Carson-Newman Falls To Grand Valley State In Football Semifinals

ALLENDALE, Mich. - The 10th-ranked Carson-Newman football team trailed No. 3 Grand Valley State by 13 points at halftime and was unable to mount a second-half comeback, as the Eagles fell to the Lakers, 41-27, on Saturday in the semifinals of the Division II Playoffs at Lubbers Stadium.

With the win, Grand Valley State (13-1) will make its sixth national championship game appearance, where they will face the winner of California (Pa.) and Northwest Missouri State on Dec. 12 at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala. The Lakers have won four national titles this decade.

The Eagles (11-3) fall short of what would have been their fourth Division II title game appearance. The loss also snapped an 11-game C-N winning streak.

"This was a great year," C-N head coach Ken Sparks said. "We had a lot of great things happen. I was probably late in establishing some things with this football team that needed to be established a little bit earlier, but they hung in there and matured. We started off 0-2 and ended up playing in the semifinals, and this team did a beautiful job with it."

The Lakers piled up 408 yards of offense on the day, including 290 on the ground. The Grand Valley State defense held the Eagles to 278 yards of offense, which was C-N's second lowest total of the season.

"They did a better job blocking and tackling than we did," Sparks offered. "They whipped us pretty good up front on offense and defense."

Running back P.T. Gates carried the Lakers' offense with 183 yards rushing and two scores, while Harlon Hill Trophy finalist Brad Iciek completed 8-of-19 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

C-N senior running back Buck Wakefield (Drummonds, Tenn.) wrapped up his stellar career with 119 yards rushing and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles. Wakefield also had an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

"Buck is a special player," Sparks said. "He made a lot of things happen. At times, we didn't give him the help that we needed to give him."

Senior quarterback Alex Good (Greensboro, N.C.) completed just 6-of-17 passes for 101 yards and two interceptions. He also rushed for 42 yards. Senior Reggie Hubbard (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led the Eagles in receiving with two receptions for 74 yards.

Senior linebackers D.J. Taylor (Homewood, Ala.) and Elliette Jackson (Fairfield, Ala.) turned in solid performances in their final game as Eagles, finishing with 11 tackles apiece.

Justin Victor recorded 10 tackles and a forced fumble to lead the Lakers.

The Lakers struck first on their opening possession. Gates broke free for a 59-yard run down to the C-N 9-yard line. But the Eagles defense held strong from there, as Grand Valley State had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Justin Trumble to take a 3-0 lead at the 10:18 mark of the first quarter.

Grand Valley State pushed its lead to 10-0 less than four minutes later behind a big play from its defense. Senior linebacker Jacob McGuckin stepped in front of a Good pass and returned the interception 25 yards for a touchdown.

"We just threw the ball where we shouldn't have," Sparks said of the interception. "But considering how (Good) had to modify because there was somebody in his face most of the time, he did an unbelievable job."

C-N answered on the ensuing kickoff, as Wakefield fielded the kick at the C-N 11 and raced 89 yards to pay dirt. Carlos Lopez (Seymour, Tenn.) added the extra point to trim the Lakers' lead to 10-7 with 6:29 left in the first quarter.

Grand Valley State fired right back, going on a five-play, 63-yard scoring drive. Gates capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, giving the Lakers a 17-7 advantage.

The Lakers grabbed a 24-7 lead on their next possession. Justin Sherrod opened the 10-play drive with a 22-yard run into C-N territory, and Iciek finished it off nine plays later by connecting with Ryan Bass for a 7-yard touchdown strike at the 9:19 mark of the second quarter.

Good and Hubbard set the Eagles up deep inside Lakers territory on the very next possession with a 58-yard pass play. Wakefield punched the ball in from a yard out three plays later to cut Grand Valley State's lead to 24-14.

Trumble added a 30-yard field goal with 1:26 left in the second quarter to give the Lakers a 27-14 lead heading into the locker room.

Grand Valley State took a 20-point lead early second half. After stopping the Eagles on the C-N 3-yard line to force a 26-yard punt by Chris Jones (Rome, Ga.), the Lakers needed just one play to find the end zone, as Iciek threw a 29-yard touchdown strike to Blake Smolen. Trumble's extra point gave the Lakers a 34-14 cushion with 9:37 left in the second quarter.

The Eagles kept the game within reach on the next possession, as Wakefield finished off an eight-play, 48-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle. C-N failed to convert the extra point, making it a 34-20 ballgame late in the third quarter.

C-N drove down to the Grand Valley State 23 on its next series and looked to pull within a score. However, the Eagles turned the ball over via a fumble. The Lakers then put the game away late in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard touchdown run by Gates.

"I'd like to have seen what would have happened if we got it down to one score just to see if we could have kept something rolling," Sparks said. "But we didn't, and that was it. We are just grateful for this group of kids."

Wakefield came through with a 21-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes remaining, but the score was too little too late for the Eagles.