Football Game Notes, November 14, 2010
Game notes and recaps from around the SAC for games through Saturday, November 13:
BREVARD - Neville Bryce capped off a record-setting career at Brevard College with a pair of touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and Michael Gist sealed the game with an interception in the end zone as time expired as the Tornados closed out the 2010 season with a victory over host Mars Hill College on Saturday afternoon, 35-28 ... Kelvin Jeter led Brevard with his seventh 100-yard rushing performance of the season, carrying the ball 12 times for 125 yards and a 58 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, while Bryce took over first place in the BC career rushing record books, breaking John Taylor's marks in career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, with 27 carries for 90 yards and three scores in the game ... Bryce finished up his career with 1,254 career rushing yards at Brevard and recorded nine touchdowns in the final four weeks of the season to overtake Taylor's touchdown record, finishing his career with the Tornados with 16 touchdown carries ... Michael Crumbaker also wrapped up his career as BC's most prolific passer, completing two of six pass attempts for 18 yards, while carrying the ball 13 times for 20 yards and a touchdown. Derek Church and Eric Watts were the recipients of Crumbaker's throws, with each hauling in one pass for nine yards ... As a whole, the Tornados defense was around the ball the entire evening, breaking up eight passes, forcing and recovering three fumbles and also intercepting a pair of passes ... Prince Simunyu led Brevard defensively with nine tackles in the contest, including a forced fumble, while Salonik Amos and Trey Jenkins had eight tackles apiece ... Gist added a fumble recovery to his game-ending interception, while Philip Curcio recorded his first interception as a Tornado in the contest ... Watts added four punts over 50 yards in the contest in constantly turning the field position battle in Brevard's favor as the Tornados closed out the 2010 season with a 4-7 record ... In the past two seasons, the Tornados have gone 11-11 overall, recording wins over four different South Atlantic Conference opponents in just their third season as official members of the SAC.
CARSON-NEWMAN - Carson-Newman senior quarterback Doug Belk rushed for 208 yards and scored the game-winning two-point conversion, as the Eagles slipped past Tusculum, 49-48, at Pioneer Field ... Tusculum kicker Gareth Rowlands' 53-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright as time expired to seal the win for C-N ... C-N running back Tyron Douglas rushed for 92 yards on 16 carries and three scores, including his one-yard TD plunge in the final minute to pull the Eagles within one point at 48-47 ... After a C-N timeout, the Eagles elected to go for the two-point conversion as Belk went off tackle to the right side and into the end zone to give the visitors a 49-48 lead ... Tusculum quarterback Bo Cordell completed completed two passes and had a 10-yard scramble that moved the Pioneers to the C-N 36 with six seconds remaining, but Rowlands' field goal attempt bounced off the upright ... The Eagles churned out 484 yards, including 452 rushing yards on the day as only five Carson-Newman players carried the football ... C-N wrapped up its season with a 7-4 overall record and a 5-2 mark in South Atlantic Conference play.
CATAWBA - Lenoir-Rhyne quarterback Reuben Haynes threw for a touchdown and ran for a score as the Bears defeated visiting Catawba 31-17 in South Atlantic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at Moretz Stadium … With the win, L-R snaps an eight-game home losing streak to the Catawba Indians, dating back to 1993. The Bears finish the season at 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the SAC … Catawba scored in the final minute of the half to get on the scoreboard. Patrick Dennis (Durham, NC/Cedar Ridge HS) connected with Grayson Downs (Mount Pleasant, NC/Mt. Pleasant HS) for a 20-yard scoring reception with just 50 seconds left before break to cut the margin to 13-7 entering intermission. Catawba recovered the ensuing kickoff in Bear territory, but missed on a field goal try on the final play of the half … Catawba sandwiched a touchdown in between the Bears' two scores in the third stanza on Dennis' five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Bunn (Virginia Beach, VA/Fork Union/VMI) … The touchdown marked the 30th for Bunn in his career. However, the Indians couldn't get any closer than two touchdowns the rest of the way as the teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter to make it a 31-17 final … Dennis completed 34-of-47 passes for 295 yards passing and two scores with Bunn added a game-high 10 catches for 78 yards and a score. On defense, Cory Johnson (Fayetteville, NC/Britt HS) led the Indians with a game-high 13 tackles.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University football team (7-4, 4-3) capped off its best season since 1994 when it defeated Catawba College (6-4, 4-3), 31-17, in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon at Moretz Stadium in a South Atlantic Conference contest … Sophomore quarterback Reuben Haynes (Commerce, Ga.) threw for a score and ran for a touchdown as well as the Bears snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Indians at home … Lenoir-Rhyne last defeated Catawba at Moretz Stadium on November 13, 1993, a 38-29 triumph … Haynes led the Bears with 71 yards on the ground as Lenoir-Rhyne, the top-ranked rushing team in NCAA Division II, finished with 370 yards rushing … The Bears jumped ahead late in the second quarter by a 13-0 score on a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Major Herron (Kingsland, Ga.) and Haynes' 15-yard touchdown toss to junior wide receiver Nick Stutts (Statesville, N.C.) … After taking a 13-7 advantage into halftime, Lenoir-Rhyne slowly built its lead in the third quarter on touchdown runs of 25 and 42 yards, respectively, by junior halfback Jasper Thomas (High Point, N.C.) and Haynes … Catawba couldn't get within two scores the rest of the way as the teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring … Senior defensive back Marcus Shuford (Newton, N.C.) and sophomore linebacker Demetrius Green (Cedartown, Ga.) each finished with a team-high seven tackles as the Bears' defense limited the Indians to just 36 yards rushing and tallied three sacks on the afternoon … Lenoir-Rhyne has improved its win total for three straight seasons … Junior placekicker Colin Corpe (Ocala, Fla.) moved into second place on the Bears' all-time scoring list for kickers with 190 … The Bears' rushing average of 319.5 yards per outing this season is the best ever in school history … Shuford finished his career with 308 tackles and 11 interceptions as a Bear … L-R went 4-1 in its last five games in 2010 … L-R leads the league in total defense (276.6 ypg), scoring defense (20.3 ppg), rushing defense (75.7 ypg) and quarterback sacks (39) … On offense, the Bears are first in the SAC in time of possession while (33:45) while Herron is first in the league in touchdowns scored with 16.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill closed out the 2010 season with a 35-28 loss to Brevard on Senior Day at the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium. The Lions end their campaign at 5-6 overall, 3-4 in the league … Michael Robinson got Mars Hill on the board with an early touchdown. Baker forced a Michael Crumbaker fumble at the Brevard 30-yard line which Robinson scooped and scored with 13:33 left in the first quarter … Brevard scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead at the half. The Tornadoes went up 21-7 in the third quarter … Mars Hill cut the deficit to seven points early in the fourth quarter. With Brevard driving deep into Lions' territory, Kevin Johnson hit Neville Bryce, popping the ball loose which was recovered by Josh Baker. Mars Hill put together a 10-play, 74 yard drive, which was capped off when Jon Richt hit Chad Fekany from 17 yards out to make the score 21-14 in favor of the Tornados … Brevard grabbed another two touchdown lead, 28-14, on the next possession. Bryce scored from three yards out with 8:13 remaining in the game … The Lions again answered on the next possession. Luis Cruz found Patrick Fitzgerald on a play-action pass from 5 yards out with 6:12 left on the clock … The Mars Hill defense stopped Brevard and gave the ball back to its offense at the 5:02 mark, but the Lions were unable to move the ball. The Tornados took over on downs at the Mars Hill 3-yard line, and Bryce scored his third touchdown of the game on the next play … Cruz found Jonas Randolph on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 2:07 left in the contest. Although Mars Hill could not recover an onside kick attempt, the Lions got the ball back on the Brevard 40-yard line for one final play. However, a Cruz pass attempt was intercepted after several deflections in the endzone by Michael Gist … Randolph finished with 103 yards on the ground on 20 carries. Through three seasons, he now has 37 touchdowns, 3,438 rushing yards and 222 points scored, all school career records … Cruz hit 16-28 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns against one interception … Richt was 8-16 for 113 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He finishes the year establishing new single-season school records for passing yards (2,238), passing touchdowns (20), and total offense (2,198) … Gore caught seven passes for 72 yards and ended with a new school record 1,086 receiving yards in 2010. Prince hauled in six grabs for a game-high 86 yards … Baker totaled 11 tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Rudy Cabral had nine tackles for the Lions … Mars Hill outgained Brevard 359-266 but had four turnovers compared to only two for the Tornados. Brevard outrushed the Lions 248-90 … In 2010, Michael Pinkerton tied the single-season school record with 42 made point after attempts. The Lions established a new single-season team record for passing yards (2,829).
NEWBERRY -The Newberry College Wolves completed the 2010 season on Saturday with a 49-33 loss at the hands of the SAC Champion Wingate Bulldogs ... Newberry finishes the season at 4-6 overall and 3-4 in SAC play ... The losing records overall and in SAC play are the first for Newberry in six seasons (2004) ... The highlight of the season for Newberry was the play of senior wide receiver David Pressley, who set single-season marks for receptions (86) and yardage (1,117) and finished in second in touchdowns (11) on the season ... Pressley caught 12 passes for a career high 183 yards (the fifth-most in a game in NC history) and a touchdown in the Wingate game ... Pressley is the first Newberry receiver to break the 1,000-yard mark in a season, as the record was previously held by Tymere Zimmerman with 977 yards in 2004 ... The 1,117 yards this year is the seventh-most in a season in the 35-year history of the South Atlantic Conference ... Pressley's 72 points scored this year tie him for the fifth most in a season in school history ... Newberry quarterback Parker Hite completed 18-of-28 passes for a career-high 266 yards with a touchdown and also rushed for two touchdowns ... Cornerback Kamaal McIlwain returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and Brian Spencer blocked his third punt of the season ... Britt Blackmon made field goals of 39 and 33 yards in the game, giving him nine on the season, tying him for the fourth-most in a Newberry season ... His 23 made field goals in a season is the third-most in school history ... Blackmon made a total of 38 PATs this year, just one short of the school record, and made 85 total in his Newberry career, the fourth-most in school history ... The Wolves finished the season averaging 34.8 points per game, the second-best scoring season in school history, just a shade behind the 2007 Indians, who averaged 35.0 points per game ... Apollo Stretch made 14 tackles in the game to lead the Wolves with 79 on the season ... Freshman defensive tackle Arterio Arnold finished the season with 72 tackles and 14 tackles for loss, while senior All-American safety Ron Parker finished his year with 59 tackles and eight takeaways (5 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries) ... Newberry finished the season as the SAC statistical leader in kickoff return average (25.8 yards with two touchdowns), fourth-down conversions (8-of-11, 72.7%), onside kick success (2-for-2, the only team in the league with more than one this season), fewest sacks allowed (12 in 365 pass dropbacks) ... Pressley led the league in receiving yards per game (111.7), while Parker led the league in interceptions per game (0.56), McIlwain led the SAC in kickoff return average (33.0 yards per return), while Max Elliott set a school record for total kick return yardage in a season at 890 yards despite missing the final two games of the season ... Arnold led the league in tackles for loss per game (1.4), while Brandon McCall, Xavier Wallace, R.J. Reeder and Kelton Hall were amongst the league leaders in forced fumbles with two apiece ... Parker led the league in fumble recoveries with three in nine games, while Arnold's 72 tackles led all defensive linemen.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (6-5, 2-5 SAC) dropped a heart-breaking 49-48 decision to visiting Carson-Newman in the season-finale for both teams… The Eagles scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 35 seconds remaining in the game to take a one-point lead… The Pioneers marched down the field to the C-N 36 with 5..5 seconds left… Senior kicker Gareth Rowlands' 53-yard field goal attempt was long enough, but it clanged off the left upright as time expired… The contest was thriller as the 3,298 in attendance saw three ties and 10 lead changes in the 40th recorded meeting in the second oldest collegiate football rivarly in the State of Tennessee… Harlon Hill Trophy candidate Bo Cordell accounted for five touchdowns (3 pass, 2 rush) and passed for 399 yards, ending his remarkable streak of nine straight games with 400 yards passing (TC, SAC, NCAA II record)… Cordell finishes the season with a school and SAC single-season record 4,657 passing yards (3rd most in NCAA II history)… He also finished with a TC and SAC-best 38 touchdown passes (19th in NCAA II history)… The Cincinnati, Ohio sophomore also finished with league records with 394 completions (2nd in NCAA II history), 605 pass attempts (2nd in NCAA II history), 702 total offensive attempts (2nd in NCAA II history)… Cordell also accounted for 47 touchdowns in 2010 which are second in TC and SAC history… He has accounted for at least a TD in all 11 games this season… Cordell passed for three or more TD in 9 of 11 games and 4 or more TD in 5 of 11 games… Recorded 181 consecutive pass attempts without an interception (Oct. 16-Nov. 13)… Cordell owns the top five passing yardage performances in school history, including three games of 500-plus… Owns three of the top five passing yardage performances in SAC history, including two this year… In just 21 career games, Cordell has passed for 8,115 yards (386.4 ypg) in his career (6th in SAC history)… His 382.6 total offensive yards per game average for his career in on pace to be a new NCAA II record… Cordell's 386.4 passing yards per game average for his career is on pace to be a new NCAA II record… Tusculum records were being set all day including senior Calvin Britt as he became the program's all-time leader in career receiving yards (2,449 - 9th in SAC history))… He ends his career holding records in touchdown receptions (26) and yards per catch average (19.6 ypc)… In his last game in a Tusculum uniform, Britt finished with a game-high 11 receptions for 123 yards and a TD, which gives him nine on the season (TC record)… Junior Deonte' Gist established new school single-season records with 96 catches for 1,183 yards… His receptions tally is the second most in SAC history, while his yardage total is third in the league record book… Gist accounted for six catches for 73 yards, giving him 1,713 all-purpose yards, which are a new school record… Junior Rashaad Carter finished the day with 10 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown, giving him 1,004 yards on the season, marking the first time in school history that two Pioneers finished with over 1,000 yards… Carter also recorded his 2,000th career all-purpose yard in the game (2,095)… Rowlands established new school season records with 21 made field goals (SAC record) and 111 points kicking, giving him 270 for his career, eight shy of the all-time mark held by former All-American running back Eric Claridy (278, 1992-95).
WINGATE - Wingate University redshirt junior quarterback Cody Haffly threw a career-high tying five touchdown passes and redshirt senior running back Nelson Woods had 26 carries for a season-high 181 yards and two scores as the visiting Bulldogs defeated Newberry College 49-33 in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday at Setzler Field … With the victory, Wingate (8-2 overall, 6-1 SAC) clinches its first-ever SAC regular season championship. The number three team in the NCAA Division II Super Region 2, the Bulldogs will hear about the post-season Sunday. Wingate snaps a five-game losing streak in the Newberry series with today's triumph … One of 24 regional candidates for the Harlon Hill Trophy, Haffly completed 19-of-31 passes for 285 yards and five scores. Bulldog redshirt senior wide receiver Delric Ellington had 10 receptions for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Classmate and fellow wide receiver Perry Floyd had four receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns … Woods surpassed the 1000-yard plateau Saturday with his 18th career 100-yard game. His 75-yard touchdown run is a career-long. He has 223 carries for 1055 yards and nine touchdowns entering the NCAA play-offs. Wingate's all-time leading ground gainer, Woods has rushed for 1000-plus yards in three of his four Bulldog seasons … Haffly eclipsed 3000 yards for the season Saturday. He has completed 225-of-358 passes for 3172 yards and a single-season record 32 touchdowns in his second year as Wingate's starter. Haffly has five career five touchdown games, including four this season. The Bulldogs are 15-5 overall when Haffly gets the starting nod at QB … Floyd broke Wingate's single-season record for touchdown receptions with his two TD grabs Saturday. Floyd has 12 touchdown catches this year. Earlier this year, Floyd broke Wingate's single-season high water mark for all-purpose yards. He has 1878 all-purpose yards this year. Wingate redshirt senior place kicker RP Lopez broke his own single-season record for extra points, as he booted seven PATs to give him 41 for the 2010 campaign … Wingate won the turnover battle Saturday, recording four interceptions. Four different Bulldogs had an interception in Wingate's conference title-clinching victory: seniors Greg Harmon, Justin Squirewell and Terrance Stephens and redshirt sophomore Robert Fletcher. Harmon and Fletcher had six tackles Saturday, while Stephens posted five (five solo). Wingate junior linebacker Clayton Hazeltine topped the Bulldog defensive charts with seven tackles (four solo, three assists). Hazeltine added a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry to his Saturday ledger … For the second year in a row, Wingate led the SAC in turnover margin. Wingate gained 22 turnovers and lost 15 turnovers for a plus-seven margin. Carson-Newman was second at plus-six. The Bulldogs led the nation in turnover margin last year with a plus-15 … With Saturday's victory, Wingate now leads the Newberry series 11-10. Only two of 21 games have been decided by more than 12 points. The Bulldogs have won both of those games (49-33 in 2010 and 33-0 in 2002).