VIDEO: Mike Turner Interview
VIDEO: 2018 Mars Hill Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In order to keep its 2019 playoff hopes alive, Carson-Newman (5-2, 3-2 South Atlantic Conference) will have to contend with one of the country's top passing threats when it visits Mars Hill (5-3, 4-1 SAC) Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. kick from Meares Stadium.
The Eagles were ranked sixth in the first region rankings, which go on to determine the field of 28 teams. Mars Hill was unranked in that first poll; however, with two Division II losses, MHU has an outside shot of the playoffs if it can run the table with wins over Carson-Newman and Wingate in the regular season finale.
"I hope it gives them a much clearer picture that you're not depending on anybody else," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Turner said. "We need to be Carson-Newman and play like Carson-Newman, take care of our business, be excited about the opportunities that we've been given and to make the most of that. Understand we're getting ready to play a football team that's very dynamic in Mars Hill and we're playing on their turf and that's always an advantage to them, so we're the ones that have to get up and travel and do some things a little bit more uncomfortable that other people have to do. But, we better have a focus about us."
Carson-Newman is angling for its eighth straight win over the Lions. However, to get there, they'll have to contend with one of the most dynamic players in Division II in All-American wide receiver Craig Rucker.
The reigning SAC Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Year leads the South Atlantic Conference in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He's amassed 917 yards through the air and 10 receiving TDs, including six in SAC play alone. Rucker has a quartet of games with at least 140 yards receiving and is riding a five-game streak with a receiving touchdown. He has scored through the air in every game Mars Hill has played this year with the exception of a 21-14 win in week three at UVa-Wise.
Last week against Catawba, Rucker rushed for one touchdown, returned a punt for another and also caught two. With a passing touchdown against Saint Augustine's, Rucker has scored in four different ways this season.
"Receiving touchdowns, punt returns for touchdowns, running it, whether it's a reverse or a jet sweep for a touchdown. He is an explosive young man," Turner said. "He hits, and when he gets his hands on the football, you better have him corralled up."
Furthermore, Rucker has been a thorn in C-N's side since he arrived in the Tar Heel State. Last year, Rucker snagged six passes for 208 yards and two scores (with two more on the ground) in a loss to C-N. He became the first opposing wide receiver since 1992 with at least 200 yards receiving in a single game against the Eagles. He has 23 catches for 391 yards and three touchdowns in three games against the Eagles.
Rucker ranks first among all active players in Division II in receptions (261) and receiving yards (3,912). He is second in career touchdowns (39). Rucker's next receiving touchdown will give him the Mars Hill career record and the South Atlantic Conference career record while making him the 31st player in NCAA history with that many. Should he gain 88 yards through the air, Rucker will become the 24th player in NCAA Division II history with 4,000 yard receiving. He is chasing down former Lion Dimitri Holmes for the SAC and MHU record for career receiving yards (4,226).
Jimmy Urzua and Collin Sneed have both been effective in getting Rucker the ball. The duo has split time under center due to an injury to Urzua. However, they've guided the Lions to the league lead in passing yards. The Lions average 296.8 yards per game through the air and will test a Carson-Newman secondary that ranks fourth the nation in pass efficiency defense.
The Lions have put up 250 yards through the air in all but two games this year (Saint Augustine's and Newberry, both games MHU won), and are riding a three-game streak with at least 500 yards of total offense.
The Eagles haven't allowed more than 200 yards through the air this year. Only UVa-Wise has completed 20 passes against C-N this year. However, the Highland Cavaliers were 21-of-39 for just 127 yards. Carson-Newman hasn't given up 400 yards of total offense to any opponent this year.
"Tim (Clifton, Lions head coach) does a great job in his formations and he's formatting the plays and does a great job for them over there and has for many years. He's (Rucker) going to be in different positions on the field, different formations, different motions, to put him in a position to get the football," Turner said. "You can't line up and say, 'against this, we're going to do this. Against that we're going to do that.' There's no way you can possibly do that. The most important thing for us is to be sound in what we're doing, to execute, to know who's got backside for reverse, jet sweep, those kind of things. Do not let your eyes betray you in the secondary, it's going to be a day that you have to be heads up on every play."
Carson-Newman has its own record-book chaser. Antonio Wimbush (Kingsland, Ga.) joined Carson-Newman's 3,000-yard club against Wingate and now has 3,389 yards in his career. With a 111-yard performance he would become just the fourth player in program history with 3,500 career rushing yards.
A 27-yard day would move Wimbush up to fourth and past Hugh Rutledge (3,416). Wimbush needs 139 yards to vault past Brandon Baker (3,528) for third all-time. Wimbush's next 100-yard performance would give him 15 for his career, putting him even with Tyrone Westmoreland for fourth most all-time. A touchdown would draw Wimbush level with Leonard Guyton and Heath Hawkins for 11th on the career rushing touchdown chart with 34 career scores.
Derrick Evans (Macon, Ga.) has also accounted for 32 rushing scores in his career, putting him one score behind Wimbush for the 12th most rushing touchdowns all-time. Evans is fourth all-time among quarterbacks for career rushing scores.
Desmond Fairell's (Miami, Fla.) next interception will be his 18th in his career. That would tie him with Deonte Bolden and Al Canty for third on the all-time list. Fairell is seventh in the country in picks per game this year and second in pass breakups.
The Eagles have ran the ball exceptionally well of late against the Lions. Ever since the Mars Hill Lions deprived former head coach Ken Sparks of his 300th victory on his first try in 2011, the Eagles haven't lost to Tim Clifton's club. The Eagles have won seven straight in the series thanks to a marvelous run game that hasn't rushed for less than 420 yards over that span. The Eagles rushed for 488 in 2012, 433 in 2013, 428 in 2014, 435 in 2015, 428 in 2016, 420 in 2017 and 546 in 2018. What's more, the Eagles have produced at least 500 yards of total offense in six of those seven games, including 672 yards 2016, the eighth highest single-game total in school history and 628 last year, the 16th most all-time.
"It's a great time of year for a young man to be playing college football," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Turner said. "We get to go at Mars Hill, just a short trip across the mountain, that's always been a tough football game for us and for them I'm sure. Both of us know each other well. Right now we're both having good seasons, good starts to our seasons, so it should be an interesting football game."
Kickoff between the Eagles and Lions is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
