VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
VIDEO: Jelan Pearson Interview
VIDEO: Cam Ellis Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For 56 minutes, Carson-Newman and Mars Hill battled to a near stalemate.
However, the Lions (7-2, 5-1 SAC) – regionally ranked and tied for first in the SAC – scored four times in the final four minutes of the second quarter to flip a 17-7 C-N lead in to a 35-17 MHU halftime advantage. MHU would stiff arm the Eagles (0-8, 0-6 SAC) for a 49-23 final score in the second half.
"I'm proud of their energy and the way they came out," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney said. "The guys were enthusiastic. They were ready to play and our coaches did a good job of getting them ready to play. We felt like we had pretty good control of the football game. We created some opportunities for ourselves and we got some stops. It was exactly the start you want a game to play out for the first 27 minutes."
A firework-filled first half was dominated by Carson-Newman for the first 26 minutes before Mars Hill took a halftime lead thanks to a crazy final four minutes.
Mars Hill grabbed the opening lead after C-N went three and out on its first possession. The Lions marched down the field on a 12-play, 78-yard drive that bled 6:23 off the clock. Ty Snelson snatched a 20-yard wheel route on the left side of the field to cap the possession and put MHU in front.
However, Carson-Newman responded immediately. A run-heavy drive was capped by Jelan Pearson (Ellewood, Ga.) with a three-yard run.
After a MHU punt, C-N's offense got back on track. EJ Davis (Ruskin, Fla.) rolled into the end zone on a broken play. Davis initially started right, but kicked it back to the left and shed a couple tackles on the way to a 27-yard touchdown run that gave C-N a 14-7 lead.
After an MHU three-and-out, C-N capitalized with a Christian Erwin (York, S.C.) 32-yard field goal that put the Eagles up 17-7 with 11:30 to play in the second.
Mars Hill answered in wild fashion. The Lions put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive that Joraye Morrison finished off with a two-yard touchdown run.
C-N returned the ensuing kickoff down to the 27, but after three straight incompletions, C-N settled for a 45-yard Erwin field goal that the freshman narrowly missed wide left.
The next play, Jimmy Uruza nailed Snelson on a 76-yard post to give MHU the lead.
On the final play of the game, @jlewis3_ catches a deflected pass for six.
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Lamarcus Brown (Mobile, Ala.) tossed a pick six to Ty Rankin for his seventh INT of the year to give MHU a two-score lead.
The Lions recovered an onside kick to get one more score before the halftime break. Uruza lobbed a throw-back tight end screen to Beau DeBerry to set the halftime margin at 35-17.
"It came down to three plays," Clowney said. "We can put our finger on all three. There's the long pass to the tight end, the pick six and then I got greedy on the kickoff return and made them re-kick, they do an onside kick and get it. Our message at halftime was to go make those three plays."
The Lions scored on two short fields in the second half set up by a pick and a 50-yard punt return. Chris Roberts and Lee Parker tallied rushing touchdowns of one and 17 yards in length, respectively.
JJ Lewis (Pensacola, Fla.) rounded out the scoring for C-N on the final play with a 29-yard touchdown catch to set the final margin at 49-23 in favor of MHU.
TOUCHDOWN!! @EjDavis30 with some freelance work and great blocking to put the Eagles on top.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 30, 2021
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The Lions snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Eagles and 15-game losing streak to Carson-Newman in Jefferson City. It marked Mars Hill's first win at Carson-Newman since a 17-14 decision in 1989.
Carson-Newman tallied season highs for total offense (316) and rushing yards (186) against a Mars Hill defense that was giving up a league-best 57 yards per game on the ground. The Eagles did it running behind an offensive line missing four starters.
"Everyday we come to practice having to get ready to play," Clowney said. "We don't know when the opportunity is going to come. I was proud of Jaiden (Picardi) and those guys for being available and working their butts off. He saw the field against a quality opponent and played major snaps. He took his chance today."
Troy Dendy (Laurens, S.C.) led C-N on the ground with 67 yards on 21 touches. Pearson added 51 yards on nine carries and the TD. Davis rounded out the three leading rushers with 34 yards and s score.
"They did a good job mixing the ball up," Clowney said. "We felt like we had some things that we could move inside and run the ball. We had some backs who did a good job keeping their feet moving to move the chains. The big thing for us there is the confidence. If we get the confidence to know we can move the chains, we can score and hopefully never stop."
Lewis caught three passes for 69 yards to go with his 29-yard touchdown catch. Gorel Soumare (New Market, Tenn.) also snatched three passes for 32 yards.
Alonzo Houston (Wimauma, Fla.) turned in another double-digit tackle performance to lead the defense with 11 stops. Cam Ellis turned in eight tackles to go along with this first pick for Carson-Newman.
Urzua led the MHU attack completing 15-of-25 passes for 224 yards and three scores. Snelson was the main benefactor of the passing game, hauling in four passes for 121 yards and two scores.
Roberts led the ground game for the Lions with 12 carries for 74 yards.
Carson-Newman wraps up the home portion of its schedule Saturday against Limestone. Kickoff with the Saints is set for 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network gets underway at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
