Weekly SAC Football Notes Oct. 28
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games ending Saturday, October 28.
CARSON-NEWMAN - Presbyterian scored 21 points in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating No. 20 Carson-Newman 28-7 before 3,421 at Bailey Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon ... The Blue Hose have now picked up three straight victories over the Eagles and four in the last six seasons ... The only other team to defeat Carson-Newman in three consecutive games under head coach Ken Sparks' 27-years at the helm is North Alabama ... Presbyterian (6-3, 4-1 SAC) is the only team in the SAC to accomplish the feat ... Carson-Newman is home this week against Wingate. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
CATAWBA - Four turnovers hurt Catawba's bid for an upset on Saturday at Wingate … Two interceptions in the red zone ended a pair of scoring chances, while two others led to Bulldog touchdowns … Catawba did avoid a shutout with a fourth quarter score, extending its streak of scoring to 142 games … Brad Roach threw a 20-yard to Brent Johnson with 8:08 to play and a two-point pass to Antwan Strong cut the margin to 24-8 … Wingate ended a potential comeback with a fourth-down sack on the Wingate 27 with five minutes to play … Catawba managed just nine yards on the ground with Roach leading the way with a net of eight yards … Roach passed 51 times and completed 25 for 241 yards … Johnson was the top target with six catches for 91 yards, while Strong had five grabs … Thomas Presley led the defense with 10 tackles and intercepted a pass … Ron Ellington recorded the lone Catawba sack … Charles Morman blocked a Wingate field goal try in the third quarter … Catawba will play its final home game of the season this weekend as the Catawba Indians hosts Presbyterian.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (3-6, 1-4) picked up its first South Atlantic Conference win of the 2006 season and snapped a four-game losing streak in the process with its 31-7 win over Mars Hill College (4-5, 1-4) in front of 2,254 fans Saturday night at Moretz Stadium … The Bears rushed for 291 yards, their most in a regular season game since 2000, and forced five Lion turnovers including two interceptions in the end zone en route to the win … Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Sanders (Monroe, N.C.) rushed for a career-high 118 yards on 12 carries and threw a 64-yard touchdown pass while sophomore tailback Ronnie Edwards (Union Hall, Va.) added 89 yards on 18 carries to lead Lenoir-Rhyne … The Bears, which scored a season-high 31 points the contest, took control on their second possession of the game, marching 85 yards on six plays that ended with senior running back Josh Reeves' (Kannapolis, N.C.) one-yard touchdown run … L-R made it 14-0 early in the second quarter when freshman tailback Brad Walker (Louisville, Tenn./William Blount HS) ran it in from five yards out, culminating a 15-play, 63-yard drive … The key play of the game may have come at the end of the first half when L-R freshman linebacker Dewayne Jones (Reidsville, N.C./Reidsville HS) intercepted a pass in the end zone from Mars Hill quarterback Brandon Sims … The Lions had driven to the Bears' four-yard line … Lenoir-Rhyne added 10 points, including Sanders' 64-yard touchdown pass to freshman wideout Dontez Simmons (Charlotte, N.C.), and picked off another Mars Hill pass in the end zone for a 24-0 lead after three quarters of play … Each squad scored a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter for the 31-7 final … Sims passed for 193 yards but was picked off three times while senior L-R defensive back Rian Jefferson (Irmo, S.C.) lead all tacklers with 12 … Lenoir-Rhyne's win over Mars Hill was just its second victory over the Lions in the last eight years … The Bears completed just two passes despite the win … Lenoir-Rhyne is now in a three-way for sixth in the South Atlantic Conference (Mars Hill and Catawba) … L-R travels to Newberry, S.C., to take on undefeated Newberry College (9-0, 5-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. ... Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series, 40-25-7, and will be traveling to Newberry for the second straight year … The last three games in the series have been decided by a total off 10 points … The two Lutheran schools play for the Bishops' trophy, founded the ELCA in 1987 with Lenoir-Rhyne holding a 12-7 advantage … Lenoir-Rhyne won last year's game in overtime, 27-24, on September 24, 2005 … Newberry is off to its best start in school history and is the No. 1 ranked team in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Rankings.
MARS HILL - The Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (3-6, 1-4) defeated Mars Hill Colege (4-5, 1-4) 31-7 Saturday evening at Moretz Stadium in Hickory, NC ... The Bears ran for 291 yards and forced five Lion turnovers including two interceptions in the end zone in snapping a four-game losing streak as well ... Quarterback Justin Sanders (Monroe, N.C.) ran for a career-high 118 yards on 12 carries while running back Ronnie Edwards (Union Hall, Va.) added 89 yards on 18 rushes to lead the Bears' rushing attack ... L-R took control early on its second possession, moving the ball 85 yards on six carries and getting consecutive runs of 54 and 39 yards by Sanders and Edwards, respectively. Running back Josh Reeves (Kannapolis, N.C.) punched it in from one yard out to give the Bears the lead, 7-0 ... Lenoir-Rhyne made it 14-0 early in the second quarter when running back Brad Walker (Louisville, Tenn.) completed a 15-play, 63-yard drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown ... Mars Hill tried to cut the lead to seven just before halftime but Lenoir-Rhyne linebacker Dewayne Jones (Reidsville, N.C.) intercepted a pass by Lion quarterback Brandon Sims (Spartanburg, S.C.) in the end zone with 18 seconds in halftime to kill the drive. The Lions had driven to the Bears' four-yard line ... After the Bears increased the lead to 17-0 midway through the third quarter, Lenoir-Rhyne again ended a Mars Hill drive when free safety Chima Okoro (Charlotte, N.C.) picked off a Sims pass for the touchback .. L-R then put the contest away on its ensuing possession after Sanders hit wideout Dontez Simmons (Charlotte, N.C.) for a 64-yard touchdown pass for a 24-0 lead ... Sims scored on a one-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter for Mars Hill's lone score while Edwards closed out the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run with 4:56 left ... Sims passed for 193 yards but was picked off three times while Chappell Rose (Orlando, Fla.) rushed for 73 yards in the losing effort for the Lions ... Mars Hill hosts Tusculum at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday in Meares Stadium. It will be the Lions' annual Hall of Fame Game.
NEWBERRY - Sometimes, when you are an undefeated football, the breaks seem to always fall in your favor. Well, that is exactly what happened to Newberry College on Saturday. The Indians, the top team in the NCAA Southeast Region and the 15th-ranked team in the nation, received a gift when free safety Derrell Mills snatched the ball away from Pioneer running Patrick King and raced 40 yards into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with just 38 seconds remaining in the contest ... The Indians were down at one point by 10 points at 16-6 when Josh Stepp hooked up with Tymere Zimmerman on a 15-yard touchdown pass to move to within three points at 16-13 ... Newberry would take the lead at 20-16 when Cory Smalls plunged in for a two-yard score with just 11:58 remaining in the game ... Tusculum would counter with a touchdown of their own when they kept a scoring drive alive by converting on a fake punt on a fourth down play ... Pioneer quarterback Corey Russell found Travis Oliver open from nine yards out to give Tusculum a 23-20 lead with five minutes remaining ... It would come down to the Indian defense to win the game. Tusculum, who converted on a fourth-down play, was electing to simply run the clock out. With 50 seconds remaining on a third down play, King bounced to the outside when he was met by Mills. Mills promptly stripped King of the football and raced untouched into the end zone for the game-winner, stunning the Pioneer faithful ... Mills finished with a career-high 16 tackles and also recorded his league-best sixth interception of the season ... Newberry has now set a new school record for most wins in a season with nine. They are also winners of 13 of their last 14 games, dating back to the midway through the 2005 campaign ... Josh Stepp is closing in on 2,000 yards passing for the season. He threw for 2,892 as a sophomore in 2004 ... Tymere Zimmerman is closing in on 2,500 receiving yards for his career. He now stands at 2,356 career receiving yards ... Charles Brandon has accumulated 1,129 receiving yards, good for 10th on the all-time list ... Derrell Mills' six interceptions is the sixth-highest total in a single-season at Newberry ... The Indians will look to reclaim the Bishop's Trophy next Saturday as they play host to Lenoir-Rhyne at 7:00 pm at Setzler Field.
PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian scored 21 points in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating No. 20 Carson-Newman 28-7 before 3,421 at Bailey Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon ... The Blue Hose have now picked up three straight victories over the Eagles and four in the last six seasons ... The only other team to defeat Carson-Newman in three consecutive games under head coach Ken Sparks' 27-years at the helm is North Alabama ... Presbyterian (6-3, 4-1 SAC) is the only team in the SAC to accomplish the feat. Newberry came close in 1988 and 1989, but could not obtain three straight wins over Sparks and the Eagles ... Presbyterian's S.J. Worrell for the third consecutive week had his best performance in a PC uniform. The Blue Hose redshirt freshman running back finished the win over Carson-Newman with a career-best 100 yards on the ground and one touchdown. The 100-yard rushing performance was the first of the year for the Blue Hose ... The Blue Hose almost had two players achieve or surpass the 100-yard plateau, as Clinton native Chetyuane Reeder finished with 99 total yards, including a game-high 51-yard run ... In total, the Blue Hose rushing attack concluded the afternoon with 285 net yards rushing ... On the opposite end of the spectrum, Presbyterian's defensive unit held the Carson-Newman veer option attack to just 104 yards on the ground ... Antwan Thomas continued to rack up tackles, registering a double-digit total of 10 sacks to lead the Blue Hose. Thomas, who now has a team-best 68 total stops on the 2006 campaign, also had 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a quarterback sack ... Sophomore defensive back Anthony McKnight had one of the better days of his career in the victory, finishing with nine tackles and one quarterback hurry ... Presbyterian wasted little time putting their first points on the scoreboard when Grayson Mullins found Chris Pope for a 10-yard touchdown with 7:57 left in the first stanza. It was Pope's only catch of the afternoon ... A little over three minutes later, Grayson Mullins acquired the first rushing touchdown of his career when he rushed up the middle from one-yard out to score the eventual game-winning touchdown and place the Blue Hose on top 14-0 ... PC went ahead 21-0 when Worrell found the end zone from three yards out with 0:52 left in the first quarter ... Carson-Newman (6-3, 2-3 SAC) was able to get on the scoreboard in the second quarter when C-N starting quarterback Alex Rouse connected with Reggie Hubbard for a 19-yard touchdown ... Presbyterian found the end zone for the final time in the victory in the third quarter when Grayson Mullins found Justin Durant for a 17-yard touchdown and his second touchdown pass of the afternoon ... The two touchdown passes by Mullins marked the first time this season that a Presbyterian quarterback has hurled more than one in a contest ... Coupled with the rushing touchdown, Mullins - starting for his third consecutive game - had one of his better days as the Blue Hose signal caller, throwing for 107 yards (11-for-19) ... Presbyterian continues its drive to repeat as SAC champions next week when they travel to Catawba to square off against the Indians ... Kickoff during the SAC week six matchup is set for 1:30 p.m.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (5-4, 2-3 SAC) suffered a heartbreaking 27-23 home loss to No. 15 Newberry… The Pioneers dominated almost every facet of the game, but a fumble in the final moments of the contest was returned for a 40-yard touchdown, halting Tusculum's upset bid of the SAC leading Indians… The Pioneers accounted for more total yards (314-255), ran more plays (73-49) and dominated the time of possession by over 11 minutes (35:55-24:05)… Tusculum's rushing defense, which was fourth in the nation entering Saturday's contest, limited the SAC's top-rushing attack (234.8 ypg - No. 8 in NCAA II) to minus-15 yards rushing, thanks to five sacks of Newberry quarterback Josh Stepp… In Newberry's previous eight games, Stepp had been sacked only four times all year… TC is allowing the opposition to rush for just 47.3 yards per game this season… Corey Russell accounted for three touchdowns on the day as he passed for a pair and rushed for another… Travis Oliver was on the receiving end of both of those TD tosses, including his nine-yard scoring grab to put the Pioneers up 23-20 with 5:01 remaining in the contest… Patrick King rushed for 92 yards on 28 carries and converted a critical fourth down on a fake punt in TC's final scoring drive that covered 80 yards in 15 plays... Russell passed for 166 yards, while rushing for 52… Tusculum kicker Glen Black became the school's all-time leader in career extra points, surpassing Jack Whittenburg (1993-94)… Black has posted 66 extra points in his three seasons at Tusculum… Russell has passed for 13 touchdowns this year, already the fifth-most by a TC quarterback… Octavius Love blocked two kicks on the day (extra point and a field goal)… On defense, All-SAC defensive end Adrian Samples posted three tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks and forced a fumble, setting a one-yard TD run by Russell to put Tusculum up 13-0 early in the second quarter… The Pioneers will be on the road this week to face cross-mountain rival Mars Hill… This week's contest will mark the first time the Pioneers and Lions haven't played in the regular season finale… This week will be the 23rd meeting in a series that began in 1922… The Pioneers have won the last three meetings and are averaging 34.7 points in those contests.
WINGATE - Wingate University senior cornerback David Jones and junior linebacker Bobby Floyd had two interceptions each as the Bulldogs defeated Catawba College 24-8 in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus ... Wingate (7-2 overall, 4-1 SAC) remains undefeated at home during the 2006 season. Wingate is 5-0 at home this season. Catawba (4-4 overall, 1-4 SAC) has lost two of its last three contests against the Bulldogs ... With a full compliment of NFL scouts present, Jones did not disappoint as he picked up both of his interceptions before intermission. After Catawba junior defensive back Thomas Presley picked off a Wingate pass on the game's second play, Jones returned the favor on Catawba's first series ... The All-SAC cornerback intercepted a Catawba pass and returned it 17 yards to the Catawba 31-yard line. After a Catawba personal foul penalty, Wingate sophomore running back Marcus Davis scored three plays later on a six-yard scamper. The Davis touchdown gave Wingate a 7-0 lead with 10:15 to play in the first quarter ... Wingate added a three-spot in the second quarter. A short Catawba punt gave the hosts the ball at the Bulldog 47-yard line. Wingate senior quarterback Anthony Metzelaars moved his troops 42 yards on six plays, setting up a 28-yard field goal by redshirt junior place kicker Jonathan Beford with 28 seconds to play in the first half ... Wingate added two second half touchdowns to build a 24-0 lead. On Wingate's first possession of the third quarter, the Bulldogs benefited from a solid 12-yard punt return by senior cornerback Donald Brown to start a drive on the Catawba 47-yard line ... Davis provided back-to-back carries of six and 10 yards to give Wingate a first-and-10 on the Catawba 16-yard line. Two plays later, Metzelaars found junior tight end Chris Conklin with a 16-yard scoring strike to put the hosts up 16-0 ... Wingate concluded its scoring early in the fourth quarter, thanks to the second of two Bobby Floyd interceptions. Floyd intercepted Catawba junior quarterback Brad Roach at the Catawba Indian 44-yard line with 10:02 remaining in the fourth period ... Metzelaars wasted little time putting six points on the board, finding senior All-SAC wide receiver Dan Brooks with a 25-yard touchdown pass with 9:42 to go. Wingate senior wide receiver Gabe Nail added the two-point conversion on a pass from Metzelaars to cap the Wingate scoring ... Roach and his teammates did not quit, scoring on their next possession. Catawba used five plays to move 66 yards. Roach finished the deal with a 20-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Brent Johnson with 8:08 to play in the contest. Sophomore wide receiver Antwan Strong tacked on the two-point conversion on a pass from Roach to pull the visitors within two scores at 24-8 ... Catawba moved the ball to the Wingate 21 on its next possession, but the visitors turned the ball over on downs when Bulldog junior defensive lineman Brad Hambric sacked Roach on fourth down ... Wingate held Catawba to nine yards rushing on the afternoon. Bulldog junior linebacker Tyler Johnson topped the Wingate tackle charts with 11 total stops. Senior linebacker Stuart Sheppard added 10 tackles and a team-best 1.5 tackles for loss. Jones had four tackles to go with his two interceptions ... For the Bulldog offense, Metzelaars was 18-of-35 for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Wingate sophomore wide receiver Gary Tatum caught six passes for 48 yards. Brooks had four grabs for 63 yards and one score. Davis led the Wingate rushing attack with 19 carries for 75 yards and one touchdown ... Next Saturday (Nov. 4), Wingate visits Carson-Newman College for a 1 p.m. contest in Jefferson City, Tenn. The Bulldogs hope to repeat the magic of quarterback Brandon Gandy (class of 1996) and company. Gandy led Wingate to a 25-24 SAC win over the Eagles at Walter Bickett Stadium in Monroe on October 7, 1995. Carson-Newman leads the all-time series 17-1 ... In 2005, the Carson-Newman Eagles compiled 583 yards total offense as they defeated the Wingate Bulldogs 47-14 in SAC football action at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus Saturday, Nov. 5 ... Metzelaars completed 16-of-31 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns against Carson-Newman last season. Brooks led the Bulldogs in receiving with three catches totaling 36 yards. A 2005 All-SAC honoree, Brooks caught 41 passes for 633 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.