC) blocked the Bears punt and added five tackles in the win … Following Washington's rushing performance was Rose with 104 yards on the ground. Spradling passed for 113 yards and one score while Zachery rushed for 86 yards and pulled in two passes for 39 yards. Washington averaged 9.9 yards per carry in the game … MHC will travel to Greenville, TN next Saturday to face the Pioneers of Tusculum College at 1:30 p.m. L-R will host Newberry College next week at 2 p.m.
NEWBERRY - The No. 25 Newberry College Indians defeated Tusculum, 17-14, on a Ryan Lukshis 32-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining... The Indians (7-2, 3-2 SAC) were held to 12 first downs and 250 yards of total offense, but were able to use big defensive plays and a final drive to collect the victory. The win is Newberry's third consecutive victory in the series...Newberry struck first, on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Michael Johnson (Florence, S.C.) to Kelton Tindal (Sumter, S.C.) with 8:45 left in the first quarter. Johnson was 3-of-3 for 59 yards on the drive... The Indians had issues holding onto the ball in the opening half, as they fumbled the ball five times, losing it twice inside their own 25 yard line... The guests were driving deep into Newberry territory late in the third quarter, but sophomore cornerback Andre Moyd (Andrews, S.C.) intercepted a Russell pass and returned it 92 yards to paydirt to tie the game with 5:12 left in the period... Quarterback Brandon Gantt (Lexington, S.C.) engineered a nine-play, 83-yard drive to win the game for the Indians... After Tusculum's John Gregory pinned the Indians inside their own 2-yardline on a punt, Gantt completed a 28-yard pass to Tindal, then eluded multiple TC defenders in the backfield and escaped for a 28-yard gain down the sideline...A 23-yard completion to Eric Huggins (Conway, S.C.) got the Indians in field goal position... After a timeout, Lukshis set up for the 32-yard field goal and put it through the uprights to seal the win... Tindal was Newberry's leading receiver, catching four passes for 84 yards and the team's only offensive touchdown of the game. Gantt was 13-of-17 passing for 131 yards, while Johnson was 5-of-10 for 63 yards and a touchdown... Tony Ransom (Marion, S.C.) and Will Newell (Irmo, S.C.) led the Indians with nine tackles apiece...The Indians close out South Atlantic Conference play next weekend when they travel to Hickory, N.C., to take on Lenoir-Rhyne College in the annual Bishops Trophy game... Kickoff at Moretz Stadium is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers had their five-game winning streak snapped as they lost at No. 25 Newberry 17-14… The Indians got a 32-yard field goal with 1.9 seconds remaining in the game to record the victory… Tusculum (5-4, 3-1 SAC) suffers its first league loss of the year and is in a three-way tie for first place in the conference… The Pioneers committed four turnovers, including an interception that was returned 92 yards for a touchdown… Junior QB Corey Russell went 22-for-47 for 236 yards and two touchdowns… Patrick King churned out 128 all-purpose yards on the night… King finished with 70 yards rushing on 12 carries and added 51 yards on five receptions, including a 21-yard TD catch for Tusculum's first score… Sophomore punter John Gregory established a new school record with 4,698 punting yards to his credit, surpassing former All-American Paul Czerniak (4,568 yds. from 2000-01)… Senior DE Adrian Samples recorded a career-best 10 tackles against Newberry, including three for loss… Samples is fourth all-time with 38 career tackles for loss and fifth with 16 sacks… Earlier last week, Russell was named Football Gazette National Player of the Week for the second time this season… Tusculum is 5-0 this year when scoring 30 or more points… Tusculum is 52-3 all-time when scoring 30 or more points… Saturday's loss at Newberry marked the first time TC has lost at Setzler Field in five games… Senior WR Jamichael Caldwell has recorded a reception in 38 consecutive games… TC's five-game winning streak was the fourth longest in school history… The Pioneers are 2-2 this season against nationally-ranked teams and 10-20 all-time against ranked opponents… Tusculum will host cross-mountain rival Mars Hill College in the Pioneers home finale… It will be the final home game for 14 Tusculum seniors… This week's game with the Lions will be the 24th overall meeting between the two schools in a series that began in 1922… Tusculum leads the series 13-8-2 and have won the last four meetings, including the last three in Greeneville.
WINGATE - Catawba College claimed a 45-20 win over visiting Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at Shuford Stadium and Kirkland Field. The number 15 team in the AFCA Division II top 25 poll, the Catawba Indians improve to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the SAC. Wingate falls to 6-3 and 1-3 … Catawba jumped out to a 14-0 lead after a quarter. Brad Roach threw a 26-yard pass to Brent Johnson and George Bell would score late in the frame for the 14-0 lead … Wingate struck back with two scores as redshirt junior quarterback JD Moore connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Jordan Softcheck for a 44-yard score and senior tight end Chris Conklin hauled in a 27-yard pass from Moore. The Bulldogs would misfire on the second point-after try to leave Catawba with a 14-13 edge … The Indians would get two scores before the end of the half. Bell carried in from 11 yards out at the 5:30 mark and Cory Darnell added a 27-yard field goal with 48 seconds left in the half. Bell got the only score of the third quarter on a six-yard run to push the Catawba lead to 31-13 … Wingate pulled within 31-20 early in the fourth quarter on a four-yard run by redshirt freshman tailback Nelson Woods with 13:02 remaining. Catawba was stopped on its next drive, but Marqus Davis sacked Moore and caused a fumble which he recovered at the Bulldog 14. The fumble recovery led to a three-year run by Kory Fisher with 8:21 to go to give the Indians a 38-20 lead … Roach would complete 18-of-27 passes for 251 yards and a pair of scores for Catawba. The host Indians held a 454-352 edge in total yards. Johnson had six catches for 82 yards to reach 100 receptions in his career. Bell rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns … Woods was the workhorse for the Bulldogs, rushing for 160 yards on 25 carries. The Lawndale Burns High School graduate has six 100-plus yard games this season. Moore was 12-of-24 for 200 yards … Bulldog redshirt junior wide receiver Shawn Barrett led the Wingate receiving corps with five catches for 72 yards. Softcheck and Conklin caught three passes each. A pre-season All-American, Conklin tops the Bulldog charts with seven TD receptions … On special teams, Wingate junior running back Marcus Davis returned four kick-offs for 95 yards. Bulldog junior wide receiver Kameron Kranz returned four kick-offs for 68 yards. In addition, Kranz returned three punts for 29 yards. Kranz is 18th in the nation in kick-off returns and 49th in punt returns … Bulldog redshirt junior punter Michael Crutchfield had five punts; one was a touchback and another was inside the 20. Wingate redshirt senior place kicker Jonathan Beford is 18th in the NCAA in field goals per game … The Wingate University home football game versus Carson-Newman College on Saturday, November 3, 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 … The 1:30 p.m. game will be broadcast live from Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Internet at http://www.cstv.com/ncaa/divii/. The Carson-Newman at Wingate contest is one of only four Division II football games to be broadcast (via streaming video) by the NCAA on November 3 … The Bulldogs will celebrate homecoming on Saturday, when Wingate entertains Carson-Newman College. During Wingate's senior college history, the Bulldogs are 11-10 overall in homecoming games … 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 … The NCAA broadcasting involvement includes network television broadcasts, cable television, radio, satellite radio and Internet presentations of every NCAA championship.