VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Jayden Sullins Interview

VIDEO: Jet Jones Interview 

GAFFNEY, S.C. — After being shut out of the endzone in the first three quarters, Carson-Newman's offense got on track in the fourth, but it was already too late. The Eagles surrendered 579 yards of offense to fall 45-14 to Limestone at Saints Field in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams.

Carson-Newman (1-2, 0-1 SAC) had not surrendered a play over 30 yards all season. The Saints (1-2, 1-0) unleashed five plays of 40 yards or more Saturday afternoon 

"We had a good day (of practice) Thursday, but Wednesday this replicated where we were," C-N head coach Mike Clowney said. "We came out in practice flat. We didn't do a very good job of tackling. That was the day that carried over into today. It was the only really solid day of work we got with the weather and it showed up today."

The Eagles offense moved the ball into Saints territory twice in the first quarter but stalled out right across midfield both times. In all, C-N saw six drives grind to a halt in Limestone territory.

"The offensive learning curve is probably more than I want to admit," Clowney said. "We did move the ball and did some things well there. We've got to convert on third downs and find ways to get the ball into the endzone and get points. If you can do that early, it gives you more courage and gets your juices going. A couple of times, we'd see and edge and cut inside. It's the little things like that we have to see on film and correct it."

Carson-Newman picked up 20 first downs and rushed for 209 yards as a team but turned the ball over three times. Cam Ferguson led the team with 15 carries for 72 yards. Jayden Sullins had eight rushes for 59 yards and Tyler Curtis toted the rock 12 times for 41 yards and a touchdown.

"They continued to fight throughout the football game," Clowney said. "The biggest thing is that we have got to have more energy going into the game and don't put ourselves into the kind of situations that we were in. When we do have energy, we can't let them get the best of us and force us to make dumb decisions like bringing a football out of the endzone after we dropped it (on a kick return). Just doing stuff like that, we've got to do a better job of taking care of ourselves in those situations."

C-N played three quarterbacks in the game, with Zane Whitson getting the start and Tre Luttrell playing most of the first half. Both men were able to move the ball consistently, but the Eagles couldn't sustain drives, even when they had momentum on offense once they crossed midfield. C-N was 7-of-17 on third down conversions and 1-of-3 on fourth downs. Whitson finished 3-of-6 for 24 yards, no TDs and a pick. Luttrell was 4-of-9 for 22 yards and two interceptions.

"That did get frustrating," Clowney said. "You'd like to be able to go for it on fourth down, but you take yourself out of those manageable situations. You can't go for it and get more aggressive and get some points on the board. It was always something dumb, like a penalty that killed us."

In the second half, Jaylen Myers took the field for the Eagles at QB and led both the team's scoring drives. Myers finished 7-of-9 passing for 97 yards and a score. Julius Cobbs caught four passes for 36 yards to lead the team. Curtis hauled in two balls, including a 12-yard TD reception with less than seven minutes to go in the game.

Myers two scoring drives were lengthy and came back-to-back in the fourth quarter. The first was a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a mix of runs from Curtis, Sullins and Tyree Nelson and couple of nice passes from Myers to Sullins and Cade Meeks. Curtis capped the drive with a one-yard dive for a touchdown to put C-N on the board, 38-7.

It was more Sullins and Curtis on the second Carson-Newman scoring drive, using 10 plays to eat up 77 yards. Myers finished it off with his 12-yard TD pass to Curtis in the right corner of the endzone.

"Our backs handled that situation well," Clowney said. "Jaylen played in that situation before. He's really comfortable doing that and when he came in, he gave us a little bit of a boost offensively."

Carson-Newman's defense never got its footing, forcing just two Saints punts the entire game. Limestone was 10-of-15 on third downs and 1-for-3 on fourth down conversions. The Saints scored on all four of their opening possessions and did not punt in the first half.  Of the 10 third downs Limestone converted, seven came from seven yards or longer. 

"We let get guys get cut free on the back end today," Clowney said. "We killed ourselves a couple of times in substitutions, not being able to get the right men on the field. That's a testament to them (Limestone). They went 'hurry up' (on offense) and we worked on it some this week, but it didn't carry over. They were able to make plays and capitalize off of it."

C-N defensive back Jeterryous Jones agreed with his head coach on his team's tackling issues on the day. Jones finished with four tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss. Before Limestone, C-N hadn't given up a single rush longer than nine yards to a running back. Three Saints runners eclipsed that mark, with Tre Stewart reeling off a 58 touchdown in the second quarter. Limestone QB Dustin Noller's 335 yard passing day was the first 300 yard-plus day for a C-N opponent since Jimmy Urza at Mars Hill last Oct. 22. Two Saints receivers eclipsed the century mark, with Drew Dixon catching nine balls for 130 yards and a touchdown. Jelani Baker had five receptions for 100 yards and a score.

"Most of it had to do with our tackling today," Jones said. "It's not about missed assignments, it's tackling. We've got to go back to square one and get back to tackling in practice."

Jake Cottle led the Eagles with five tackles and a QB hurry. Christian Hicks finished with four tackles.

"We've got to learn from this one," Clowney said. "We have to go back and look at what we're doing and who we're doing it with. We've got to make sure we've got the right guys on the field in the right positions to do the things we need to get done. We've got to be smart from a coaching standpoint."

The Eagles will return to the field next Saturday, Sep. 23, when they host the No. 20 ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Bears inside Burke-Tarr Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at noon. with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.