Weekly SAC Football Notes, September 9, 2007
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games of Saturday, September 8:
BREVARD -The Brevard Tornados lost to South Atlantic Conference member Mars Hill 35-7 … BC got on the board first when John Taylor dove in from a yard out with 1:24 left in the first quarter. Chase Henry's PAT kick was good and the Tornados led 7-0 … The second half belonged to the Lions. MHC scored 28 unanswered points to win their home opener … The Tornados have the week off this week and return to action on September 22 when they host Chowan.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Eagles had the week off. Ninth-ranked Carson-Newman (2-0) hosts St. Augustine's this week … Kickoff is 1 p.m. … St. Augustine's lost to Mars Hill 22-9 on September 1.
CATAWBA - The 21st-ranked Catawba Indians moved to 3-0 with a 46-7 win over Livingstone in their home opener … It marked the eight straight win in the Mayor's Cup game and the 12th straight home-opening win … The Catawba Indians scored on their first four offensive possessions and added an interception return for a touchdown to grab a 33-0 lead at the break … Catawba ran the ball every play on each of first two nine-play scoring drives then opened up the passing game with Brad Roach tossing scoring passes of 36 yards to Antwan Strong and 54 yards to Brent Johnson in the second quarter … Charlie Walker had the other score of the first half as he intercepted a pass on a fake field goal attempt and returned the pick 82 yards for a touchdown … Roach completed eight of his 16 tosses for 170 yards and the two scores … He moved past 5,000 career passing yards, now standing fourth all-time with 5,079 yards … Brent Johnson played in his first game of the season after a finger injury and caught three passes for 93 yards … The Indians ran for 183 yards with Jamelle Cuthbertson (59 yards, 1 TD) and George Bell (57 yards, 2 TD) leading the way … Catawba out-gained Livingstone 441 yards to 168 … It marked the third straight game that the Indians has held the opposition to less than 200 yards … Catawba will remain home for the rest of the month and host Fayetteville State this Saturday with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The 2007 Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (0-2) fell to Appalachian State University (2-0), 48-7, Saturday in front of a record crowd of 28,802 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, N.C. … Appalachian State came into the contest ranked No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) and has the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games … The Mountaineers also have the second-longest home win streak in the country at 28 (Southern California is first) … The teams were meeting for the first time since 1982 … Appalachian State now leads the all-time series, 23-19-4, and have won eight straight against Lenoir-Rhyne …The Mountaineers took control early and scored on its first six possessions for a 38-0 advantage with 6:43 remaining in the second quarter … Appalachian State's first five drives ended in touchdowns and two of those scores were on the first play of the possession … Quarterback Trey Elder, subbing for the injured Armanti Edwards, threw for 210 yards and four touchdowns while running for a team-high 90 yards and one score to lead the Mountaineers … Lenoir-Rhyne was led by freshman tailback James Pone's (Wilson, N.C.) 91 yards rushing while freshman running back Andrew Courman (Beaufort, N.C.) scored the Bears' lone touchdown with a five-yard scamper with 44 seconds remaining in the contest … Senior defensive back Danny Boback (Fort Myers, Fla.) led all Bear tacklers with 11 while Lenoir-Rhyne, as a team, held a 36:40-23:20 time of possession … Lenoir-Rhyne looks to snap a four-game losing streak, dating back to last season, when it travels to Davidson, N.C., to face Davidson College (1-1) next Saturday at 1 p.m., at Richardson Field … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series with Davidson, 7-6-1 … The Wildcats prevailed last year by a 24-14 score on September 16, 2006, at Moretz Stadium
MARS HILL - Chappell Rose (Orlando, FL) rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 35-7 victory over Brevard College Saturday afternoon in the Ammons Family Sports Complex and Meares Stadium … MHC improved to 2-0 while BC fell to 0-3 on the season … It was an exciting day at MHC as the Lions played their first contest on the new artificial turf and the game was highlighted by the W. Scott Merrill Press Box dedication. Prior to kickoff, Congressman Heath Shuler was in attendance with the Merrill family at midfield as he delivered the official coin toss. The Morgan Silver Dollar used for the coin toss in today's game was a gift of college donor and friend Miss Louise Nanney … BC got on the board first when John Taylor dove in from a yard out with 1:24 left in the first quarter. Chase Henry's PAT kick was good and the Tornados led 7-0. Ricky Spradling (Roan Mountain, NC) tied the contest at 7-all with 12:40 left in the second frame when he scampered in from 11 yards out. The PAT kick by Chase Harris (Chiefland, FL) split the uprights and the teams carried the 7-7 tie into the locker room at the intermission … The second half belonged to the Lions. MHC scored 28 unanswered points to win their home opener. Rose scored his first touchdown of the day on a one-yard plunge with 8:39 left in the third stanza and then He put the Lions up 21-7 with 2:40 left in the third period on a eight-yard score … Freshman linebacker Zach Johnson (Newland, NC), who played extremely well both on defense and special teams, recovered a BC fumble on the ensuing kickoff to extend the Lions lead to 28-7 with 2:28 left in the third quarter. Rose ended the scoring with 5:51 left in regulation on a one-yard dive. Harris was perfect on the day in PAT kick attempts … MHC is now 110-87-1 at home and 2-0 in the series against BC … Rose averaged 5.5 yards per carry while Spradling was 14-for-20 for 186 yards and one interception. Tyrea Allen (Murphy, NC) caught four passes for 50 yards … Rashawn Champion (Jacksonville, FL) led the Lions' defense with seven tackles (6 solo) and a interception in MHC's end zone that he returned 24 yards to prevent a possible BC score with 6:30 left in the third quarter … Johnson also had a big day as he also made seven stops (6 solo) along with the fumble recovery for a score … MHC tallied 380 yards of total offense, 194 on the ground. The Lions' defense held BC to just 92 rushing yards and 145 yards of total offense … MHC will play at the University of the Cumberland's next Saturday. Kickoff is set for a 1:30 p.m. start.
NEWBERRY - The No. 14 Indians defeated Bowie State, 41-7, to move to 2-0 on the season… Senior running back Alex Haynes set a Newberry College record for most rushing yards in a game, as he ran 255 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns… He also had an 83-yard touchdown run, which was the fifth longest run from scrimmage in Indians' history… The Indians racked up 5-7 yards of total offense, while allowing only 170 yards on defense… Quarterback Eric McCollom was 9-of-16 passing for 113 with one touchdown and no interceptions… The senior also rushed for one touchdown… Fullback Tharry Salley rushed for a touchdown in his second consecutive game… Receiver David Brown caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from McCollom in the first quarter, while backup quarterback Brandon Gantt connected with Carlnel Williams for a late score… Andre Moyd made a spectacular interception in the first quarter, while Isaac Johnson forced an early fumble that was recovered by Chris Reed... Reed also had five tackles and forced one fumble in the game… Will Newell led the team with six total tackles, as well as one forced fumble and a quarterback hurry… Corky Howell and Mike Grase also recorded five tackles… Tony Ransom had three tackles - all for losses - and tallied three hurries….As a team, Newberry had one sack and 10 tackles for a loss, while holding BSU to 170 total yards… Kelton Tindal had a blocked punt early in the first quarter to set up the first Newberry score… Kicker Ryan Lukshis tied the school record for career PATs with 99, going 5-for-6 on extra point chances…The Indians play at North Greenville University on Thursday night in Tigerville, S.C… Kickoff for the primetime matchup is slated for 7:07 p.m.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers lost in an offensive shootout at No. 4 North Alabama, 43-24… Tusculum is off to its first 0-3 start since 1997… Justin Scott led Tusculum on defense for a third straight game as he posted 10 tackles, including a sack… Scott also accounted for a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception which set up a Tusculum touchdown… He currently leads TC with 32 tackles in three games… Jovon Miller added 10 stops against the Lions, while Jeremy Thompson finished with nine stops… Ryan Tallent leads the TC receiving corps with 21 receptions, averaging seven per game… He seven more for 67 yards against UNA… Jamichael Caldwell added two catches for 32 yards, including his 23-yard TD catch in the opening quarter… It was Caldwell's 14th career TD reception, establishing a new school record… Caldwell also extends his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 32 straight contests… Caldwell eclipsed the 1,700 receiving yards plateau for his career, giving him 1,731, which is third all-time at TC… Corey Russell went 13-for-29 for 103 yards and a touchdown… Russell was also picked off twice, giving him 23 interceptions for his career, tied for second all-time at TC with former All-SAC quarterback and current TC assistant coach Caleb Slover… Brandon Behenna, who replaced Russell following an injury that forced him out of the game momentarily, completed a 62-yard strike to Brandon Dixon on his first throw of the game… Behenna went 4-for-6 for 84 yards and a pair of TDs… Tusculum head coach Frankie DeBusk will be coaching in his 100th career game this week when the Pioneers host Saint Paul's College… This will be the second meeting between the two schools… TC won last year's inaugural encounter 28-0 at Saint Paul's… After opening the season with three in a row on the road, Tusculum will play its next three at home and four of its next five in the friendly confines of Pioneer Field.
WINGATE - The Wingate University football team (3-0 overall) defeated Davidson College (1-1 overall) 33-30 Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Bulldog campus … The Bulldogs prevailed despite 148 penalty yards, including back-to-back 15-yard penalties on the Wingate defense with only 10 minutes left in fourth quarter. Wingate head coach Joe Reich believes the two penalties could have been the turning point in the game. "After we got the second one, we had some energy on our sideline," Reich says. "We really got a charge." … With first-and-10 from the Bulldog 18, Davidson was threatening to stretch their one point advantage to eight points. Davidson moved the ball to the Wingate five-yard line, but was unable to get into the end zone. The Wildcats had to settle for a 22-yard field goal from senior place kicker Cory Elder … With a four-point deficit, the Bulldogs took over at their 34 following a 24-yard kick-off return from junior wide receiver Gary Tatum. Seven plays later, Tatum caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback JD Moore for his second score of the game. An All-SAC performer in 2006, Tatum caught a team-high three catches for 84 yards and two TDs … After the extra point from redshirt senior place kicker Jonathan Beford, Wingate took a 33-30 lead with 4:18 remaining in the contest. The Wingate defense forced a quick three-and-out by Davidson and the Bulldog offense ran out the final 3:01 of the game for the victory … Davidson trailed 16-6 at intermission. The Wildcats scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half and a total of 24 points after halftime. "The whole second half I felt they (Davidson) had the momentum," Reich says. "There's not any panic (on our sideline). Our offense is a quick-strike (unit)…we always feel we can score quickly." … Wingate's quick striking offense was certainly on display Saturday afternoon. All of the Bulldog touchdown drives took 3:30 or less of game-clock time. Three of the four touchdowns were plays of 29 yards or better … Bulldog redshirt freshman tailback Nelson Woods rushed for a career-high 184 yards on 28 carries. The Lawndale Burns High School product scored two touchdowns, including a 56-yard jaunt in the second quarter … For the Wildcats, senior quarterback Matt McGreevy completed 23-of-37 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. With 11:02 remaining in the contest, McGreevy connected with junior running back Chad Barnes on a 47-yard screen pass for a score. The pass-and-run play gave the visitors their first lead at 27-26 … Despite allowing 30 points, the Wingate defense played solid against the run for the second straight week. After allowing only five yards on the ground last week against Saint Paul's (Va.) College, the Bulldogs surrendered 37 yards on 28 Davidson rushing attempts … Wingate senior linebacker Bobby Floyd led the Wingate defense with 18 total tackles (seven solo and 11 assists). Wingate redshirt freshman linebacker Ed Doughty had his first career interception for the hosts … Wildcat junior defensive back Matt Easton led the Davidson defense with nine tackles (four solo and five assists). Easton also returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter … The Bulldogs visit first-year program UNC Pembroke Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest. The Wingate versus UNC Pembroke game will be a homecoming of sorts for two Bulldog senior starters who hail from Robeson County: defensive end Kenwin Cummings (Maxton, N.C.) and linebacker Bobby Floyd (Fairmont, N.C.) … A 6-2, 270-pound graduate of Purnell Swett High School, Cummings is one of the top defensive ends in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region. A first team All-South Atlantic Conference performer in 2006, Cummings led the SAC in tackles for loss (17.5), quarterback hurries (15) and quarterback sacks (nine) last year. He compiled 66 tackles (24 solo, 42 assists) and three forced fumbles in 2006 … Cummings was named to the 2007 Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division II pre-season All-America team. In 2005, Cummings earned a spot on Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-America first team … Floyd has emerged as one of the top linebackers in the South Atlantic Conference. Floyd was second on last year's team with 67 total tackles (31 solo, 36 assist) and three interceptions. He also tallied seven tackles for loss, one sack, four pass breakups and two quarterback hurries … On Saturday, Floyd exploded for a career-high 18 tackles in Wingate's thrilling 33-30 victory over Davidson. He recorded seven solo tackles and 11 helpers against the Wildcats. Bobby Floyd is a Fairmont High School graduate. In addition to Floyd and Cummings, Wingate has three other players with Robeson County ties on its roster … Following Saturday's victory, the Bulldogs now lead the senior college series with the Wildcats 4-0. In 2006, Wingate survived Davidson 22-16 in overtime on Sept. 9. Wingate topped Davidson 22-10 on August 30, 2003. On Oct. 10, 1987, the Bulldogs spoiled Davidson's homecoming with a 50-27 decision … Wingate head coach Joe Reich is 38-30 overall in six-plus seasons at the Bulldog helm. In 2006, the Bulldogs compiled an 8-3 overall record with a 5-2 slate in the South Atlantic Conference.