VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Brock Pursley Mic'd Up
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A defensively-minded performance keyed the Blue Waves to a rousing 39-7 win over the Orange Crush, 39-7, in the Carson-Newman Football program's annual spring game Saturday night at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
In a fantasy football-inspired scoring system, the Blue defense tallied 14 points scored by forcing turnovers and tallied a bonus point by knocking through a 46-yard field goal. By traditional scoring, Blue won 24-7 in the 30-minute scrimmage.
"I think the big thing we accomplished is going out and winning every day this spring," head football coach Mike Clowney said. "Every time we stepped on the field this spring, I thought we got better, and that's a credit to our players and our coaches."
Blue scored 12 points thanks to four turnovers forced split between two fumble recoveries and two picks. Defensive touchdowns were worth eight points instead of six, netting an additional two points for Blue thanks to a 60-yard Jyliek Harrington fumble recovery for a touchdown.
In addition to the ball security issues, Blue lived in the Orange backfield, racking up eight tackles for loss.
The contest started inauspiciously for the Orange team. The Crush got the ball first, went five yards in six plays before lining up for a punt. The ball was snapped over the punter's head, resulting in a fumble recovery for Storm Livesay at the Orange three-yard line.
Three plays later, Jayden Sullins powered past the right pylon to give the Blue team an early 11-0 lead (four points for the fumble recovery, six for the touchdown and one for the PAT).
"The blue team really had great energy," Clowney said. "Orange put themselves in a disadvantage with that bad punt snap. That really told the tale for the day, but it was great to watch them compete against each other."
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After exchanging punts, Harrington raced 60 yards toward the KSAC with a bobbled snap to send the Waves ahead 20-0 with 6:05 left in the first period.
Towson transfer Andrew Sybert knocked through a 46-yard field goal worth four points to extend the lead to 24-0 for the Waves with 11:28 left in the second.
Jackson Ward and Cade Meeks capped the fantasy scoring for the Blue team with interceptions worth four points apiece.
"This was just fun today," Clowney said. "Guys got to compete with each other and nag on each other. This was a fun night with a good crowd."
The Orange team got on the board with its two-minute offense. Zane Whitson hit Galen Washington for a 29-yard pass along the left sideline before getting down to the 10 with a 32-yard heave to Kade Parker.
Facing fourth-and-goal from the eight, Whitson lobbed a back shoulder fade to Parker for an eight-yard score to get the Crush on the board with 1:28 left in the scrimmage.
Not to be outdone, the Blue team brought in its beefquake package on the ensuing series after recovering an onside kick. With three defensive linemen in the game, Tre Luttrell hit tackle Dedrick McLain on a drag route for a seven-yard score to cap the final at 39-7.
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The head coach of the Blue Waves gets mic'd up while winning tonight's Blue v. Orange spring game @cnfootball x #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/e3bLlinJm3
The Waves outgained the Crush 116-67. The Orange team had -33 yards rushing (a total heavily impacted by the 37 yards lost on the bad punt snap). Even discounting that, the Blue team limited the Crush to just 0.19 yards per carry – four yards on 21 touches.
Livesay led the Blue defense with six tackles. Jake Cottle, Corey Climpson and Jacorey Long all had five with 1.5 tackles for loss.
"Drew Morrison has done a great job at tight end, and Hunter Lucy has been everywhere on the offensive line," Clowney said. "We progressed up front. In this game last year, we had so many bad snaps. We didn't have any today. It's nice to see the improvement."
For more offseason news on Carson-Newman football, follow @cn_eagles and @cnfootball on Twitter.
CNFB Spring Game 3-31-23
