Carson-Newman Falls to Grand Valley State, 41-27, in Division II Semifinals
ALLENDALE, Mich. — The 10th-ranked Carson-Newman football team trailed No. 3 Grand Valley State by 13 points at halftime and was unable to mount a second-half comeback, as the Eagles fell to the Lakers, 41-27, on Saturday in the semifinals of the Division II Playoffs at Lubbers Stadium.
ALLENDALE, Mich. — The 10th-ranked Carson-Newman football
team trailed No. 3 Grand Valley State by 13 points at halftime and
was unable to mount a second-half comeback, as the Eagles fell to
the Lakers, 41-27, on Saturday in the semifinals of the Division II
Playoffs at Lubbers Stadium.
With the win, Grand Valley State (13-1) will make its sixth
national championship game appearance, where they will face the
winner of California (Pa.) and Northwest Missouri State on Dec. 12
at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala. The Lakers have won
four national titles this decade.
The Eagles (11-3) fall short of what would have been their fourth
Division II title game appearance. The loss also snapped an 11-game
C-N winning streak.
“This was a great year,” C-N head coach Ken Sparks
said. “We had a lot of great things happen. I was probably
late in establishing some things with this football team that
needed to be established a little bit earlier, but they hung in
there and matured. We started off 0-2 and ended up playing in the
semifinals, and this team did a beautiful job with it.”
The Lakers piled up 408 yards of offense on the day, including 290
on the ground. The Grand Valley State defense held the Eagles to
278 yards of offense, which was C-N’s second lowest total of
the season.
“They did a better job blocking and tackling than we
did,” Sparks offered. “They whipped us pretty good up
front on offense and defense.”
Running back P.T. Gates carried the Lakers’ offense with 183
yards rushing and two scores, while Harlon Hill Trophy finalist
Brad Iciek completed 8-of-19 passes for 118 yards and two
touchdowns.
C-N senior running back Buck Wakefield (Drummonds, Tenn.) wrapped
up his stellar career with 119 yards rushing and three touchdowns
to lead the Eagles. Wakefield also had an 89-yard kickoff return
for a touchdown.
“Buck is a special player,” Sparks said. “He made
a lot of things happen. At times, we didn’t give him the help
that we needed to give him.”
Senior quarterback Alex Good (Greensboro, N.C.) completed just
6-of-17 passes for 101 yards and two interceptions. He also rushed
for 42 yards. Senior Reggie Hubbard (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led the
Eagles in receiving with two receptions for 74 yards.
Senior linebackers D.J. Taylor (Homewood, Ala.) and Elliette
Jackson (Fairfield, Ala.) turned in solid performances in their
final game as Eagles, finishing with 11 tackles apiece.
Justin Victor recorded 10 tackles and a forced fumble to lead the
Lakers.
The Lakers struck first on their opening possession. Gates broke
free for a 59-yard run down to the C-N 9-yard line. But the Eagles
defense held strong from there, as Grand Valley State had to settle
for a 26-yard field goal by Justin Trumble to take a 3-0 lead at
the 10:18 mark of the first quarter.
Grand Valley State pushed its lead to 10-0 less than four minutes
later behind a big play from its defense. Senior linebacker Jacob
McGuckin stepped in front of a Good pass and returned the
interception 25 yards for a touchdown.
“We just threw the ball where we shouldn’t have,”
Sparks said of the interception. “But considering how (Good)
had to modify because there was somebody in his face most of the
time, he did an unbelievable job.”
C-N answered on the ensuing kickoff, as Wakefield fielded the kick
at the C-N 11 and raced 89 yards to pay dirt. Carlos Lopez
(Seymour, Tenn.) added the extra point to trim the Lakers’
lead to 10-7 with 6:29 left in the first quarter.
Grand Valley State fired right back, going on a five-play, 63-yard
scoring drive. Gates capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown
run, giving the Lakers a 17-7 advantage.
The Lakers grabbed a 24-7 lead on their next possession. Justin
Sherrod opened the 10-play drive with a 22-yard run into C-N
territory, and Iciek finished it off nine plays later by connecting
with Ryan Bass for a 7-yard touchdown strike at the 9:19 mark of
the second quarter.
Good and Hubbard set the Eagles up deep inside Lakers territory on
the very next possession with a 58-yard pass play. Wakefield
punched the ball in from a yard out three plays later to cut Grand
Valley State’s lead to 24-14.
Trumble added a 30-yard field goal with 1:26 left in the second
quarter to give the Lakers a 27-14 lead heading into the locker
room.
Grand Valley State took a 20-point lead early second half. After
stopping the Eagles on the C-N 3-yard line to force a 26-yard punt
by Chris Jones (Rome, Ga.), the Lakers needed just one play to find
the end zone, as Iciek threw a 29-yard touchdown strike to Blake
Smolen. Trumble’s extra point gave the Lakers a 34-14 cushion
with 9:37 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles kept the game within reach on the next possession, as
Wakefield finished off an eight-play, 48-yard drive with a 5-yard
touchdown run up the middle. C-N failed to convert the extra point,
making it a 34-20 ballgame late in the third quarter.
C-N drove down to the Grand Valley State 23 on its next series and
looked to pull within a score. However, the Eagles turned the ball
over via a fumble. The Lakers then put the game away late in the
fourth quarter on a 27-yard touchdown run by Gates.
“I’d like to have seen what would have happened if we
got it down to one score just to see if we could have kept
something rolling,” Sparks said. “But we didn’t,
and that was it. We are just grateful for this group of
kids.”
Wakefield came through with a 21-yard touchdown run with less than
three minutes remaining, but the score was too little too late for
the Eagles.
