October 2, 2009

Carson-Newman Visits Mars Hill on Saturday Afternoon

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- After grinding out a win in its South Atlantic Conference opener over Newberry last week, the Carson-Newman football team turns its focus to Mars Hill.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- After grinding out a win in its South Atlantic Conference opener over Newberry last week, the Carson-Newman football team turns its focus to Mars Hill.

The Eagles and Lions are set to square off on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Mars Hill, N.C.

C-N (3-2, 1-0 SAC) enters the contest riding a three-game winning streak, but Eagles head coach Ken Sparks said his team still has plenty of room for improvement.

"(The Newberry) win was a good win but it's gone now," Sparks said. "We just want them to continue to do things better. Our goal is to continue to improve and humble ourselves and realize we are not there yet." "We know the truth, and the truth is we still have a long way to go to be a good football team. We've got a lot of work to do."

The Eagles are coming off a 23-20 win over Newberry in a game that had 16 fumbles between the teams in a torrential downpour and several stellar individual performances. Senior quarterback Alex Good (Greensboro, N.C.) piled up 203 yards rushing on 25 carries to earn him Co-SAC Offensive Player of the Week honors with Mars Hill's Jonas Randolph.

Sophomore kicker Carlos Lopez (Seymour, Tenn.) made all three of his field goal attempts, including a 35-yarder with 37 seconds left in regulation that gave the Eagles the lead for good. For his efforts, Lopez was named SAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Junior safety Mario Russell (Columbus, Ohio) had perhaps the most impressive performance as he forced four fumbles, tying the NCAA Division II record, and he added eight tackles and five pass breakups to lead the Eagles. Russell's performance made him the national leader in forced fumbles and he is now 12th in passes defended with eight on the season.

"He made some unbelievable plays," Sparks said of Russell. "It was one of the best performances I had seen in a long time here, and we've had some great ones. He's a difference maker."

The Eagles will be facing a Mars Hill squad that is riding high after upsetting then-No. 13 Catawba, 14-12, on the road last week. The Lions are now 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in SAC play.

"Anytime you beat the 13th ranked team in the country at their place you have to feel pretty good about yourselves I would think," Sparks said. "Mars Hill has an excellent football team. The only game they have lost was against a good Division I team."

"I think they are doing some things well and their scheme is a tough scheme. They've always played us very tough. We will have to play well because we've never had an easy time on their home field."

When the Eagles and Lions met last season, C-N came away with a 61-49 victory, which was the highest scoring game in school history. The teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense, and the Eagles had six touchdown plays that were 43 yards or longer.

For the Eagles to have that kind of success on Saturday, they must continue to rely on a much-improved rushing attack with their recent struggles in the passing game. C-N is third in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 302 yards per game.

"(The running game) has been needed because we haven't thrown the ball well," Sparks explained. "Of course, in a game like last week we certainly weren't as fast as we wanted to be. We have to raise the level of our intensity in all phases, but especially at running back. We've got to get better there."

Mars Hill will feature an impressive rushing attack of its own, with Randolph leading the way. The sophomore running back has rushed for 689 yards and five touchdowns this season. He carried the ball a schoolrecord 44 times for 232 yards and two touchdowns in last week's win over Catawba.

The Eagles can expect to see plenty of Randolph on Saturday, but Sparks said his defense will have to be focused when playing a team like Mars Hill.

"They've always been a running team but they have the tricks," Sparks offered. "They are a trick team. They've hurt us big time in the past with their tricks. Double passes, flea flickers, just all kinds of things. We can expect some of that I'm sure."

Saturday will mark the 43rd time the schools have met, with C-N holding a 33-9 lead in the series. Mars Hill last defeated the Eagles with a 14-7 win in 2005.