VIDEO: Mike Clowney Presser
VIDEO: 2019 Catawba Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time in South Atlantic Conference history, two African American head coaches will coach against one another when Carson-Newman (0-4, 0-2 South Atlantic Conference) and Catawba (3-0, 0-0 SAC) collide at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Shuford Stadium in Salisbury, N.C.
Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney and Catawba head coach Curtis Walker represent the first two black head coaches in the league to square off against one another in league history on the gridiron.
"That situation is one I struggle with, I'll be honest with you," Clowney said humbly. "We are both that and it is a great situation that we're both in. We've both had opportunities to coach teams and coach the teams where we played. Both are programs that you really care for and love, but at the end of the day, it is about kids and us helping them grow to be the best people that they can be, regardless of what color they are."
The matchup is a bit of a collector's item in general. Outside of HBCU leagues such as the CIAA and SIAC, Clowney and Walker are two of 15 African American Division II head coaches nationwide. The SAC is the fifth league outside of the HBCU's that will see two African American head coaches coach against one another this year. The GLIAC, RMAC, MEC and MIAA are the other leagues.
Additionally, the matchup pits two SAC Hall of Famers against one another. Both head coaches, Mike Clowney (2015) and Curtis Walker (2008) have been inducted into the SAC Hall of Fame for their playing careers at their respective alma maters. This represents the first ever matchup between two SAC Hall of Fame players and the second overall.
C-N coaching legend Ken Sparks was inducted for his coaching experience and faced off with Walker four times from 2013-16. Walker tallied wins in three out of four meetings.
This is also the only matchup in the South Atlantic Conference featuring two coaches at the helm of their alma maters.
"We go into a game against West Georgia and expect to win the game, and all of a sudden you don't win it. Then, Wingate, same thing but you feel like you're a little bit closer and you're getting better but you don't pull that one off.," Clowney said. "You go to Wise and it was super frustrating as they weren't even in the top 25 or even top 10. You end up losing to Wise and turn around to beat Lenoir-Rhyne. It's just one of those things that we can't control any of that. All that stuff that happens outside of our game, we have absolutely no control over. The people we have control over is ourselves. The message for us is let's continue to get better at what we do. Let's continue to be persistent. Let's continue to push forward."
Carson-Newman is 0-4 to start a season for the first time since 1959. That team got in the win column in week six with a 26-22 win over Appalachian State.
Carson-Newman started year eight of the Roy Harmon era with five straight losses to Western Carolina, Southeast Missouri, Emory & Henry, Newberry and Georgetown. There have been seven, 0-4 starts all-time in C-N football history (1927, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1959 and 2021). Only the 1959 team (0-5) and the 1927 team (0-6) started worse than 0-4.
The 1927 team had the ignomious distinction of being outscored 121-6 with five shutouts through the first six weeks of the season.
Carson-Newman put Catawba through a special teams house of horrors in the meeting in 2019. C-N scored 21 points through special teams with kickoff returns for touchdowns by Marcus Williams and Devon Moore, plus a blocked punt recovered in the end zone by Caleb Goins.
"It goes beyond just doing your job, the first thing you have to do is do your job but then you have to go do what you were created to do," Clowney said. "If it's a running back, I'm going to hit the gap and once I get to the second level, God gave me this talent and I'm going to go score. Those are the things we're working on now and getting to that next level to gain that edge and have the scoreboard be more in our favor."
The Eagles have won three straight over the Indians, the longest winning streak for Carson-Newman in the series since C-N won five straight from 2008-2012.
Carson-Newman has played the 16th toughest schedule to date in the nation.
Catawba hasn't played since Sept. 18 and a 17-10 win over the Barton Bulldogs. The Indians were unable to play their last two games against Wingate and Limestone due to issues with CoVID-19 within the program.
Catawba leads the league in scoring defense. The Indians rank 13th in the nation in allowing 14.3 points per game. The Indians have given up just one touchdown in their last two games, a Jaquan Lynch six-yard run for Barton with 3:12 to play in the fourth quarter.
Catawba's defensive stinginess comes from elite red zone defense. Of nine opponent trips inside the 20, teams have only come away with touchdowns once (the aforementioned Barton score). The Indians have forced field goals five times, caused two turnovers on downs and picked off a pass.
Ken Avent is one of the top rushing quarterbacks in the nation. He leads QBs in the SAC with 279 yards rushing, a figure that is still fourth in the league in spite of Catawba playing two fewer games than everyone else. His 9.0 yards per carry are second in the country.
"We talk about it every week, even with our quarterback situation. Having a guy there who can hold the ball and run pulls another guy away from the defense," Clowney said. "We now know that we have to always have someone there who is ready and available for the quarterback. It gives other guys an opportunity to make plays. Avent has done a really good job of reading things and the opportunities he takes to run the football are results of the good decisions he can make."
Kickoff between the Eagles and Indians is set for 1:00 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 12:00 with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
