KINGSVILLE, Tex. - Carson-Newman punter Chris Jones (Rome, Ga.), safety Mario Russell (Columbus Ohio), and offensive tackle Michael Tribue (Antioch, Tenn.) all participated in Friday night's 2011Cactus Bowl, a Division II all-star game. The Eagles played on the Blue Devils all-star squad, which lost to the Red Storm, 28-6.
Jones shined handling the punting duties for the Blue Devils, punting four times for a 39.2 yard average, with a long of 49 yards coming. The Rome, Ga. senior and first team All-South Atlantic Conference selection at punter had three punts downed at or inside the 10 yard line, forcing a pair of fair cached at the eight.
Russell finished as the second-leading tackler for the Red Storm. He recorded four tackles, three solo.
Tribue, a two-time All-American, was part of an offensive line that rushed for a 6.6 yard per carry average, but couldn't find the end zone in the game after struggling in the passing game for much of the evening.
The Blue Devils rushed for 132 yards on 20 carries in the loss.
