VIDEO: Ken Sparks Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Anthony Eubanks Interview
VIDEO: Eric Cain interview
VIDEO: Kyler Fry Interview
VIDEO: Andy Hibbett Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (7-3, 5-2 South Atlantic Conference) celebrated a happy senior day with a dominating 27-7 victory over Wingate (6-5, 3-4 SAC) Saturday afternoon at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
The win clinches the Eagles sole possession of second place in the league behind four-time champion Lenoir-Rhyne.
The C-N defense's star shined brightest Saturday afternoon, limiting the Bulldogs to 211 yards of offense and seven points – both year-long bests for Carson-Newman.
Head coach Ken Sparks was elated with the complete performance.
"That's how you win championships right there," Sparks said. "That's what we've been talking about all year and I'm so happy for the defensive players and our defensive coaches. I'll tell you there've been a few times I've had to hide sharp objects from them to keep them from hurting themselves because it has been a tough year. But, you know, I'm so glad the seniors got to experience a complete football game, because we hadn't experienced one all year."
Carson-Newman's offense clicked as it had all year with 421 yards of offense, including 271 on the ground. De'Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.) led the way for C-N with 86 yards on 14 carries. Randall Freeman (Ooltewah, Tenn.) added 72 yards and a score on 13 carries.
Senior running back Andy Hibbett (Corryton, Tenn.) saw his school record for consecutive 100-yard rushing performances come to an end. He tallied 58 yards on nine carries, but did find the end zone twice. Hibbett secured his spot in the Eagle record books. With 37 career rushing touchdowns, he moved past Brandon Baker and Antwon Oliver and into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time rushing TD list.
He finished just shy of 1,400 yards for the season with 1,394 – the eighth best season in school history. He also winds up with 3,208 career rushing yards. That mark is also the eighth best in school history.
"Well that's a congratulations to Andy," Sparks said. "He's worked so hard and overcome injuries, and all the things that he means to this program—and Andy's the real deal. He's one of the poster-boys of Cason-Newman Football. So we're really proud of Andy.
The Eagles rolled out of the gates by scoring the first 17 points of the game. Freeman found the end zone on a 12 yard jaunt around the left side of the line while Hibbett ping-ponged his way off defenders for a 10-yard score. Ben Ogle (Greeneville, Tenn.) rounded out the first half scoring with a 33-yard field goal – his longest of the season.
Carson-Newman's defensive stood stout in the first half, limiting to Wingate to 57 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs only had nine yards of offense in the second quarter and went three-and-out four times in the half.
"I think we had a good game plan," Sparks said. "I think the coaches did a great job. We did something a little bit interesting this week. We substituted by unit and we went and came up with these names. The first group that went in was the "titans." The second group that went in was the "transformers." So all week we were hollering "titans" and "transformers". We rotated defense all day with those two groups and they challenged each other and I think they had a lot of fun with it.
Eric Cain (Jefferson City, Tenn.) had a standout day in his final game in an Eagle uniform. The senior rolled up nine tackles to lead the team (his fourth game leading the team in tackles this season).
Kyler Fry (McLean, Va.) collected a career high seven stops in his final game to go along with a career best two tackles for loss. Sean Rawson (Cape Coral, Fla.) had an interception for C-N.
Nestor Lantigua led the Bulldog ground game with 46 yards on 15 carries. Kyle Johnson completed 15-of-38 passes for 122 yards. Jordan Berry grabbed Wingate's lone score on a 20-yard pass from Johnson. Jon Jiminez led the Bulldog defense with 13 stops.
"I think it was all about heart and that's what we've been talking about all year," Sparks said. "I think we finally—I think our hearts were about that big today, and that's what we've been talking about. Give them credit. I'd run out of things to say so give them credit because they're the ones that generated what they generated today."
Carson-Newman concludes its 35th season under Sparks. For offseason updates, check cneagles.com regularly and follow @cnathletics and @cnfootball on Twitter for insider information.
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