Weekly SAC Football Notes Nov. 12
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games of Saturday, November 11:
CARSON-NEWMAN - Buck Wakefield rushed for 109 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown to lead Carson-Newman to a 23-3 victory over Tusculum at Pioneer Field in South Atlantic Conference football action. It was the season-finale for both teams ... The Eagles (8-3, 4-3 SAC) scored on three of its first four possessions as C-N out-gained the Pioneers by a 372-140 margin in total offensive yardage. C-N posted 225 rushing yards on the No. 1 rushing defense in NCAA Division II. Tusculum (6-5, 3-4 SAC) entered the game allowing just 37.6 yards per game this season ... C-N quarterback Alex Rouse went 6-for-9 for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Reggie Hubbard tallied two catches for 65 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter ... Carson-Newman got on the scoreboard first in the opening quarter when Rouse found Otis Miller on a 35-yard scoring strike. David Brentz added the extra point as the Eagles led 7-0. On its next possession, the Eagles marched 58 yards on 11 plays, capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by Wakefield with 38.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter ... In the early moments of the second quarter, Rouse struck again as he completed a 53-yard pass to Hubbard, who rambled into the end zone to put the Eagles up 21-0 ... Early in the fourth quarter, Carson-Newman was driving into Tusculum territory, but C-N quarterback Alex Good was jarred by Tagon Richard while throwing as his pass was intercepted at the TC 3 by Pharis Baldwin. The C-N defense held Tusculum in the shadow of its goal line. TC attempted a fake punt in its own end zone, but the play was negated due to a pair of off-setting penalties. On the next play, TC attempted another fake, but the play was snuffed out by Brandon Walden as C-N recorded the safety as Eagles went ahead 23-3 for the game's final margin .. The Eagles were led defensively by Eric Rice with eight tackles, including two for loss and a sack.
CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians capped its season with a 32-24 win over Lenoir-Rhyne, securing its 12th straight winning season as the Tribe posted a 6-4 mark, winning its final two games … Catawba amassed a season-high 525 yards on Saturday, topping the previous high of 387 which came in a week two win over Livingstone … The Catawba Indians defense surrendered just 263 to the Bears, making the seventh time this season Catawba held the opposition under 300 yards of offense … Catawba got another outstanding rushing afternoon from Jamelle Cuthbertson … The sophomore product of Harding High School in Charlotte ran for a career-high 218 yards, the most by a Tribe back since Rodney Wallace ran for 227 yards against Lenoir-Rhyne in 2002 … Cuthbertson scored three times in the win … Catawba survived a late threat by Lenoir-Rhyne after the Bears blocked a field goal with just over a minute left … EJ Branch made a touchdown saving tackle on the return at the Tribe 28 and five plays later senior Charles Morman intercepted his second pass of the night with eight seconds to go to end the contest … Brad Roach threw for 224 yards and one score with Brent Johnson making five catches for 75 yards … Lance Johnson had four for 66 yards, including a 20-yard catch on a pass from his brother, Brent … Cuthbertson, who ran for 161 and 218 yards in the final two games, led the Tribe in rushing this season with 421 yards … Brent Johnson was the leading receiver with 47 catches for 672 yards and a team-leading six touchdowns … Roach finished the season with 2,250 yards … he competed 51.5 percent of his passes and tossed 14 touchdown strikes … Ron Ellington led the defense with 74 tackles, eight and half sacks and 17 stops for losses … Morman ended up with a team-high three interceptions … The Tribe will open its 2007 season on Aug. 25 at Chowan.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (3-8, 1-6) ended its 2006 season with a 32-24 loss to Catawba College (6-4, 3-4) at home last Saturday in front of 4,793 fans at Moretz Stadium in Hickory, N.C., in a South Atlantic Conference battle … Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne's main rival, has now beaten the Bears 11 out of the last 12 years … Catawba has also beaten Lenoir-Rhyne seven straight times at Moretz Stadium … Catawba rolled up 525 yards of total offense, the highest L-R has given up this year, and was led by tailback Jamelle Cuthbertson, who finished with a career-high 218 yards rushing on 27 carries with three touchdowns in just his second career start … In the back-and-forth contest, the Bears twice cut the margin to five, at 22-17 and 29-24 in the second half, but could not stop Catawba as the visitors did not punt on its last seven possessions of the contest … L-R redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Sanders rushed for 118 yards on 15 carries and scored twice … Sanders passed the century mark in rushing for the second time this year ... With the 20 seconds left and Bears trailing by eight and trying to at least send the contest to overtime, Catawba's Charles Mormon picked off Sanders at the visitors' five-yard line to seal the win … Mormon finished the game with two picks while Lenoir-Rhyne senior defensive back Rian Jefferson (Irmo, S.C.) led all tacklers with 12 … L-R is still searching for its first winning season since 1994 … Lenoir-Rhyne ended the year tied for seventh in the South Atlantic Conference with Mars Hill.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill completed the 2006 regular season with a 37-14 loss at South Atlantic Conference rival Wingate University Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus. Mars Hill's season ends at 4-7 overall and 1-6 in the SAC ... Senior quarterback Anthony Metzelaars (Charlotte, N.C.) did not disappoint the home fans, accumulating a career-high 364 passing yards in the victory. Metzelaars completed 25-of-41 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns. Wingate senior wide receivers Dan Brooks (Monroe, N.C.) and Gabe Nail (Cary, N.C.) caught one TD each, as did sophomore wide receiver Gary Tatum (Hope Mills, N.C.) ... Brooks also completed one pass for 54 yards to junior tight end Chris Conklin (Snow Camp, N.C.) on the second play of the game. The Brooks completion set up Wingate's first score, a one-yard run by sophomore tailback Marcus Davis (Albemarle, N.C.) with 12:25 to go in the opening frame ... Metzelaars found Brooks with a two-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter to give the hosts a 14-0 advantage ... Bulldog redshirt junior place kicker Jonathan Beford (Charlotte, N.C.) equaled his career-high with three field goals (22, 30 and 36). The Olympic High product nailed all three attempts in the last 5:30 of the second quarter as the Bulldogs built a 23-0 lead by halftime ... Metzelaars wasn't finished, picking up two TD passes after intermission. He found Nail for a 54-yard score with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter. Tatum's touchdown was a 22-yard completion with 9:22 to play in the fourth quarter. Tatum topped the Bulldog receiving charts with eight catches for 103 yards ... Brooks caught seven passes for 57 yards, while Nail grabbed three balls for 89 yards. Conklin also eclipsed the 100-yard plateau with four receptions for 104 yards ... Mars Hill didn't fold the tents, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The Lions put together a 67-yard march (the longest for either team) to score their first TD ... Mars Hill sophomore quarterback Ricky Spradling (Roan Mountain, Tenn.) hit freshman running back Chappell Rose (Orlando, Fla.) with a five-yard touchdown pass at the 7:22 mark of the fourth quarter to complete the drive ... Lion junior signal-caller Nathan Medlin (Tuckasegee, N.C.) engineered a nine-play, 54-yard drive on the visitor's next possession. Medlin took care of the scoring honors himself, rushing eight yards on fourth-and-goal for the touchdown ... Mars Hill junior place kicker Chase Harris (Chiefland, Fla.) added both extra points for the Lions ... Medlin connected on four-for-seven passes for 26 yards in limited duty. Spradling completed 14-of-30 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown. Spradling tossed two interceptions ... Lion freshman running back Trandon Dendy (Laurens, S.C.) rushed 15 times for 60 yards. He also caught five passes for 38 yards ... Wingate compiled 502 yards total offense, compared to 271 yards for Mars Hill ... The Lions accumulated 111 of their 271 yards in the fourth quarter ... Wingate scored after both Mars Hill turnovers ... Three players had eight tackles each for the Lions: Kenyari Addison, Caleb Lott and Stan Galbraith. Mars Hill junior linebacker Nathaniel Smith (Georgetown, S.C.) had a busy day, collecting seven tackles and a game-high five quarterback hurries ... Prior to today's game, Mars Hill had won six of the last seven games in the MHC-WU series. Wingate won five-of-seven series contests from 1987-1993. Mars Hill leads the senior college series between the two teams 12-9.
NEWBERRY - Newberry College saw its chance of an undefeated regular season fall by the wayside as Presbyterian held the Indians' offense to just 97 total yards in a 10-0 victory on Saturday ... Will Newell led all defensive players in tackles with 16. Mike Grase contributed 12 stops including a sack ... The Blue Hose retain the Bronze Derby in what quite possibly is the last game between the two schools ... With Presbyterian's departure to Division 1-AA football, a game between the two teams is not on the docket for years to come ... Although the Indians fell on Saturday, they received great news on Sunday as they were selected to participate in the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Indians will be the third seed in the Southeast Region and will face Albany State University of Georgia at Setzler Field on Saturday at noon ... Newberry College President Dr. Mitchell Zais, along with the board of trustees, reached an accord with the NCAA on Friday to allow the Newberry to host any postseason playoff games until the fall of 2008. This marks the first time in school history that Newberry has participated in the NCAA Football playoffs ... The winner of the game will go on to place on Saturday, November 25 in Florence, AL against the University of North Alabama, the No. 2 seed ... Newberry (10-1, 6-1 SAC) will be the only South Atlantic Conference school represented in the playoffs this year. The Indians won the SAC Championship and set a new single-season school record in victories with 10 ... Albany State comes into the playoffs with an overall record of 7-3 and a 6-1 record in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Since the Golden Rams won their conference and was a top 10 school in the Southeast Region, they gained earned access into the playoffs.
PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian's defense stole the show in the 60th edition of the Bronze Derby, shutting out Newberry's offense in a 10-0 win before 5,982 at Bailey Memorial Stadium ... Presbyterian ends the regular season at 7-4, while the loss erases Newberry's ideas of a perfect season as they fall to 10-1 and 6-1 in South Atlantic Conference action ... In what may be the final game in the Newberry-Presbyterian football rivalry the Bronze Derby stayed in the hands of the Presbyterian faithful. Presbyterian ends the series with a 35-22-3 record in the Bronze Derby series since its outset in 1947 ... Overall, Presbyterian concludes the 95-game rivalry with an all-time series advantage of 58-32-5 ... Presbyterian dominated the game in every statistical category, ending the game with 24 first downs. Newberry finished the game with six ... The Blue Hose controlled the tempo of the game, holding the football in their hands for 37:36 of the contest ... Newberry had been averaging 422.5 yards of total offense per game, but the Blue Hose defense allowed only 97 yards of total offense ... Presbyterian shut down Newberry's offensive duo of quarterback Josh Stepp and wide receiver Tymere Zimmerman. Stepp threw for just 29 yards in the contest, while Zimmerman caught one pass for nine yards ... Newberry had only 68 yards on the ground in the game. The Indians had been averaging 212.8 yards on the ground per game ... It was a cohesive effort by the defensive unit, as no Blue Hose defensive player finished with more than five tackles ... Corey Fidler returned from injury to pick up his first 100-yard game of the season and lead the Blue Hose offensively ... The redshirt senior in his fourth Bronze Derby finished with 101 yards on 17 carries in the victory, averaging 5.9 yards-per-carry ... Fidler was part of a Presbyterian rushing attack that finished the game with 297 yards on the ground compared to Newberry's 68 yards on the ground ... In total, Presbyterian's offense finished the game with 366 yards of total offense ... Presbyterian got on the scoreboard first in the final seconds of the second quarter when Grayson Mullins found senior Chris Pope from five yards out to place Presbyterian on top 6-0 with just four seconds left on the clock in the first half. Carl Stevenson tacked on the extra point to give Presbyterian a 7-0 lead ... Stevenson gave the Blue Hose a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter when he hit a 20-yard field goal ... In his first Bronze Derby, Mullins needed to only pass for 69 yards. The sophomore transfer was 6-for-12.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers ended the 2006 season with a disappointing 23-3 home loss to Carson-Newman. The loss ends a three-game winning streak in season finales. It also marks the first time since 2000 that the Pioneers lost its final home game of the year ... The Tusculum defense gave up a season high 225 rushing yards. TC entered the game with the No. 1 rushing defense in the country (37.6 ypg). Tusculum ends 2006 allowing just 54.6 yards per game on the ground ... TC ends the season with a 6-5 record, a three-win improvement from last year's 3-7 campaign. It was also Tusculum's sixth winning season in the last seven years ... Tusculum also finished tied for fifth in the South Atlantic Conference ... Freshman punter John Gregory had a solid outing against C-N averaging 45.8 yards per punt on his eight kicks. He ended the season with a 40.9 average, the fourth best in school history. His 70 punting attempts are the second most by a Pioneer in a season, as were his 2,866 punting yards ... QB Corey Russell finished the year with 15 touchdown passes, tied for third most in a season at Tusculum. Jamichael Caldwell posted 647 receiving yards in 2006, the third most in school history. He also finished with seven TD catches, second most by a Pioneer ... Kicker Glen Black (First Team) and offensive lineman Gavin Maulind (Second Team) were named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Football Team.
WINGATE - Wingate University senior quarterback Anthony Metzelaars had a career day as the Bulldogs completed the 2006 regular season with a 37-14 South Atlantic Conference victory over Mars Hill College Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus. Wingate was 6-0 at home in 2006 ... With the triumph, the Bulldogs improve to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the SAC. Wingate equals its school record for senior college wins in a season with eight. The 1997 team and the 2004 team also won eight games each. The Bulldog class of 2007 sets a school record with 26 career victories. Wingate's five SAC wins is also a school record ... Metzelaars was one of 18 seniors honored in pre-game ceremonies. The Charlotte Christian graduate did not disappoint the home fans, accumulating a career-high 364 passing yards in the victory. Metzelaars completed 25-of-41 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns (to three different receivers) ... Wingate senior wide receivers Dan Brooks and Gabe Nail caught one TD each, as did sophomore wide receiver Gary Tatum. Brooks also completed one pass for 54 yards to junior tight end Chris Conklin on the second play of the game ... The Brooks completion set up Wingate's first score, a one-yard run by sophomore tailback Marcus Davis with 12:25 to go in the opening frame. Metzelaars found Brooks with a two-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter to give the hosts a 14-0 advantage ... Bulldog redshirt junior place kicker Jonathan Beford equaled his career-high with three field goals (22, 30 and 36). The Olympic High product nailed all three attempts in the last 5:30 of the second quarter as the Bulldogs built a 23-0 lead by halftime ... Metzelaars wasn't finished, picking up two TD passes after intermission. He found Nail for a 54-yard score with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter. Tatum's touchdown was a 22-yard completion with 9:22 to play in the fourth quarter ... Tatum topped the Bulldog receiving charts with eight catches for 103 yards. Brooks caught seven passes for 57 yards, while Nail grabbed three balls for 89 yards. Conklin also eclipsed the 100-yard plateau with four receptions for 104 yards ... Wingate compiled 502 yards total offense, compared to 271 yards for Mars Hill. The Lions accumulated 111 of their 271 yards in the fourth quarter. Wingate entered the game leading the South Atlantic Conference with 259.4 passing yards per game. The combo of Metzelaars and Brooks passed for 418 yards on Saturday ... On defense, Wingate junior linebacker Bobby Floyd had a team-high 10 tackles. Floyd notched one interception, his third pick in his last two home games. Bulldog senior cornerback Donald Brown also had an interception for the hosts. Wingate scored after both Mars Hill turnovers. Brown also recovered an on-sides kick for the hosts ... The South Atlantic Conference football meeting between Mars Hill and Wingate was video streamed live across the World Wide Web on Saturday. The Wingate versus Mars Hill game was selected by the NCAA to air as part of the new NCAA Division II/CSTV television and broadband agreement. During the 2006 season, the NCAA and CSTV aired three live Division II football games on Thursday nights, with another 40 games available via broadband streaming video ... The game will also be available on Time Warner Cable outlets in the Charlotte region of North Carolina. The game will air on Thursday, Nov. 16 on Time Warner outlets in the Charlotte region. In Union County, the game will be shown on cable channel 9 at 12:30 p.m. Thursday ... Five Wingate University football student-athletes have been named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III football first team (college division), selected by CoSIDA ... Four of the five student-athletes are repeat performers from 2005: senior wide receiver Dan Brooks, senior defensive end Frank Marino, senior safety Jeremy Kent and redshirt junior offensive lineman Greg Keziah. Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Cam LeGrand rounds out Wingate's honorees ... Wingate was the only school from the Carolinas with multiple selections. Catawba College, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Wesleyan College and Presbyterian College had one selection each on the Academic All-District III football team. District III (college division) includes all non-NCAA Division I schools (Division II, III and NAIA) in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and North and South Carolina ... The members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (by districts) selected the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III football team. Twenty-three student-athletes were named first team Academic All-District III in football. The first team members will advance to the national ballot.