SAC Football Notes, October 16, 2010
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games through Saturday, October 16:
BREVARD - Chris Spencer blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone and Prince Simunyu returned a Lenoir-Rhyne fumble 37 yards for a touchdown, but Major Herron found the end zone twice for the Bears as Brevard fell at home to visiting Lenoir-Rhyne University, 24-8 ... The Tornados (3-4, 0-3 SAC) were held to their lowest rushing total on the season, accumulating 34 yards on the ground, led by Kelvin Jeter's 23 yards on seven carries ... Michael Crumbaker was three of 10 through the air for 14 yards, with Eric Watts hauling in two catches for four yards, while Derek Church had one catch for 10...Defensively, C.J. Wilson led all players with 15 tackles in the contest and had a pass breakup, while Simunyu had 10 tackles to go with his fumble return ... Demarcus Allen, Ryan Wannamaker, Phillip Curcio and Christian Lumbu all had sacks for Brevard on the afternoon as well, while Chris Jones had a fumble recovery and an interception for the Brevard defense ... Justin Fleming opened up the game with a 59 yard kickoff return on the opening kickoff, giving Brevard excellent field position on the Lenoir-Rhyne 39 yard line, but the Bears defense held, sacking Crumbaker on third down to force the punt ... The Tornados also forced a punt on the Bears first possession, and the snap was botched, allowing Spencer to come in and block the offering ... The ball rolled out of the back of the end zone for a safety, putting Brevard up 2-0 ... The Tornados defense took over again on L-R's next possession, as the Tornados took out both Herron and his running back on the option play, allowing the ball to roll on the turf before Simunyu picked it up and was escorted into the end zone to put Brevard up 8-0 after Chase Henry's extra point was blocked ... Lenoir-Rhyne took over from there, as Herron found the end zone twice and Anthony Silvers carried the ball in from six yards out with 18 seconds left in the ball game as the Tornados fell at home, 24-8 ... Brevard remains at home next weekend as they host SAC opponent Wingate University at Asheville HS...Kickoff for Brevard's Homecoming game is set for 1 p.m.
CARSON-NEWMAN - Carson-Newman scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to claim a 42-16 win over host Catawba in South Atlantic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at Shuford Stadium and Kirkland Field ... The final two Eagle scores came on interception returns for touchdowns ... Carson-Newman improves to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the SAC, while the Catawba Indians fall to 4-2 and 2-1 ... Nate Inman ran for 165 yards and one score to lead the Eagles...Carson-Newman marched 92 yards in 17 plays to go on top 28-16 with 2:39 left ... During the final drive that took over nine minutes, the key play for the Eagles was a 12-yard run by Jamie Bennett on a fake punt at the Catawba 37 with five minutes to play ... Carson-Newman later converted a third-and-eight on a nine-yard run by Inman and capped the drive on Brandon Baker's four-yard run ... Jaycob Coleman erased any Catawba hopes of a rally as he intercepted a desperation fourth-down pass and returned it 62 yards for a score with 1:19 left ... Oliver Davis added a 27-yard pick for a touchdown with just 27 seconds remaining ... Catawba held the early lead as the Indians went on top with 6:59 left in the opening quarter on a 13-yard pass from Patrick Dennis to Gerron Bryant ... The Eagles answered on an 11-yard run by Doug Belk ... The Indians took the lead back on a two-yard run by Josh Wright with 12:25 to go in the second quarter, but Carson-Newman scored twice in the final three minutes of the half to take the momentum. Inman hit for a 60-yard run at the 2:29 mark and following on interception by Tarvin Jones, Baker threw a 32-yard halfback pass to Jason Brown with 1:06 left before the break ... Baker added 74 yards on the ground for Carson-Newman and completed the one scoring pass ... Belk ran for 57 yards and completed 1-of-6 passes for 10 yards ... Anthony McAlister posted nine tackles for Carson-Newman and was in on two sacks ... Jones had two interceptions as he also ended a third-quarter Catawba drive with a pick in the end zone ... C-N returns to action on Thursday against Mars Hill. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Burke-Tarr Stadium ... The contest will be televised on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) ... Mars Hill enters the contest at 5-2 overall and is in first place in the SAC with a 3-0 record ... The Lions are coming off a 48-36 win over Newberry on Saturday ... The Eagles knocked off Mars Hill 55-28 last season.
CATAWBA - Catawba battled pre-season favorite Carson-Newman late into the fourth quarter until the Eagles used a nine-minute drive to score the clinching touchdown with just over two minutes to play to go on top 28-16 ... Carson-Newman returned two interceptions for scores in the waning minutes to pad its lead ... Catawba suffered four turnovers and the Eagles turned three of those into touchdowns ... C-N scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half and three TD's in the last three minutes of the game ... It marked another big fourth quarter for Carson-Newman against Catawba ... Over the last three meeting the Eagles have out-scored the Indians 63-17 in the final period ... Nate Inman had 162 yards to pace the Carson-Newman ground attack ... Josh Wright ran for a career-high 105 yards in the loss to lead the Indians.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University football team (4-3, 1-2) picked up its first South Atlantic Conference win of the season and snapped a two-game losing streak when it defeated Brevard College (3-4, 0-3), 24-8, Saturday afternoon at Asheville High School in Asheville, N.C. … Junior quarterback Major Herron (Kingsland, Ga.) finished with 108 yards rushing on 38 carries to go along with 99 yards passing as the Bears held a 370-48 advantage in total yards en route to the win … After spotting Brevard a 8-0 lead thanks to a blocked punt out of the end zone and a fumble return 37 yards for a score by the Tornados' Prince Simunyu, Lenoir-Rhyne reeled off 24 consecutive points … Herron started the rally with a four-yard touchdown run that capped off a 10-play, 66-yard drive late in the first half before junior placekicker Colin Corpe (Ocala, Fla.) kicked a 37-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining until halftime to give L-R the lead for good … Lenoir-Rhyne closed out the scoring with two touchdowns runs in the fourth quarter - a one-yarder by Herron and a six-yard scamper by senior fullback Anthony Silvers (Burnsville, N.C.) with 19 seconds remaining - for the 16-point victory … L-R junior wide receiver Nick Stutts (Statesville, N.C.) added 88 yards receiving on just three catches while Bear senior defensive back Marcus Shuford (Newton, N.C.) finished with a team-high 10 tackles and sophomore defensive lineman Brandon Martin (Roebuck, S.C.) tallied two quarterback sacks as well … Senior tailback Gaston Miller (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) added 63 yards rushing on just seven carries (9.0 ypg) and the Bears held the ball for 37:51 out of the possible 60 minutes of play … Brevard, the nation's top running team in NCAA Division II entering the game, was held to just 34 yards on the ground … Herron crossed the century mark on the ground for the second time this year while the Lenoir-Rhyne defense limited its fifth straight opponent to under 300 yards of total offense … Shuford continues to lead the squad in tackles with 57 while Stutts has accounted for 65 percent of the team's receiving yards (409 out of 632) … Lenoir-Rhyne returns to Moretz Stadium next Saturday to face Tusculum in a South Atlantic Conference game beginning at 2:30 p.m. … Tusculum leads the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne, 9-4, but the Bears prevailed last season by a 38-17 score on October 3, 2009, in Greeneville, Tenn.
MARS HILL - Two school records fell and one was tied as Mars Hill moved into sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 48-36 victory over Newberry College Saturday afternoon at the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium … The Lions are now 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the league … Jon Richt (Watkinsville, Ga.) set a new school record for most passing yards in a single game with 330 and tied a school mark for most passing touchdowns in a single season … Jonas Randolph (Daleville, Ala.) set a new school record for most career all-purpose touchdowns with 30 after he scored twice. Randolph rushed for 183 yards and two scores averaging 5.5 yards per carry … Richt was 17-36 on the day connecting on three touchdown strikes … P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) caught five passes for 133 and two touchdown receptions … Ray Ray McElrathbey (Atlanta, Ga.) had a big day for the Lions defensively and on special teams. Ray Ray picked off an interception that halted an almost certain Newberry score and then returned a punt 53 yards for a touchdown that gave MHC a 35-24 lead … Maurice Harris (Hendersonville, N.C.) led the Lions' defense posting five tackles (4 solo), a sack, two tackles-for-loss and four quarterback hurries … After the first three drives of the game ended in punts, Newberry was able to drive down to the MHC 11-yardline on its second drive. Ehrlich threw towards the endzone, but safety McElrathbey picked off the pass at the 1-yardline. Mars Hill needed just four plays after McElrathbey's return to find the endzone, taking a 7-0 lead on 2-yard touchdown pass from Jon Richt to Allen Woerner (Tiger, Ga.) … Newberry responded with a 12-play, 77-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Ehrlich on the first play of the second quarter. After the Wolves forced Mars Hill to go for it on fourth down and fail, Newberry running back Lyndon Ingram (Columbia, S.C.) capped a 6-play, 74-yard scoring drive with a 16-yard touchdown carry … The Wolves held the Lions to a three-and-out on the next drive and proceeded to go on a 9-play, 90-yard scoring drive that ended on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ehrlich-to-Max Elliott (Clover, S.C.) to make it a 21-7 game with 2:35 left in the first half … Newberry's defense appeared to hold MHC to another three-and-out on the next drive, but a defensive holding penalty kept the drive alive and gave the Lions the momentum they needed to complete a 10-play, 60-yard scoring drive on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Richt to Gore that made it a 21-14 Newberry lead at halftime … The Wolves fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, but safety Ron Parker (St. Helena Island, S.C.) snuffed out a potential scoring threat with an interception in the end zone. However, the Lions forced Newberry to punt and tied the game on a three-play scoring drive when Randolph scampered 36 yards for his first score of the day … The Wolves took the lead back on a 24-yard field goal by Britt Blackmon (Kershaw, S.C.), but the Lions took the lead at 28-24 on a 47-yard Richt-to-Gore touchdown pass. Momentum shifted further in the Lions' favor after a three-and-out and a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown by McElrathbey to give Mars Hill a 35-24 lead … The Wolves were not deterred by the largest deficit they had faced in the game; as Ehrlich found Pressley wide open for an 80-yard touchdown to narrow the deficit to 35-30 going into the fourth quarter. Newberry picked up two first downs on its first drive of the fourth quarter and appeared to be headed deep into Lions' territory, but Curtis Riley (Orlando, Fla.) picked Ehrlich off and returned the interception all the way down to the Wolves' 21-yard line … Mars Hill needed just five plays and 55 seconds to make it a 42-30 game after Richt dove in from a yard out … The Lions forced another Newberry three-and-out and Richt engineered a flawless 7-play, 87-yard touchdown drive to put the game out of reach … The Wolves forced a Mars Hill fumble as the Lions attempted to run out the clock on the game, and Ehrlich found Bostick in the endzone as time expired to make it a 48-36 final … MHC will face Carson-Newman College next Thursday night at 8 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tenn. The game will be broadcast live on CSS. The Eagles are 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the SAC.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry College Wolves lost on the road to Mars Hill this week, 48-36 ... Newberry is now 3-3 overall and 2-1 in South Atlantic Conference play... It is Newberry's third straight loss to Mars Hill, the longest current losing streak against a SAC opponent for the Wolves ... Bryan Ehrlich completed 17-of-36 passes for 400 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions ... He now has 1,852 passing yards this season to go with 23 touchdowns, completing 122 of his 209 attempts ... He currently ranks eight in Newberry history in school history in single season yardage, 10th in single season completions and third in touchdown passes with a minimum of four games to play this season ... He is also already tied for fifth in career touchdown passes at Newberry ... Brandon Bostick and David Pressley caught the majority of Ehrlich's passes, with Bostick catching seven passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, with Pressley catching six passes for 154 yards and an 80-yard touchdown that ranked as the eighth-longest passing play in Newberry history ... Safety Ron Parker made 16 tackles and made his SAC-leading fourth interception, as well as recovering a fumble ... After MHC took an early 7-0 lead, Newberry scored three straight touchdowns on a 13-yard carry by Ehrlich, a 16-yard rushing touchdown by Lyndon Ingram and a 14-yard Ehrlich-to-Max Elliott touchdown pass ... The Lions scored just before the half to make it a 21-14 game and a Jonas Randolph touchdown carry tied the game just over five minutes into the second half ... A 24-yard Britt Blackmon field goal gave Newberry a 24-21 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter ... A Lions touchdown pass gave the hosts a 28-24 lead and a Ray Ray McElrathbey punt return touchdown made it a 35-24 lead ... It was the first punt return for a touchdown allowed by Newberry since 2005 that did not come off of a blocked punt ... On the next play, Newberry cut it to 35-30 on the 80-yard touchdown pass from Ehrlich to Pressley ... Newberry picked up two first downs on its first drive of the fourth quarter and appeared to be headed deep into Lions' territory, but Curtis Riley picked Ehrlich off and returned the interception all the way down to the Wolves' 21-yardline ... Mars Hill needed just five plays and 55 seconds to make it a 42-30 game ... The Lions forced another Newberry three-and-out and Richt engineered a flawless 7-play, 87-yard touchdown drive to put the game out of reach ... The Wolves forced a Mars Hill fumble as the Lions attempted to run out the clock on the game, and Ehrlich found Bostick in the endzone as time expired to make it a 48-36 final ... Newberry moves on to host Catawba for a 4 p.m. kickoff ... Newberry defeated Catawba on the road last season and has won two straight games in the series ... Catawba leads the all-time series, 37-33-1 ... Newberry has won the last two home games in the series, and has not lost at home since 2004.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (4-3, 0-3 in South Atlantic Conference) dropped its third straight game in Saturday's 33-27 setback at Wingate … Since opening the season 4-0, the Pioneers have lost their last games by a combined 19 points … Harlon Hill Trophy candidate Bo Cordell passed for over 400 yards for a sixth straight game as he went 31-for-55 for 403 yards … Cordell rushed for his third TD of the season, but didn't throw a touchdown pass for the first time since Oct. 10, 2010 vs. Brevard … Deonte' Gist was his top target as he hauled in 11 receptions for 101 yards … Junior Rashaad Carter made six grabs for 87 yards, while junior tight end Michael Rodriguez made six catches for 84 yards … Running back Fred Jones rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the loss … Senior LB Zachary Norman led the Pioneers with six tackles, while the trio of Jason Muehling, Luke Harris and Brian Alexander tallied five stops each … Senior wideout Calvin Britt continues his assault on the Tusculum record book … He is already the school's all-time leader in career TD receptions (24) and career yards per catch average (20.67 ypc … In his 37 games, he has amassed 2,150 receiving yards, which are third in TC history and 227 yards shy of matching the school record 2,377 yards set by former All-American Kevin Wolcott (2000-03) … Britt's 24 career touchdowns are also third all-time and his 146 career points are fourth most by a Pioneer ... Cordell moved into second place all-time at Tusculum with 6,377 career passing yards, surpassing former All-SAC signal caller Tony Colston (6307, 2002-04) … Cordell's yardage tally is also 10th all-time in South Atlantic Conference history … He has passed for over 300 yards in his last nine games, averaging 423.2 yards and 34.4 completions per contest during that span … Cordell leads the NCAA (all divisions) in passing this season, averaging 417 yards per game … His 35.29 completions per contest are also tops in NCAA Division II … Senior placekicker Gareth Rowlands adds to his already record-setting career as he added two made field goals and three extra points against Wingate … His 224 kicking points are the most in school history, which are second all-time for all Pioneer players … Tusculum will be on the road this week at Lenoir-Rhyne (4-3, 1-2 SAC) … Tusculum leads the all-time series against the Bears, 9-4.
WINGATE - The Wingate University football team scored the first 20 points of the game and survived a furious rally, outlasting the Tusculum College Pioneers 33-27 in South Atlantic Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field … Bulldog redshirt senior running back Nelson Woods and redshirt senior place kicker RP Lopez set school and personal records for Wingate (4-2 overall, 1-1 SAC). Tusculum drops its third straight decision with the loss. Wingate plays Brevard College Saturday at Asheville High School's Memorial Stadium. The kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. … Woods ran three yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, giving Wingate a 20-0 lead following the Lopez PAT at the 8:07 mark. The score gave Woods 31 touchdowns for his Bulldog career, breaking the record (30) set by Tracy Bowen (1996-98). Lopez kicked a career-high four field goals Saturday. On the season, Lopez has not missed a kick. He is six-for-six on field goals and 19-for-19 on extra points … The contest was a fan's delight, as the two teams combined for 902 total offensive yards. Woods rushed 29 times for 109 yards and one touchdown. Wingate redshirt junior quarterback Cody Haffly completed 21-of-40 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, both to redshirt senior wide receiver Perry Floyd. Tusculum sophomore quarterback Bo Cordell completed 31-of-55 passes for 403 yards. Wingate's defense made Cordell earn his yardage, as the Bulldogs sacked the TC signal-caller four times … After holding Tusculum three-and-out on the opening possession, Wingate and Lopez got on the board early in the first quarter. The Bulldogs drove 51 yards on seven plays, with Lopez converting a 32-yard field goal at the 10:50 plateau of the first frame … Wingate took advantage of a short TC punt to score its first touchdown. The Bulldogs needed only two plays for Haffly to connect with Floyd for a 39-yard touchdown strike. Lopez added the PAT to make the score 10-0 with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter … Lopez hit a 23-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter to give the hosts a 13-0 advantage. The three-pointer concluded a 10-play, 50-yard drive that evaporated four-plus minutes from the clock … Tusculum had its first scoring opportunity on the next possession, but Pioneer senior place kicker Gareth Rowlands missed a 39-yard field goal. Wingate responded with a 12-play, 78-yard drive that concluded with Woods' record-setting touchdown. The Bulldogs led 20-0 with 8:07 showing on the second quarter clock … Rowlands redeemed himself on the ensuing possession, nailing a 34-yard field goal with 5:36 to go in the second quarter. The triple climaxed a seven-play, 48-yard drive for the Pioneers. After Tusculum forced Wingate to punt, Pioneer junior running back Fred Jones scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns to cut the TC deficit to 20-10 with 75 seconds remaining before intermission … Wingate wasted little time answering the Jones' TD, as Haffly found Floyd for a 73-yard, catch-and-run touchdown on the third play of the second half. Lopez' PAT put Wingate up 27-10 with 13:50 to play in the third frame. Rowlands hit his second field goal two-plus minutes later, trimming the deficit to 27-13 at the 11:23 mark … Lopez would sandwich two field goals (29, 27) around Jones' second TD run. The fourth and final Lopez three-pointer gave the hosts a 33-20 lead with 4:22 remaining in regulation. Cordell was intercepted in the end zone by Wingate freshman defensive back Timmy Rogers the next the Pioneers touched the ball. The Bulldogs could not convert the takeaway into points, punting the ball back to the Tennessee visitors … Tusculum and Cordell regrouped, scoring on the next drive to make things interesting. Cordell concluded a seven-play, 74-yard drive with a one-yard scoring plunge to make the score 33-27 with 46 ticks left on the fourth quarter clock. Rowlands' on-side kick was caught in the air by Bulldog redshirt senior cornerback Terrence Stephens. Haffly took a knee and the Bulldogs celebrated their 10th victory in the TC-WU series … Haffly utilized seven different receivers Saturday. Bulldog sophomore wide receiver Chris Bowden caught five passes for 74 yards, while redshirt senior wide receiver Delric Ellington recorded five catches for 43 yards. Wingate redshirt junior wide receiver Marquise Allen had three receptions for 41 yards. Floyd was one of four Bulldogs with two catches each. A first team pre-season All-American, Floyd's two TD grabs covered 112 yards … Tusculum junior wide receiver Deonte' Gist led all pass catchers with 11 receptions for 101 yards. Two teammates caught six passes each. Gist had 174 all-purpose yards, second only to Floyd's 192. The Pioneers could manage only 43 net rushing yards on 23 carries … Wingate redshirt senior punter Phillip Hilliard had arguably his most successful game of the season, averaging 42.3 yards on seven punts. He had one boot inside the 20-yard line and added a long punt of 54 yards. Thanks to Hilliard and the Bulldog special teamers, Wingate held a three-yard advantage in average field position (W33 to T30) … Stephens led all defenders with his 10 tackles (four solo, six assists). He added one pass break-up and a shared tackle for loss to his statistics ledger Saturday. Wingate redshirt junior defensive end Jack Taylor had two of the Bulldogs' four QB sacks. Taylor had five solo tackles on the day. Redshirt senior linebacker Greg Harmon had six tackles, one QB sack and three QB hurries. Bulldog redshirt sophomore safety Robert Fletcher recorded Wingate's other interception … Woods concludes his Wingate career with three 100-plus yard performances against the Tusculum Pioneers. In 2009, Woods rushed 17 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns as the Bulldogs defeated the Pioneers 42-31 in a nationally-televised game at Tusculum. In four career games against TC, Woods has 91 carries for 444 yards and seven touchdowns … Wingate will play its first-ever game in Asheville Saturday when they face SAC foe Brevard College. The Bulldogs lead the overall series 3-0. The teams met for the first time in 2007 when the BC Tornados joined the SAC … Last year, Haffly threw a (then) career-high three touchdown passes as Wingate topped Brevard 28-12 at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. Haffly completed 17-of-27 passes for 219 yards and the three scores. He helped Wingate to a quick 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter and the hosts never looked back. The Wingate defense pitched a first-half shutout as the Bulldogs took the 14-0 advantage to the halftime locker room.