JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Last season's 0-2 start didn't cost the Carson-Newman football team a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
But a win in either of their first two games could have led to the Eagles playing their national semifinal matchup with Grand Valley State at home instead of on a snow-covered field in Allendale, Mich.
When the ninth-ranked Eagles open their 2010 campaign on Saturday at Mossy Creek against Winona State, C-N head coach Ken Sparks hopes his team remembers just how much its 17-12 season-opening loss to the Warriors affected its season late into November a year ago.
"When you are in a playoff system, every game is critical," said Sparks, who enters his 31st season as head coach of the Eagles. "There is not any game that is not important when you only have 10 or 11 to prove you are a playoff team. Every one of them can knock you out of the playoffs or knock you out of a home field advantage."
C-N and Winona State are set to kick off at 1 p.m. at Burke-Tarr Stadium with the contest being televised on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS). C-N went 11-3 in 2009, while Winona State compiled a 7-4 record.
The Eagles will field one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams of the Sparks era with only five starters returning on both sides of the ball, but the veteran head coach is quick to point out Winona State isn't concerned with C-N's experience issues.
"I don't think Winona State is too interested in our problems," Sparks said. "They are going to come down here with a good seasoned football team. We better have somebody that can line up and not make excuses to go get it done."
Senior quarterback Doug Belk (Valdosta, Ga.) is one player who the coaching staff will turn to for leadership heading into Saturday as he will be take over the reins of the Eagles' split-back veer offense after the graduation of All-South Atlantic Conference performer Alex Good. Belk played receiver last season and was second on the team with 18 receptions for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
"There's not anything wrong with Doug's leadership," Sparks said. "He's still one of the fastest guys that we have. He's a good football player."
Saturday will also mark the debut of first-year defensive coordinator Mike Clowney, who was a former Eagle great at linebacker and still holds the school record for tackles in a game with 23. Clowney was on staff as linebackers coach the previous three seasons before taking over for longtime defensive coordinator Jim Deaton in the spring.
"He'll bring a different personality. He was a 180-pound linebacker at Carson-Newman that set the record for tackles in a game," Sparks said. "I think the defense might have a little personality about it."
Clowney and the Eagle defense will be facing a quarterback they did not see last year against the Warriors. With the departure of Greg Preston (2,610 yards, 21 touchdowns), sophomore Evan Aber will be under center for Winona State on Saturday. Aber played in just three games and attempted four passes in 2009.
Making things a little easier for Aber is the return of running back Rayon Simmons. The 5-10, 200-pound sophomore ran for 894 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, including 138 yards and one score against the Eagles.
Defensively, the Warriors will show a new look on Saturday as they transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4 scheme. Leading the way for the Winona State defense will be junior defensive tackle Matt Ulrich, who stands at 6-8 and weighs 300 pounds. Ulrich is the preseason Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Defensive Player of the Year after recording 30 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season.
Saturday's meeting is the second between the teams with Winona State holding a 1-0 series advantage. C-N is 24-5-1 all-time in season openers with Sparks at the helm.
