VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
VIDEO: EJ Davis Interview
VIDEO: Alonzo Houston Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time since 1992, Carson-Newman suffered a shutout.
Lenoir-Rhyne (4-2, 3-2 South Atlantic Conference) scored 28 points in the first quarter and never looked back in snapping Carson-Newman's (0-6, 0-4 SAC) 323-game streak without suffering a shutout – the third longest in the country until the clock struck 3:40 p.m. Saturday at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
The Bears' 59-0 win is largest for Lenoir-Rhyne in series history.
"This is a situation where you always have to tell the truth." Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney said. "Bottom line is I didn't do a good job getting our guys ready to play today. We came out from the very beginning and gave up touchdowns quick. We got lost in the moment because they had a lot of movement. We tried to see everything and lost our sense of responsibility. Offensively, we had a couple shots to make things happen. We still didn't find a way to capitalize and that's on me."
Carson-Newman saw the Bears set records for yards of total offense allowed (750) and yards per play allowed (8.9). Lenoir-Rhyne also tallied 8.1 yards per rush (second most in school history allowed) and became the second team to score six rushing touchdowns on the Eagles.
Dwayne McGee became the first opposing running back to score five rushing touchdowns against the Eagles. The SAC's leading rusher finished with 200 yards on 19 carries, becoming the third opposing tailback to rush for 200 yards against C-N.
"The thing he does is the tempo with which he runs. He starts and stops quickly," Clowney said. "We didn't respond to that the right way. We dug our heels into the ground and he was a step ahead of us getting outside. That allowed him to be able to make some plays."
Six of McGee's 19 carries went for at least 10 yards, including four that went for 20 or more.
Big plays were one of the themes of the day for L-R. The Bears had 14 rushes that went for at least 10 yards and 10 pass plays that went for at least 15 yards. Conversely, Carson-Newman had two of each variety of play,
On a day where it rained and poured on C-N, the day was not without chances for the Eagles. Thanks in part to defense and special teams, Carson-Newman saw three of its first four possessins start in L-R territory.
However, Carson-Newman turned it over on downs twice and threw and interception at the goal line. Following the interception, the Eagles found themselves down 28-0 after the Bears fourth score of the opening frame.
"This one stings and hurts because the thing we can do is control what we can control," Clowney said. "Regardless of the situation we can go out and give our best effort every single play. We came out early and things didn't go well. The most disappointing thing about this game is that when things didn't go well, we had a tendency to lash out at people we love the most. That's what I talked to them about today, I'm not happy about today, but I'm not going to go home and yell at my wife. That's some of what we had going on today. We lashed out. Instead, the reality is we need to fight together and respond the right way."
The bright spots for Carson-Newman came in the kicking game. Elijah Davis (Palmetto, Fla.) brought a kickoff back 85 yards to set the Eagles up with a first and goal. Dequan Dudley (Harvey, Ill.) tallied a 40-yard kickoff return, while Jayden Sullins (Morristown, Tenn.) had 118 kickoff return yards on four returns with a long of 39 yards.
Offensively, the Eagles were limited to 2.3 yards per rush and 156 yards of total offense. Lamarcus Brown (Mobile, Ala.) led the ground game with 25 yards on six carries. Alonzo Houston (Wimauma, Fla.) led the defense with 11 tackles.
Jackson Ward (Atlanta, Ga.) snatched his first pick.
Carson-Newman returns to action Saturday at Newberry. Kickoff with the Wolves is set for 4 p.m. from Setzer Field. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3 p.m. with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
