JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — When it needed it the most, the Carson-Newman football team came through with its best performance of the season last Saturday in a 42-16 win at Catawba.
The victory not only keeps the Eagles' playoff hopes alive, but it also leaves them in the middle of a jam-packed race for the South Atlantic Conference title. Four teams enter this week at 2-1 in the conference, including C-N, while one team stands alone at the top of the standings with a 3-0 SAC record.
That one team just so happens to be the Eagles' opponent this week, as they are set to face Mars Hill on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Burke-Tarr Stadium. The contest will be televised regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS).
C-N head coach Ken Sparks hopes his squad will play with the same intensity it had last week against Catawba.
"It's a huge matchup," Sparks said. "Every game we play now is sudden death if we have any hopes (of making the playoffs) whatsoever. We have to win out. The guys really played hard and did some things that we had been talking about all year against Catawba, and it was really satisfying to see some of their fruit of labor come through."
After struggling to put away opponents earlier this season, the Eagles (4-3, 2-1) finished off the Indians in a big way on Saturday. Holding on to a 21-16 lead in the fourth quarter, C-N went on a 17-play, 92-yard scoring drive that ate up more than nine minutes of clock to put the game out of reach. The drive included a fake punt conversion by Jamie Bennett (Morven, N.C.) on fourth and six from the Catawba 37. Jaycob Coleman (Norton, Va.) and Oliver Davis (Acworth, Ga.) then had interception returns of 62 and 37 yards, respectively, for touchdowns.
"I'm really proud of the way we finished," Sparks stated. "We really had some excitement about how we responded at the end. That 17-play drive was a thing of beauty. Our kids were determined to get it done. We've got to build on it. We've been like an elevator all year. It's time to keep going up."
The C-N rushing attack piled up more than 300 yards for the fifth time this season with a 310-yard performance. Junior running back Nate Inman (Fitzgerald, Ga.) led the way for a second straight week with 162 yards and a touchdown. Inman is leading the conference, averaging 110 yards per game.
The Eagles must be prepared for another stiff challenge on Thursday, as the Lions enter the contest at 5-2 and are riding a three-game winning streak after defeating Newberry 48-36 on Saturday.
"They are the fastest team I've seen this year," said Sparks, whose team topped Mars Hill 55-28 last season. "They have beaten some good football teams."
Junior running back Jonas Randolph, senior wide receiver P.J. Gore and sophomore quarterback Jon Richt have carried the load for the Mars Hill offense this season. Randolph is second in the conference in rushing with an average of 106.4 yards per game. Gore, who made the transition to football after earning All-SAC honors in basketball for the Lions in 2008-09, has caught 28 passes for 742 yards and eight touchdowns. Richt, who threw for a school-record 330 yards against Newberry, has 1,814 yards passing and 16 touchdowns so far this season.
"They have two guys that are producing about 70 percent of their offense in Randolph and Gore," Sparks noted. "They are two good football players. Jon Richt is also doing a great job. He's really come a long way from his freshman to sophomore year. He's throwing the ball well. He's a difference maker for them this year."
Defensively, the Lions are led by sophomore linebacker Rudy Cabral and senior defensive end Maurice Harris, a preseason first team All-SAC selection. Cabral leads the conference in tackles this season with 69, while Harris has recorded 51 stops and is leading the SAC in tackles for loss (15) and sacks (11).
Thursday marks the 47th meeting between C-N and Mars Hill. The Eagles lead the all-time series 37-9. Mars Hill's last series win was a 14-7 victory at home in 2005.
