Football Game Notes, October 30, 2010
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games through Saturday, October 30:
BREVARD - The Brevard College Tornados football team ran for 299 yards and Michael Crumbaker threw two touchdown passes to lead Brevard against Tusculum College on Saturday afternoon, but Bo Cordell and the Tusculum offense had 408 passing yards and seven scoring strikes to defeat the visiting Tornados, 51-35 ... Kelvin Jeter had a late 41 yard touchdown run to lead the Brevard (3-6, 0-5 SAC) rushing attack, picking up 105 yards on 17 carries, averaging 6.2 yards per attempt in the contest ... Neville Bryce continued his recent success with 10 carries for 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Crumbaker had 16 carries for 55 yards ... Crumbaker was six of 13 through the air for 72 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, while throwing an interception. Eric Watts was the recipient of four of those passes for 22 yards, including a four-yard fade in the corner of the end zone, while Derek Church had a 45 yard pickup and Thadus Benton III had a five yard scoring reception ... Defensively, the Tornados were led by Prince Simunyu, as the junior linebacker had a game high 13 tackles in the contest, including one for a loss ... Trey Jenkins added seven tackles, while Ryan Wannamaker had a sack in the game ... Brevard returns home on Saturday, November 6th, as they host Newberry College in the Tornados final regular season home contest ... Kickoff for the game is set for 2 p.m.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman College football team suffered through seven turnovers, but still overran South Atlantic Conference rival Newberry College by a score of 35-13 Saturday night at Setzler Field ... Carson-Newman is now 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in the SAC ... The Eagles rushing game was unstoppable, laying down a season-high 451 yards on the ground ... Freshman running back Tyron Douglas made his presence known in a big way against the Wolves. Douglas carried the ball 23 times for 186 yards and four touchdowns ... Douglas opened the scoring for the Eagles with a five-yard TD run in the second quarter that gave C-N a 7-3 lead ... The Eagles defense dominated the game, holding both of Newberry's premier receivers, David Pressley and Brandon Bostick below 100 yards and to zero touchdowns ... Newberry had no better luck on the ground, gaining just 86 yards in the game. The Wolves finished 1-of-16 on third downs and only gained 11 first downs total ... Free safety Mario Russell grabbed his first interception of the season in the second half ... Freshman linebacker Jaycob Coleman returned an interception for a touchdown, but had it called back due to a block in the back penalty ... It only added an extra play, as Douglas took the ball the final 15 yards for the score ... Newberry struck back before the quarter ended, with quarterback Parker Hite running a 12-yard quarterback keeper into the endzone. The Eagles led 14-10 at the half ... The Eagles dominated the second half from the opening whistle ... The defense held the Wolves to a three-and-out. On its first possession of the period, Carson-Newman powered its way down the field with a 10-play drive to take a two-score lead on a Doug Belk one-yard plunge ... Belk finished with 16 carries for 183 yards ... Douglas and Belk teamed up to push the Eagles down the field again ... Douglas found a seam in the Wolves' defense, taking the ball 34-yards for the touchdown ... Douglas punched the ball in one more time, taking it in from the six in the fourth quarter ... Nate Inman rushed 17 times for 64 yards ... The Eagles defense was led by middle linebacker Anthony McAlister with seven tackles. Safety/cornerback Issac Kinley had six tackles and a pass break up. Zeke Andrews had five tackles, four for a loss and a sack ... Carson-Newman returns to action on Saturday in its final home contest of 2010 ... The Eagles are set to host Lenoir-Rhyne at 2 p.m. in Burke-Tarr Stadium ... Lenoir-Rhyne enters the contest coming off a 27-24 loss to Wingate ... Carson-Newman needed a late touchdown pass to defeat the Bears, 17-13, last season ... The Eagles have won 31 straight games against Lenoir-Rhyne and lead the all-time series 41-9 ... The contest will feature two of the best rushing attacks in the nation, as both the Eagles and Bears are ranked in the top three nationally.
CATAWBA - Josh Wright ran for over 100 yards for the third time in four weeks, rushing for a career-best 152 yards and three scores, as Catawba knocked off Mars Hill 38-28 … The Indians trailed 21-10 early in the third quarter before reeling off 28 straight points to grab the win … Catawba out-gained the Lions 277-143 on the ground and capitalized on five Mars Hill miscues … Patrick Dennis' 60-yard strike to Gerron Bryant with 4:42 left in the third quarter put the Indians up for good at 24-21 … Damien Lee caused a pair of Mars Hill fumbles, recording a pair of sacks and three stops for losses … It marked the second straight week that Catawba had overcome a double-digit deficit to win.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University football team (5-4, 2-3) saw its hopes to clinch its first winning season since 1994 end temporarily with a 27-24 setback to Wingate University (6-2, 4-1) Saturday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference game at Irwin Belk Stadium … Wingate's Cody Haffly threw three first-half touchdown passes and finished with 300 yards through the air as the Bulldogs defeated the Bears for the sixth straight year and remained tied for first place in the league standings … Wingate's RP Lopez also kicked two fourth quarter field goals, including the game-winner from 25 yards out with 3:48 remaining to lift the Bulldogs to the win … All three of Haffly's touchdowns came in the second quarter, including two to Chris Bowden, as Wingate overcame an early special teams mistake (a muffed punt) and six quarterback sacks by Lenoir-Rhyne … After trailing 21-17 at intermission, Lenoir-Rhyne took its final lead of the game after taking the opening kickoff of the second half and marching 72 yards on 11 plays capped off by senior running back James Pone's (Wilson, N.C.) seven-yard touchdown run with 9:07 remaining in the third quarter … However, L-R was held without a point the rest of the way but had a chance to tie on junior placekicker Colin Corpe's (Ocala, Fla.) 47-yard field goal try that was blocked by Wingate's Terrance Stephens with 23 seconds remaining in regulation … Bowden finished with 122 yards receiving and two scores while the Bulldogs' defense, led by Jared Seate's game-high 17 tackles, held Lenoir-Rhyne (the No. 1 rushing offense in NCAA Division II) to 229 yards on the ground … For Lenoir-Rhyne, junior fullback Byron Darby (Gastonia, N.C.) ran for a career-high 127 yards on 22 carries while redshirt freshman defensive lineman Brandon Martin (Roebuck, S.C.) finished with two-and-a-half quarterback sacks … Junior quarterback Major Herron (Kingsland, Ga.) rushed for two scores to increase his conference-leading touchdown mark in 2010 to 13 … Lenoir-Rhyne now has a team-leading 33 quarterback sacks on the year as well … Corpe moved into third place alone on L-R's all-time scoring list for kickers with 173 … Lenoir-Rhyne travels to Jefferson City, Tenn., next Saturday to take on Carson-Newman (6-3, 4-1) in its final road contest of the year beginning at 2 p.m. … Carson-Newman leads the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne, 41-9, and has won the last 31 meetings between the two schools … The Bears' last win over the Eagles was a 35-28 triumph in 1978 in Hickory, N.C.
MARS HILL - The Lions' football team lost to SAC rival Catawba College, 38-28, Saturday afternoon at the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium. Mars Hill fell to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the league … Jonas Randolph (Daleville, Ala.) rushed for 188 yards on 23 carries averaging 8.2 yards carry. He also scored three times for MHC … Jon Richt (Watkinsville, Ga.) threw for 245 yards completing 17-27 passes. Richt set records for most passing yards in a single season (2,125 yards in 1993) and total offense (2,083) in a single season … The old records were held by Ashley Abernathy for passing yards in a single season (1,967) and Joe Pizzo for total offense in a single season (2,080 yards in 1985) … P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) caught six passes for 125 yards. Rudy Cabral (Fairview, N.C.) led the Lions' defense with 12 tackles (7 solo) and an interception … Curtis Riley (Orlando, Fla.) followed with 11 tackles (8 solo), a tackle-for-loss and an interception he returned 26 yards. After two Lion fumbles, Catawba took a 10-0 advantage … Wright dove in from three yards out at the 9:10 mark in the first quarter and then Thomas Trexler (Wilmington, N.C.) hit a 31-yard field goal with 12:45 left in the second quarter to give Catawba a 10-0 advantage … Randolph brought MHC within three points on a 47-yard scoring run with 10:13 left in the half. Randolph then put MHC ahead 14-10 heading into the locker room at the intermission on a three-yard dive. Randolph had 147 yards rushing on 14 carries in the first half of play … Randolph had another three-yard scamper into the endzone at the 13:44 mark in the third stanza to give MHC a 21-10 lead … Wright trimmed the deficit to 21-17 on a two-yard rush with 8:45 on the clock in the third quarter … The Lions fumbled on their next possession and Catawba capitalized on a four play, 61-yard drive to take a 24-21 advantage with 4:42 left in the third frame … On fourth-and-four, trailing 24-21 on Catawba's 46 yard line, Mars Hill had a bad snap sail over the Lions' punter's head and the result gave Catawba the ball at the MHC 25 yard line with 7:03 left in the game. Two plays later Catawba scored to seal the win when Wright ran in from three yards out at the 6:30 mark … Catawba added an insurance touchdown with 3:26 on the clock when Rashaun Gaither (Yadkinville, N.C.) ran in from 22 yards out to make the score 38-21 in favor of the visitors … Joshua Young (Jacksonville, Fla.) caught an eight-yard pass from Richt with 1:32 left in regulation to make the final tally, 38-28 … Mars Hill will play at Wingate University next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. … MHC leads the series against the Bulldogs, 13-11. The Lions lost to Wingate in 2009, 56-35. They beat the Bulldogs, 45-42 in 2008.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry College Wolves dropped their third straight South Atlantic Conference game of 2010, this time losing to Carson-Newman, 35-13 ... The 13 points was Newberry lowest point output of the season ... The Wolves forced six C-N turnovers, but could not capitalize on offense ... Ron Parker made an interception on the third play of the game, marking his fifth of the season and eighth total takeaway of the year ... Britt Blackmon made field goals of 32 and 28 yards, while quarterback Parker Hite scored on a 12-yard touchdown scamper ... Newberry recorded 102 tackles, but allowed 472 total yards of offense, while the Wolves themselves only managed 268 yards ... Punter JoJo Morris averaged 43.1 yards per kick and had two punts of over 60 yards, including a 66-yarder ... Max Elliott became the school's single season leader in kick return yardage after 160 yards on the night ... His 890 return yards breaks the old school record by over 130 yards ... David Pressley managed 10 catches for 62 yards... He is now third in school history in career receptions with 129, fifth in career yardage with 1,654 yards ... His 67 catches for 891 yards this season leaves him just four catches and 87 yards short of school records in the single season categories ... Josh Williams had a season-high 14 tackles, Arterio Arnold had 13 tackles and a fumble recovery and Adim Obata and R.J. Reeder each had 10 stops ... The three-game losing streak is Newberry's longest since 2005 ... Newberry had not lost three straight SAC games since 2004... Newberry moves on to take on Brevard College in the final road game of the season next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Asheville High School ... Newberry is 4-0 all-time against the Tornados and has never allowed a Brevard touchdown.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (5-4, 1-4 SAC) snapped a four-game losing streak, while capturing their first league win of 2010 in Saturday's 51-35 victory over Brevard… Sophomore QB Bo Cordell passed for a school and SAC single-game record seven touchdowns in the victory… Cordell went 38-for-55 for 408 yards for his eighth consecutive game with 400 or more yards passing… During that eight-game span, Cordell is averaging 428.8 ypg… Junior Deonte' Gist recorded nine receptions for 140 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, which was one shy of a TC single-game record… Gist finished the afternoon with 141 all-purpose yards for the Pioneers, including a 28-yard punt return that set-up a Tusculum TD… TC rallied from an early 7-0 deficit and outscored the Tornados by a 44-7 margin over the next two-and-a-half quarters… Junior TE Michael Rodriguez added nine catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns, giving him nine on the year, which ties a TC single-season record with Nate Binder (2008) and Ryan Tallent (2008)… Junior Rashaad Carter accounted for five grabs for 66 yards and a TD, while senior Calvin Britt finished with four catches for 43 yards and a TD reception, adding to his already school-record 25 for his career… Cordell has passed for 32 TD this year, which are the second-most in school history and fourth-most by a SAC signal caller… He has already established school season records with 327 completions (2nd in SAC history) on 511 attempts (3rd in SAC history)… His 3,748 passing yards so far this season are second in TC history and fourth in conference history… He leads all NCAA divisions with his 416.4 passing yards per game average, which is on pace to be the second highest in NCAA Division II history (437.3 ypg by J.J Harp, Eastern New Mexico in 2009)… Britt has posted 2,224 receiving yards in his 39-game career at Tusculum, which are third in school history… He needs 153 yards to match TC's all-time leader Kevin Wolcott, who posted 2,377 yards from 2000-2003… Tusculum has three players on the active roster who have accounted for over 1,000 receiving yards in their career in Britt, Carter (1,688) and Gist (1,407), marking only the second time that this has happened at TC (other was in 2009 when Binder, Tallent, Britt and Jarrell NeSmith all had 1,000 at one point)… Freshman punter Andy Rosetti is averaging 40.7 yards per punt in his last four games… Senior PK Gareth Rowlands scored nine points against Brevard including a 42-yard field goal and 6-of-7 on extra points… Rowlands' miss was his first in 54 PAT attempts, ending the longest string in school history… Rowlands has scored 81 points this season, which are tied for the most by a TC kicker in school history… He has kicked for a school-record 240 points, which are second in TC history for all Pioneers… Junior DE Jason Muehling recovered his third fumble this season on Saturday against Brevard… His three recoveries are tied for third-most in TC history and one off the record set by Kenneth Smith (1991) and Justin Scott (2007)… All-American Paul Czerniak also accounted for 81 points in 2000… Saturday's win was the 34th come-from-behind victory for Tusculum head coach Frankie DeBusk… The Pioneers are a perfect 3-0 this season when losing the opening coin toss… Tusculum returns to action this Saturday as the Pioneers travel to SAC co-leader Catawba… Catawba leads the all-time series 10-4… This will be the 15th recorded meeting between Tusculum and Catawba in a series that began in 1996… Eight of the last 10 meeting have been decided by eight points or less… During that 10-year span, six have been decided by five or fewer points.
WINGATE - Wingate University redshirt senior defensive back Terrence Stephens blocked the potential game-tying field goal with 29 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to preserve Wingate's 27-24 victory over the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs remain tied for first place in the SAC, improving to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the league … Wingate redshirt junior quarterback Cody Haffly completed 20-of-29 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Chris Bowden caught four passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Jared Seate piled up 17 tackles on the afternoon. Redshirt senior place kicker RP Lopez kicked two fourth quarter field goals as the Bulldogs defeated the Bears for the sixth straight year … Lenoir-Rhyne had a chance to force overtime but junior placekicker Colin Corpe had his 47-yard field goal attempt blocked by Stephens. Corpe had converted four field goals in a SAC victory over Tusculum College last week … The Bears opened the scoring early in the first quarter when junior quarterback Major Herron ran it in from one yard out after redshirt freshman Graham Duncan returned a muff snap on a Wingate punt 31 yards to the Bulldog one-yard line … Wingate tied the contest at seven on the first play of the second quarter when Haffly found Bowden for a 34-yard touchdown reception. The drive (four plays and 70 yards) was set up by Haffly's 50-yard completion to Bowden on third and 19 … Herron broke the seven-all tie with his second touchdown of the game (a four-yard run) that finished a seven-play, 69-yard drive with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter. The score gave the Bears a 14-7 advantage. Herron's 44-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Artis Gilmore was the key play in the drive … Another Haffly-to-Bowden touchdown pass (20 yards) tied the game once again at 14-14 before Corpe gave the Bears a 17-14 advantage with a 25-yard field goal at the 2:25 mark of the second half. Wingate took the lead at intermission on Haffly's third touchdown toss of the contest, a 15-yarder to senior All-American Perry Floyd with only five seconds left on the second quarter clock. The play was set up by a 29-yard interception return by redshirt senior defensive back Tyrone Scott to the L-R 16-yard line … Lenoir-Rhyne went ahead once again at 24-21 after taking the opening kick-off of the second half and marching 72 yards and 11 plays. The drive was concluded with a seven-yard TD run by Bear senior running back James Pone. Wingate tied the game at 24 when Lopez nailed a 23-yard field goal with 10:17 left in the contest. His 25-yarder on the Bulldogs' next drive proved to be the game-winner with 3:48 to play … Floyd has set the school record for all-purpose yards in a season. He has 1448 all-purpose yards this year. The Forestview High School graduate leads the SAC in all-purpose yards and punt returns (15.9 yards per return) … Haffly is completing 63 percent of his passes this season. The school record for a season is 58 percent. He is 189-of-300 for 2566 yards and 22 touchdowns. Woods has 16 career 100-yard games. In those 16 contests, the Burns High School product is averaging 142 yards per game. Place kicker RP Lopez is perfect this year, as the redshirt senior is eight-for-eight on field goals and 28-for-28 on extra points. He is the only SAC kicker who can make this claim … Wingate's eight 2010 games have been decided by seven points or less. Wingate is 12-13 overall in senior college homecoming football games. The Bulldogs and the Bears have battled in five WU homecoming games. Wingate has won the last two homecoming encounters with Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears lead the series between the two schools 15 10; however, Wingate has won eight of the last nine meetings between the two rivals. Lenoir-Rhyne is one of two teams (Mars Hill College is the other) Wingate has played every year since the institution revitalized football in 1986 … The Bulldogs will conclude a two-game home stand next Saturday, celebrating Sports Hall of Fame Day against Mars Hill (1:30 p.m. start). In addition, Wingate will honor 17 seniors in pre-game festivities … Mars Hill leads the overall series between the two schools 13-11. Wingate has won three of the last four contests in the rivalry. Last year, the Bulldogs won a wild 56-35 decision at Mars Hill. In the 2009 contest, the two teams combined for 972 yards of total offense. Wingate accumulated 520 yards, while Mars Hill tallied 452 total yards. The Lions fumbled the ball five times and lost possession on four of those miscues … Wingate currently has three players in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League. David Jones (Jaguars) and Kenwin Cummings (Jets) represent the Bulldogs in the NFL. John Bowman (Montreal) is playing in the CFL. Bowman and his Montreal Alouettes won the 2010 Grey Cup, the Canadian equivalent of the Super Bowl.