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VIDEO: All-SAC Highlights
ROCK HILL, S.C. – A grand total of 10 Carson-Newman football players have been named All-SAC by the South Atlantic Conference's football coaches, the league office announced at a time on Tuesday.
The Eagles landed two players on the first team offense, four on the first team defense, three on the second team offense and one on the second team defense.
Carson-Newman's 10 selections are tied with league titlist Wingate for the second most in the league. Catawba finished with a league-high 12 picks.
Of Carson-Newman's 10 picks, seven are sophomores and three are seniors.
Carson-Newman placed running back Jared Dillingham (Central, S.C.) and offensive lineman Phillip McDowell (Boiling Springs, N.C.) made the first team offense.
Defensive tackle Montel Presley (Bushnell, Fla.), linebacker Sha'Heem Stupart (Taylors, S.C.) and defensive backs Darius Williams (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Desmond Fairell (Miami, Fla.) represented the Eagles on the first team defense.
On the second team offense, the Eagles touted quarterback Derrick Evans (Macon, Ga.), wide receiver Dorren Miller (Roswell, Ga.) and center Jordan Seal (Morristown, Tenn.).
Brian Bembry (Parrish, Fla.) was the Eagles' lone selection to the second team defense.
Dillingham became the 25th player in Carson-Newman football history to rush for 1,000 yards in a year and became just the sixth player in C-N history to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive games.
Dillingham finished the year third in the South Atlantic Conference in rushing with 1,028 yards on 176 carries. He averaged 5.8 yards a tote and finished with 93.5 yards rushing per game. Dillingham found the end zone 10 times on the year, including a career-best three in the regular season finale against UNC Pembroke.
His best game came against Mars Hill on the road. He narrowly missed out on becoming the 36th player in program history with a 200-yard rushing performance. He finished with 196 yards on 24 carries on Oct. 14.
The 196-yard day was part of that three-game stretch where he rushed for 100 yards in three straight games.
Two @cnfootball players made the All-SAC first team offense in running back @jrddillingham and guard @bigphill94 pic.twitter.com/tWr0jKJsO8
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) November 14, 2017
McDowell led Carson-Newman in knockdowns and overall grade in his sophomore season. McDowell produced a whopping 33 knockdowns on the year, good for the single-season C-N record, including the two highest single-game knockdown marks.
McDowell had seven knockdowns in the Eagles' win against Limestone and six against Mars Hill in another C-N victory.
He helped pave the way for Carson-Newman's offense to rank second in the league with 409 yards per game gained, including a league-best 275 yards on the ground. The Eagles ranked in the top 10 nationally in yards rushing.
All-SAC time for @cnfootball. Eagles with a league-high four first team defense picks. @Darius7Williams@D2_Fairell @SStupart37
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) November 14, 2017
Montel Presley pic.twitter.com/g9LHnwDL9Q
Presley was one of the interior anchors for a defensive line that led the South Atlantic Conference in rushing defense and produced the Eagles' second best rush defense since the year 2000. The Eagles allowed only 95 yards per game on the ground. C-N also had the conference's best total defense and the second best scoring defense.
Presley finished the year with 43 tackles, the third most tackles among Carson-Newman linemen and the most for an interior lineman in the South Atlantic Conference.
His top effort came in the Eagles' 30-21 win over then No. 23 Catawba on Sept. 30. He had nine tackles that day, the second most in his career, to go along with 2.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and a sack.
The Bushnell, Fla.-native finished the year with 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Presley was a modicum of consistency, he had at least five tackles in half the Eagles' games.
He was named the South Atlantic Conference's defensive player of the week following his nine-tackle performance against Catawba.
Sha'Heem Stupart
Stupart concluded one of the greatest careers for a Carson-Newman linebacker in program history. The native of the Palmetto State finished his C-N career with 312 career tackles, the seventh most all-time in Carson-Newman history. He also racked up 24 stops behind the line and 6.5 sacks in his C-N career.
As a senior, Stupart finished with the year as Carson-Newman's leading tackler and the third leading tackler in the South Atlantic Conference. He made a career-best 94 stops to go along with 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles.
Stupart finished his career with 11, 10-tackle performances, including a career-high 16 against Limestone on Oct. 7. Stupart was Carson-Newman's leading tackler on 16 occasions in his career and finished with eight or more tackles in 21 games, nearly half of his Carson-Newman career.
He is one of three players in the last decade for the Eagles to have a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception in one game.
This is Stupart's third career All-SAC accolade.
Darius Williams led the South Atlantic Conference in interceptions with five in his sophomore season and helped Carson-Newman finish the year with the most picks in the South Atlantic Conference with 14.
Williams tallied a pick in three straight games from Sept. 23 against Newberry to Oct. 7 against Limestone.
His top effort though came against Tusculum when he snared an INT and returned it 58 yards to the house for the Eagles' lone defensive touchdown of the season.
Williams five interceptions are the most for Carson-Newman since All-American Eien Jacob snared that many in 2013. He was 19th nationally in interceptions.
Williams also finished the year with 48 tackles, the fourth most on Carson-Newman's team.
He and the rest of the Eagles' secondary limited every receiver they faced under their season averages, with the exception of Mars Hill's Keshaun Taylor and Craig Rucker.
Fairell followed up a four-interception campaign as a freshman with four more picks as a sophomore, putting him in the top 10 on Carson-Newman's career interceptions chart through two seasons.
Fairell also forced three fumbles and recovered another.
He was named the South Atlantic Conference's defensive player following his performance against Limestone. Fairell earned the award following a seven-tackle performance in the Eagles' 31-20 win over Limestone that also featured a pair of forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Both turnovers that Fairell generated were crucial to preserving Carson-Newman's lead.
He grabbed his second interception of the season and the sixth pick of his career with 2:14 left in the third quarter and the Eagles up one. Fairell ripped in an Ivan Corbin pass at the C-N 10 and returned it deep into Saints territory.
His fumble recovery was arguably the more impressive play and without question sealed the win for the Eagles. Jerko'ya Patton rushed for a first down for the Saints, but Fairell locked him up as he moved to the right sideline and ripped the ball away from him.
Fairell joins fellow first team All-SAC performer Sha'Heem Stupart as one of three players in the last decade with a fumble recovery, forced fumble and pick in one game.
A lockdown corner, Fairell's seven tackles against the Saints were his most for the season. He didn't have more than three tackles any other game, a byproduct of teams' inability to throw the football to his side of the field.
Representing @cnfootball on the All-SAC second team offense were @leeboy1435, @DMillie84 and @Jrseal12 pic.twitter.com/cigbguevoA
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) November 14, 2017
Evans turned in a stellar season in his first campaign as Carson-Newman's starting quarterback.
Evans led the South Atlantic Conference in rushing touchdowns with 18. He also rushed for 625 yards on 149 carries, including back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances to close out the year. He topped out at 126 yards on the ground in the Eagles' regular season finale against UNC Pembroke. His 18 rushing touchdowns are the seventh most for a single season in Carson-Newman history and the second most among quarterbacks at Carson-Newman.
Aerially, Evans completed 78-of-137 passes for 1,460 yards and eight scores. He ranked fifth in the nation in yards per completion and 14th in the country in passing efficiency. With a completion percentage rate of 56.9 percent, he has the third-most efficient season in Carson-Newman football history passing the pigskin.
His top effort through the air came at Wingate with 213 yards and two touchdowns.
His five rushing touchdown day against Lenoir-Rhyne registered as a school-record tying performance, matching Kenneth Tyson (1987 v. Elon) and Buck Wakefield (2009 v. Tusculum) for the most rushing touchdowns in one day.
He also has the two longest runs by a Carson-Newman quarterback for the last decade, wheeling off a 79-yard tote against UNC Pembroke and a 76-yarder against Lenoir-Rhyne.
Miller carved his name into the Carson-Newman record books as a senior. Miller's 868 yards receiving are the second most for Carson-Newman during the option era (1972 on) and the sixth highest single-season total in school history. He came within four yards of besting Reggie Hubbard's option era single-season receiving yards mark.
He joins Hubbard as the only other receiver in the option era with four, 100-yard receiving efforts in one season. He became the fourth player of the option era with a 150-yard receiving effort, turning that in against Wingate when he caught six passes for 151 yards and two scores.
Miller snagged eight passes for 102 yards against Lenoir-Rhyne, matching an option-era record for single-game receptions.
He finished the season fifth in the country in yards per catch.
Seal finished the year second on Carson-Newman's team for overall grade and knockdowns with 13.
He had the third highest single-game knockdown mark (since C-N's sports information office began keeping track in 2012) with four in the Eagles' victory over Catawba.
He helped pave the way for Carson-Newman's offense to rank second in the league with 409 yards per game gained, including a league-best 275 yards on the ground. The Eagles ranked in the top 10 nationally in yards rushing.
Finally, you've got the All-SAC second team defense. Where @bembry_brian received recognition. @cnfootball finishes with 10 selections, second most in the SAC pic.twitter.com/QMFmbBRksd
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) November 14, 2017
Bembry raked in the second All-SAC accolade of his career.
The sophomore picked up 27 tackles with four stops behind the line of scrimmage and 1.5 sacks.
He had five tackles against North Greenville for his top statistical effort of the season.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback – Patrick O'Brien, Catawba
Running Back – Jared Dillingham, Carson-Newman
Running Back – Nelson Brown, Lenoir-Rhyne
Running Back – Lawrence Pittman, Wingate
Wide Receiver – Sam Mobley, Catawba
Wide Receiver – Keshaun Taylor, Mars Hill
Wide Receiver – Craig Rucker, Mars Hill
Offensive Line – Phil McDowell, Carson-Newman
Offensive Line – Quinzavious Sands, Catawba
Offensive Line – Brandon Berridge, Mars Hill
Offensive Line – Dakota Mozingo, Newberry
Offensive Line – Daniel Owens, Wingate
Tight End – Jordan Osinskie, Catawba
Placekicker – Lee Brackman, Catawba
Long Snapper – Will Brasington, Catawba
Return Specialist – BJ Muckelvene, Wingate
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Defensive Line – Montel Presley, Carson-Newman
Defensive Line – Jamarcus Henderson, Newberry
Defensive Line – Keito Jordan, Newberry
Defensive Line – Auntrell Mack, Wingate
Linebacker – Sha'Heem Stupart, Carson-Newman
Linebacker – Trey Evans, Catawba
Linebacker – Joe Blue, Newberry
Linebacker – Kyle Kitchens, Catawba
Defensive Back – Darius Williams, Carson-Newman
Defensive Back – Desmond Fairell, Carson-Newman
Defensive Back – Cris Page, Catawba
Defensive Back – Martez Thompkins, Tusculum
Punter – Hunter Cantrell, Tusculum AND Alex Haynes, Limestone
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback – Derrick Evans, Carson-Newman AND David Salmon, Mars Hill
Running Back – Eamon Smart, Catawba
Running Back – Jerko'ya Patton, Limestone
Running Back – Blake Hayes, Wingate
Wide Receiver – Dorren Miller, Carson-Newman
Wide Receiver – Markell Castle, Newberry
Wide Receiver – Vyncint Smith, Limestone
Offensive Line – Jordan Seal, Carson-Newman
Offensive Line – Brandon Floyd, Catawba
Offensive Line – Jalen Soto, Lenoir-Rhyne
Offensive Line – Tyler Anderson, Newberry
Offensive Line – Connor Baroniunas, Wingate
Tight End – Jake Jensen, Wingate
Placekicker – Nick Smith, Limestone
Long Snapper – Ian O'Grady, Tusculum
Return Specialist – Jay Boyd, Tusculum
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Defensive Line – Brian Bembry, Carson-Newman
Defensive Line – Omar Staley, Catawba
Defensive Line – Jordan Hemingway, Catawba
Defensive Line – Kelvin Atkins, Limestone AND Cardell Rawlings, Wingate
Linebacker – Sherrod Williams, Lenoir-Rhyne
Linebacker – Evan Patrick, Limestone
Linebacker – L'Keith Brown, Tusculum
Linebacker – Robbie Wallace, Wingate
Defensive Back – Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne
Defensive Back – Jawanza Adams, Newberry
Defensive Back – Dee Alford, Tusculum
Defensive Back – Kam Johnson, Wingate