VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
VIDEO: Callum Clements Interview
VIDEO: Alonzo Houston Interview
VIDEO: Ivan Corbin Interview
VIDEO: Tyrell Ragland Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-1) used a dominant third quarter to build a lead, then played keep away in the fourth to pick up its first win of the season, 27-6, Saturday at Burke-Tarr Stadium against Franklin Pierce (0-2).
The Eagles handed the Ravens their 21st consecutive loss while Carson-Newman won its home opener for a fourth time in five years.
Carson-Newman carried a 13-6 lead into the halftime lockerroom before scoring on its first two possessions of the third quarter. The Eagles possessed the ball for 18:17 after halftime and limited the Ravens to 99 yards of offense to go with negative seven rushing yards.
"For me it always goes back to the off the field stuff," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney said. "I think the turning point was halftime. When it was time to go talk to the team, I wanted to know what they thought. I asked them what was going on and the sentiment was that they weren't satisfied. We came back from that and put together a strong third quarter. That was a big step forward for us."
Franklin Pierce got the ball after the break and was forced to punt after seven plays. The ensuing punt snap flew over Alex Benitez' head. He recovered it at the Raven 19 to avert further disaster.
However, five plays later, Carson-Newman cashed in when Ivan Corbin (Warner Robbins, Ga.) raced in over right guard after a zone read to put the Eagles' up 20-6 following Nate Craft's (Salem, Va.) PAT.
Franklin Pearce flipped field on its next possession before a drive stalled out at the Ravens' 47. Benitez pinned C-N at the five. However, the Eagles' gutted out their longest drive in three years. C-N marched down the field on a 12-play, 95-yard traipse before Tyree Nelson (Atlanta, Ga.) capped the trip with some magic.
Nelson took a hand off right before bouncing into some tacklers and cutting it back to the left. A block from Corbin sprung him to the left pylon for a 15-yard score.
Carson-Newman's last 90-yard scoring possession came in the NCAA playoffs in 2019 at Bowie State. That set the final margin at 27-6.
"I loved that possession," Clowney said. "That was a team effort. Several different guys touched the ball. We were able to get the ball moving inside while getting it on the perimeter. Tyree finished it off with a reverse the field play with a couple guys getting into position to spring him. That was good to see."
Carson-Newman ground out the final 6:08 in the game with a 10-play, 40-yard drive.
In a low-possession game (both teams only had 10 drives), C-N won the battle for field position, starting at their own 39 on average, compared to the Ravens' 21-yard line average starting spot.
Eighth 5️⃣0️⃣+ yd field goal in @cnfootball history from @natecraft40
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 10, 2022
1️⃣4️⃣ career receiving TDs for @westfieldb15
�� @ivan_corbin1 finds seven different receivers.
Postgame infographic ⤵️⤵️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Bs5N2h2PLs
The contest featured a couple record-book altering plays. Craft booted through a 51-yard field goal to open scoring in the first quarter. The 51-yard kick is a career-long for him and the second of his C-N career. Craft joins Curt Duncan, Louis Reveiz and David Ward as the only C-N kickers with multiple career 50 yards. The blast registers as the sixth kick in school history longer than 50 yards and the 11th that traveled at least 50 yards.
Braxton Westfield (Simpsonville, S.C.) made it a 10-0 game early in the second quarter when he hauled in a 14-yard fade from Corbin on the left side of the end zone with 11:52 to play in the second.
The score was the 14th of his career, which moves him into a tie for sixth on the all-time receiving touchdowns list with Leonard Weaver and Alvin Sanders.
"Braxton is a premier player," Clowney said. "Everyone knows he's out there. We need to find ways to be creative and get him the ball. He was great being patient because we had to do some things running the ball. His patience paid off and he made some big plays."
Westfield was C-N's top target on the day, catching five passes for 77 yards and the score. He was one of seven players to catch a pass on the day, the most different men C-N has thrown a completion to since Sept. 10, 2016 when Eagle signal callers found eight different receivers in a 48-14 win at Saint Augustine's.
Carson-Newman put up 393 yards of total offense while limiting the Ravens to 232 yards. EJ Burgess, the NE-10's reigning offensive player of the year had 61 yards on 17 carries for 3.6 a touch.
"I was excited about the way they ran to the football," Clowney said. "I thought for the most part, we compete on the back end. We definitely still made some mistakes that we'll have to talk about. We missed some tackles. That was the thing I'm discouraged about."
The Ravens rushed for 57 yards, the lowest total by a C-N opponent since the Eagles held UVA Wise to 68 yards rushing on Sept. 28 last season.
Meanwhile, Carson-Newman's ground game piled up 254 yards rushing behind seven different ball carriers.
Nelson led all rushers with 69 yards on seven carries, all after halftime. Corbin, the Food City Player of the Game, added 62 on 12 touches.
Corbin also completed 10-of-17 passes for 127 yards and a score.
JUMP FOR JOY ⭐️
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 10, 2022
�� @cnfootball 27
�� Franklin Pierce 6
FINAL pic.twitter.com/fm7otAuK37
Alonzo Houston (Wimauma, Fla.), Caleb Goins (Bristol, Tenn.) and Deandre Williams (Richmond, Va.), the three starters in C-N's linebacking corps, all had seven tackles to lead the team.
The Eagles made eight stops behind the line of scrimmage, paced by 1.5, including a sack, from Trayzel Jureidini-Wyche.
Carson-Newman wraps up a two-game homestand Saturday at 1 p.m. with the Limestone Saints. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A paid video stream will be available at cneagles.com/flo.
