SAC Football Notes, September 27, 2009
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games of Saturday, September 26:
BREVARD - The Tornados opened up South Atlantic Conference play this season with a hard-fought 14-9 victory over host Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday night in Moretz Stadium ... The win marks the first South Atlantic Conference victory for Brevard since the programs was instated as a full member in 2008 ... Michael Crumbaker led the Tornados with 147 total yards (74 on the ground, 73 through the air) ... Brevard scored both of their touchdowns in the first half ... Crumbaker hooked up with freshman Lawrence Martin for a 73-yard pitch-and-catch on the first play of Brevard's second possession going in for the first points of the game ... Michael Gist added his second touchdown of the season in the second quarter, picking off a pass at the Lenoir-Rhyne 20-yard line and out-racing Justin Sanders to the right pylon for the second score of the game, putting up Brevard 14-0 ... In a game matching the NCAA's leading and second-leading rushing attacks, the defenses had control, limiting the teams to a combined 265 yards on the ground in the game, 450 yards shy of the combined teams' average coming in ... Prince Simunyu led the Tornados defense with 11 tackles, his second straigth game with 11 tackles in the season ... Three of his tackles went of a loss...Brandon Rawls and Michael Gist each added eight tackles and Stanley Jones had seven ... The Tornados sealed the game at the end as Justin Jefferson strip-sacked Sanders with Richard Ray hurdling the downed quarterback to cover up the fumble as the Tornados kneeled three times to claim the win ... Brevard is currently on a five-game winning streak, one of the longest in school history and the longest by three games since the Tornados program was reinstated in 2006 ... The sack was Jefferson's sixth on the season and he has recorded sacks in four straight games, since the Pikeville game on Sept. 5 ... punter Eric Watts was one of the keys to the Brevard victory, punting nine times for 360 yards, a 40.0 yard average per kick ... Watts connected on a season-long 64 yard punt in the second quarter and had three punts go 50+ yards, pinning the Bears inside the 20 on three separate occasions ... Brevard looks to extend their winning streak this upcoming weekend against Wingate on Saturday, Oct. 3rd, with kickoff at 1:30 p.m.
CARSON-NEWMAN - Alex Good rushed for 203 yards and a touchdown, while junior safety Mario Russell tied an NCAA record with four forced fumbles, as the Carson-Newman Eagles slipped by visiting Newberry, 23-20, during a non-stop, torrential downpour on Saturday afternoon in Jefferson City…The Eagles finish their three-game home stand 3-0, to move to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in SAC play…Carlos Lopez nailed a 35-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining for the difference…He was 3-of-3 in the…He made a 27-yarder and a 23-yarder as well…Good completed only 2-of-6 passes through the air, but carried it 25 times for 203 yards and a TD…He also recovered a Brandon Baker fumble late in the game to preserve the Eagles game-winning possession…C-N sprinted to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter behind two forced fumbles by Mario Russell…Russell finished with four forced fumbles, eight tackles, and five pass breakups…Sophomore Nate Inman fumbled on a 14-yard run as the Eagles were driving in Newberry territory late in the second quarter…Newberry used the turnover to grab their first score of the game, as quarterback Brandon Gantt hit a streaking Kelton Tindal for a 56-yard touchdown to make it a 17-7 game at the half…Newberry would score the next 13 points to take a 20-17 lead at the midway point of the third quarter, but the Eagle defense would pitch a shutout the rest of the way…Good would lead 75-yard and 19-yard drives to grab the win…Running Back Buck Wakefield had the Eagles first touchdown, an 8-yard run in the second quarter that helped the Eagles capitalize on a Newberry turnover…Good followed with a 6-yard TD over the left side to build on the C-N lead…Senior Ricky Harris carried 12 times for 55 yards, while sophomore Reggie Melton added 5 carries for 34 yards…Lopez was the first Eagle kicker to produce a game-winning field goal since Angel Gonzalez accomplished the feat in a 24-21 win over Presbyterian in 2003…Good became the first Eagle to have 200 yards rushing since he had 209 yards against Newberry in '08…Sophomore Zeke Andrews added four tackles and a forced fumble for C-N…The Eagles rushed for 356 yards on 59 attempts, but were slowed by the downpour, as was Newberry…The two teams combined for a SAC record 16 fumbles…C-N lost four and Newberry five…Good also threw an interception, one of the game's 10 turnovers…Carson-Newman has rushed for 300+ yards now in four straight games, and for 1,415 yard in their last four games…C-N travels to Mars Hill next Saturday…Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. at Meares Stadium…C-N won the '08 Meeting, 61-49.
CATAWBA - The 13th-ranked Catawba Indians battled Mars Hill and the elements on Saturday and came away with a two-point loss to the Lions … Mars Hill churned out a pair of first-half touchdowns in a driving rain then withstood a Catawba fourth-quarter rally … Down 14-0, Catawba opened up its passing games as the rain subsided and scored twice, but a bad hold after the first score and a failed two-point try after the second left the Indians on the short end of a 14-12 decision … Jonas Randolph did most of the work for Mars Hill, who passed only five times … Randolph had 232 yards on 44 carries … Antonio Hall ran for 61 yards for Catawba … Cameron Sexton completed 11-of-31 passes for 174 yards, but the bulk of his success came in the final quarter where he went 8-for-14 for 142 yards and the two scores … Brandon Bunn caught both of Sexton's touchdown strikes, from 41 and 16 yards out … Catawba, who led NCAA II sacks entering the game, failed to record one against the Lions, who had just 22 yards passing … Kewone Harris led the Catawba defense with 10 tackles … Terrence Jones blocks a third-quarter field goal attempt by the Lions … Catawba will host Newberry this coming weekend for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University football team (3-2, 0-1) dropped its South Atlantic Conference opener Saturday to Brevard College (5-0, 1-0) by a 14-9 score at Moretz Stadium … The victory by the Tornados was their first-ever league victory and their first win over the Bears in three contests … Brevard jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on a Lawrence Martin 74-yard touchdown reception and a Michael Gist 20-yard interception return and was able to hold on from there … Lenoir-Rhyne cut the margin to 14-6 on a 22-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Justin Sanders (Monroe, N.C.) to junior tight end Devan Pointer (Burlington, N.C.) with just over five minutes remaining before halftime … L-R, however, could manage only a 25-yard field goal by sophomore placekicker Colin Corpe (Ocala, Fla.) after the break … The Bears did have several more opportunities to score but lost two fumbles and turned the ball over on downs in the defeat … On its next-to-the-last possession, a fourth down pass fell incomplete for Lenoir-Rhyne at the Brevard 28-yard line … The Bears held a 245-186 advantage in total yards and limited the Tornados to just 42 yards in the second half despite the loss … Sanders led L-R with 77 yards through the air and 42 on the ground while sophomore fullback Byron Darby (Gastonia, N.C.) tallied a team-high 50 yards on the ground … On defense, senior lineman Keonte Davis (Albemarle, N.C.) led the way with nine tackles and had two of Lenoir-Rhyne's 14 tackles for a loss … The Bears also held a 15-5 advantage in first downs while the Tornados attempted just one pass the entire contest … Lenoir-Rhyne rushed for 152 yards (more than 200 below their season average) … Brevard and L-R entered the game ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in NCAA Division II in rushing yards (the Tornados averaged 374.2 yards per contest while the Bears averaged 353.0 yards per game) … L-R's last league win came against Brevard on September 27, 2008, a 40-14 win at Brevard, N.C. … Lenoir-Rhyne still averages 312.8 yards on the ground … Lenoir-Rhyne travels to Greeneville, Tenn., to face Tusculum (1-3, 0-1) next Saturday beginning at 7:00 p.m., in a SAC contest … The Pioneers lead the all-time series with the Bears, 9-3, and won last year by a 48-19 score on October 4, 2008, in Hickory, N.C.
MARS HILL - The Lions' football team upset No. 13 Catawba College, 14-12 Saturday night at Shuford Stadium and Kirkland Field. MHC improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Mars Hill got 232 yards from Jonas Randolph (Daleville, Ala.), with a pair of first-half touchdowns … Randolph got his 232 yards on 44 attempts to lead the Lions. The 44 rushes broke Randolph's previous school record of 43 rushing attempts set against St. Augustine's College on August 14, 2009 … Mars Hill completed just 2-of-5 passes for 22 yards … The Lions held a slight edge in total yardage at 295 to 279 … Zach Johnson (Newland, N.C.) led the Lions' defense with eight tackles, 1.5 for loss and a sack … Mars Hill used an early rain storm to benefit its ground game, churning out 132 rushing yards and a pair of scores in the opening half. Randolph did most of the work with 102 yards on 21 carries and both scores in the opening 30 minutes … The Lions took the opening kickoff and marched 71 yards in 14 plays to take the lead on Randolph's one-yard run. Randolph accounted for all but nine yards on the drive, including a key fourth-down and three conversion at the Catawba 18 … Randolph finished off a 57-yard drive in the opening minutes of the second quarter with a 14-yard run that gave Mars Hill a 14-0 lead with 13:33 left in the half. Catawba twice moved inside the Lion 30 in the second quarter, but could not come away with any points … The best chance ended at the Mars Hill 15 on an interception in the end zone by Darin Baldwin (Florida City, Fla.) as a Catawba receiver fell down … As the rains subsided late in the third quarter, Catawba began to make its rally. The Indians managed just 115 total yards until it started a drive with 2:51 left in the third quarter. Although that drive ended at the Mars Hill 35, Catawba got on the board on its next possession as Cameron Sexton (Laurinburg, N.C.) threw a 41-yard strike to Brandon Bunn (Virginia Beach, Va.). A bad snap on the point-after left the score at 14-6 … Catawba would find the end zone on its next drive as the Indians went 73 yards in eight plays, capped by a 16-yard pass from Sexton to Bunn. The two-point attempt failed leaving the Lions up by two … Catawba held Mars Hill and got the ball back with 1:36 left. The Indians moved to the Lion 47, but Sexton had the ball slip out of his hands on a second-down pass attempt to force a long third down and was later sacked on fourth down to end the contest … The Lions held a slight edge in total yardage at 295 to 279 … Mars Hill will host SAC rival Carson-Newman College on October 3. Game time in the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium is set for 1:30 p.m.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry College football team dropped its South Atlantic Conference opener to Carson-Newman College, 23-20, at Burke-Tarr Stadium in Jefferson City, Tenn., on Saturday… Newberry, ranked 16th nationally in the D2Football.com poll, falls to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in SAC play… Newberry has not won at Carson-Newman since 1988… The two teams combined for 16 fumbles in the game, establishing a SAC record… Senior quarterback Brandon Gantt led the offense, completing 14-of-33 passes for 275 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions… He also rushed seven times for 21 years and a touchdown… Gantt has now passed for 1,020 yards this season and has 1,130 yards of total offense… He has earned Newberry's 40th season of over 1,000 yards of total offense… He also eclipsed the 3,000 yard mark for career total offense, and now sits on 3,003 yards of total offense… Gantt's favorite target on Saturday was senior receiver Kelton Tindal, who caught four passes for 103 yards and a touchdown… Tindal moved into sole possession of second place all-time in the Newberry record books with his 14th career touchdown reception… He now has 1,588 career yards (fourth in Newberry history) and 99 career receptions (fifth in Newberry history)… David Brown also caught four passes, earning 56 yards, while Brandon Bostick caught three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown… David Smith caught three balls for 53 yards, but the quarterback and receivers accounted for seven of the team's eight fumbles, including all five losses… S.J. Worrell was the leading rusher with 11 carries for 37 yards… Defensively, Newberry's star was senior Josh Williams, who had previously had a non-descript career, but double his career tackle total with 17 tackles in the game, also forcing and recovering a fumble… Ron Parker and Lance Clark each netted nine tackles… The Newberry offense struggled mightily in the opening quarter as the scarlet and gray attempted to adjust to a heavy rain… Neither team scored in the first quarter, but C-N put a field goal on the board on the first play of the second quarter… Newberry fumbled a snap on its third play of the following drive, and Carson-Newman converted the turnover into seven points on three plays, aided by a roughing the passer penalty by NC… The teams traded fumbles on the next three possessions, with Carson-Newman converting another turnover into a touchdown after recovering a Gantt fumble at the Newberry 35… Two drives later, Andre Moyd recovered a fumble forced by Marcus Nelums at the Newberry 30… Newberry earned a first down for the first time in the game with about 2:30 until the half, and on the next play, Gantt connected with Tindal for a 56 yard touchdown for Newberry's first score of the game, making the score 17-7… The play is Newberry's longest gain of the season thus far and the first time Newberry scored in the second quarter this season… Newberry has trailed at halftime in all four games this season… Newberry took the momentum in the third quarter, scoring on a 38-yard pass from Gantt to Bostick on third-and-27 on the first drive of the half to make it 17-14… An apparent touchdown was nullified on the previous play, as Bostick was called for pass interference in the end zone - he made up for it on the following play… Newberry forced a Ricky Harris fumble on the second play of the next C-N drive… Gantt connected with Tindal again for 36 yards on the opening play and Newberry rushed the rest of the way to paydirt for the touchdown… Nick Toole missed the PAT, making it a 20-17 Newberry lead… Carson-Newman scored on a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter, but the key to the game came when Mario Russell forced David Smith to fumble just before he was down at the Newberry 40… The Eagles recovered the fumble and Lopez kicked the game-winning field goal from 35 yards out with 37 seconds to play… The three-point margin of victory was the tightest in the series since Newberry beat Carson-Newman, 14-13, in 1988… That was also the last time Newberry defeated C-N in Jefferson City… Newberry next takes on Catawba College (3-1, 0-1 SAC) next Saturday in Salisbury at 1:30 p.m…. Catawba has a 37-32-3 lead in the all-time series, but Newberry has won three of the last four meetings… Newberry won, 33-14, last season at home… Catawba won the last meeting in Salisbury, 28-18, in 2007… Newberry's last win in Salisbury was a 43-37 double overtime victory in 2005.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (1-3, 0-1 SAC) committed three turnovers, including two in the red-zone in a 42-31 loss to Wingate in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams… The contest was also in front of a national television audience on CBS College Sports… The loss ended a school-record 12-game home winning streak… All-America tight end Jarrell NeSmith had a career night as he made nine receptions for 132 yards… Rookie quarterback Bo Cordell went 29-for-40 for 285 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 38-yard TD strike to junior Calvin Britt… It was Britt's 15th career touchdown reception, tying him for second all-time with teammate Ryan Tallent… Britt and Tallent are both four behind the school record 19 set by Jamichael Caldwell (2004-07)… Junior Gareth Rowlands has been named to the "Fred Mitchell Award" Watch List (College Division Placekicker of the Year)… Rowlands has been near perfect this year, connecting on all 12 of his extra points and 5-of-6 on field goals… He has made his last five field goal attempts, including last week's 46-yarder in the fourth quarter against Wingate… He tied the Tusculum school record for extra points made in a career with 69, matching the mark set by Glen Black (2004-06)… Senior linebacker Miles Washington posted a career-best nine stops in consecutive weeks… All-American punter John Gregory is closing on a milestone, needing four more punt attempts to surpass the 200-punt plateau… He is already Tusculum's all-time leader in punt attempts (196), punting yards (8,148) and punt average (41.6)… This week's game with Lenoir-Rhyne will be the 125th contest on the TC sideline for head coach Frankie DeBusk… DeBusk is undefeated every 25th game in his career, posting victories in his 25th, 50th, 75th and 100th contests with the Pioneers… The Pioneers are 5-0 against Lenoir-Rhyne in Greeneville… Tusculum leads the all-time series with the Bears 9-3, including wins in the last three meetings… TC has won eight of the last nine meetings… Tusculum and L-R first met on Nov. 15, 1924.
WINGATE - Wingate University redshirt junior running back Nelson Woods rushed 17 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns as the Bulldogs defeated Tusculum College 42-31 Thursday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Pioneer Field ... The contest was broadcast nationally by CBS College Sports. With the victory, Wingate improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Tusculum is 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the SAC. Wingate ends Tusculum's 12-game home winning streak with the victory ... Wingate never trailed in the wild-and-woolly contest. The Bulldogs posted 450 yards total offense, while the Pioneers blazed a trail for 352 yards total offense. Wingate sophomore running back Vince Jordan almost joined Woods in the 100-yard club, as he rushed 18 times for 99 yards and one score ... Bulldog redshirt sophomore quarterback Cody Haffly completed 15-of-28 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Wingate redshirt junior wide receiver Perry Floyd caught six passes for 58 yards. Classmate Delric Ellington grabbed five passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns ... The Wingate defense recorded four sacks. Bulldog redshirt junior linebacker Greg Harmon had 11 tackles (five solo) and 2 1/2 tackles for loss. He also shared a sack. Wingate senior safety Tylan Merkerson had two huge interceptions in the Tusculum end zone. He added six tackles and one pass break-up ... The Bulldogs opened the scoring with a touchdown by Jordan at the 11:57 mark of the first quarter. Woods put the exclamation mark on the first half with a 62-yard scoring run, posting his second TD with 4:06 to play in the second frame. Wingate led 28-21 at intermission ... Woods' third TD gave Wingate a 35-21 advantage with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter. Tusculum answered with 10 straight points. TC graduate student Jamar Ferguson capped a nine-play drive with a three-yard scoring scamper to make the score 35-28 with 14:18 to play ... Tusculum junior place kicker Gareth Rowlands booted a 46-yard field goal with 4:52 remaining to pull the hosts within four at 35-31. Wingate answered with a seven-play, 71-yard drive to put the game on ice. On a crucial fourth down play, Haffly found Ellington for a 35-yard catch-and-run TD at the 2:09 plateau. Bulldog senior place kicker RP Lopez connected on his sixth (of six extra points), finishing the scoring ... The Bulldogs host Brevard College Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1:30 p.m. The Tornadoes lead the SAC in scoring offense. Wingate leads the series between the two schools 2-0. During the Joe Reich era, the Bulldogs are 31-13 overall at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field ... In 2008, Wingate compiled 524 yards total offense as the number 18 Bulldogs defeated Brevard 44-13 in South Atlantic Conference action at Brevard Memorial Stadium. With the victory, Wingate improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the SAC. The 2008 Bulldogs achieved a milestone with the best start in the school's senior college history ... Bulldog tailback Nelson Woods rushed 21 times for 126 yards and one score for the visitors. Wingate quarterback JD Moore completed 18-of-33 passes for 182 yards and two TDs. The Bulldogs bolted to a 20-0 lead and never looked back ... The Wingate defense held the BC Tornados to 181 yards total offense and only 23 yards in the air during the 2008 contest. Bulldog linebacker Ed Doughty had seven tackles with 2 1/2 quarterback sacks. Wingate linebacker Shane Outen topped the Bulldog defensive charts with nine total stops (two solo, seven assists) ... Wingate has scored 26 defensive touchdowns during the Joe Reich era. The Bulldogs' record when scoring a defensive TD (during this eight-plus season time frame) is 15-9 overall. Wingate has four defensive touchdowns this season ... Bulldog redshirt freshman safety Robert Fletcher has two of Wingate's four defensive touchdowns this year. The Lancaster High School product returned a UNC Pembroke fumble 25 yards for a TD on Sept. 12. In Wingate's opening week victory over West Georgia, Fletcher set a school-record with a 98-yard interception return for a score ... The intangibles have favored the Bulldogs this season. Wingate leads the SAC in team punting, team turnover margin and team red zone defense. Bulldog senior punter Phillip Hilliard continued his solid play, averaging 43.8 yards on four punts against the TC Pioneers. Hilliard leads Tusculum punter John Gregory by 1/10 of a yard (40.8-40.7) in the league's individual punting category. Wingate won the turnover battle Thursday, outdistancing Tusculum 3-1 in the all-important category.