JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head coach Ken
Sparks will open his 31st season at Mossy Creek with a August home
game against Winona State University (Minn.) as part of the 2010
Carson-Newman football schedule, the school announced Friday.
Six homes games, and a tough South Atlantic Conference road
schedule, which includes trips to Catawba College, Newberry
College, and Tusculum College in the season's final five
weeks, round out the 2010 slate.
Winona State begins a three-game home stand for the Eagles to open
their season. C-N lost its 2009 opener at to Winona State in
Winona, Minn., 17-12.
Back-to-back Thursday night home games with Bentley College (Mass.)
on Sept. 2 and Concordia College (Ala.) on Sept. 16, following
C-N's lone bye week, make up the bulk of the Eagles
non-conference schedule.
C-N beat Bentley in the only meeting ever between the schools in
2008, winning 59-18 in a rare Friday-night affair in Waltham, Mass.
The meeting with Concordia will be the first between the two
schools.
The Eagles wrap up their non-conference schedule with a trip to
Pembroke, N.C. to face The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
on Sept. 25. The Eagles beat UNCP, 35-22, in 2009. Both teams would
go on to reach the D-II Playoffs.
Carson-Newman will open defense of its three-straight South
Atlantic Conference titles and seven-game SAC winning streak with a
road trip to Brevard College on Oct. 2. The Eagles beat the
Tornados, 77-7, last season.
The Wingate Bulldogs visit Mossy Creek for Homecoming for a 3 p.m.
kickoff on Oct. 9. The two teams met with the SAC title on the line
in '09, with the Eagles winning 45-7.
A night game at Catawba College comes the following week (Oct. 16)
in Salisbury, N.C. The Eagles won their last meeting under the
lights at Shuford Stadium in '08, 21-14 in the game's
final minute.
A visit from Mars Hill College (Oct. 23) and a road trip to
Newberry (Oct. 30) close out the October portion of the C-N
schedule. The Eagles have lost their last two trips to Newberry,
including, 27-21, in overtime in '08.
Lenoir-Rhyne University wraps up the Eagles '10 home
schedule. Sparks has beaten Lenoir-Rhyne all 30 times he has faced
the Bears, but the '09 meeting might have been the closest
game in the series during the Sparks' era. The Eagles rallied
for a 17-13 win behind a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in
Hickory, N.C.
C-N closes out the regular season with a trip to Greeneville, Tenn.
to face Tusculum. The Eagles last SAC loss came at Pioneer Field in
2008, when a late-PAT miss decided a 45-44 Tusculum win. The Eagles
beat TC, 70-35, in 2009. Eagle running back Buck Wakefield rushed
for 332 yards on 31 carries and five TDs in the win.
C-N finished 11-3 last season, winning its 21st South Atlantic
Conference title under Sparks. The Eagles also reached the NCAA
Semifinals for the fifth time since 1996.
