VIDEO: Mike Clowney Presser
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-5, 2-4 South Atlantic Conference) will resume its series with Emory & Henry (4-4, 3-3 SAC) following a 47-year hiatus with a trip along I-81 to Fred Selfe Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Eagles beat the Wasps in the last meeting, 35-14, on Sept. 27, 1975. The 47- year gap between meetings is presently the longest time between meetings for the Eagles against an opponent it has played at least 10 times. Only the resumption of a series against Tennessee, Samford, ETSU, Appalachian State or Western Carolina would be longer than the time between meetings between the Eagles and Wasps.
"Anytime you do something new," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney said. "It is always a fun adventure and something we're looking forward to."
E&H leads the all-time series with Carson-Newman 17-15-2, however, Carson-Newman has won the last seven. The Eagles triumphed every year from 1969-75. The Wasps won 10 of the first 12 meetings from 1916-1935.
The Eagles haven't won away from Burke-Tarr Stadium in nine tries. That goes down as the eighth-longest active road losing streak in the country. Carson-Newman last tasted victory away from home on March 13, 2021 in a 40-37, four-overtime win at UVA Wise's Carl Smith Stadium - Mike Clowney's first game as head coach.
"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter (where the game is)," Clowney said. "You've got a game to play. You've got to get ready to go and get done what you need to get done."
Emory & Henry features one of the South Atlantic Conference's top passing attacks. Quarterback Kyle Short is third in the league in passing yardage with 190.3 per game.
Short had thrown for 200 or more yards in four of the first six weeks of the season, however, the Wasp signal-caller has been kept under 100 yards passing in back-to-back weeks by Tusculum and Mars Hill.
"You can tell that the things they do, they worked on a lot and over a long period of time," Clowney said. "You always talk about adjustments and answers. They do a really good job of having answers for situations and responding to them pretty quickly."
The Wasps were a thorn in the side of the Piedmont Division. The Wasps' 2-1 cross-division record matches Mars Hill and Tusculum as the best in the Mountain Division. The Wasps handled Catawba on Homecoming, beat Wingate in overtime (the Bulldogs lone league loss) and dropped a two-overtime decision to Newberry.
In its first year as a Division II institution, Emory & Henry has averaged 4,457 fans per game, a figure that leads the South Atlantic Conference. The Wasps have drawn on the plus side of 4,500 in all but one of their home games.
The Wasps have possessed the ball for more than 32 minutes in all but one of their games.
In the realm of weird notes, Carson-Newman has won the coin toss in all eight of the games it has played this season. The odds of that happening is 0.391 percent. To win the toss in nine straight weeks has a 0.1953 percent chance of happening.
Carson-Newman wide receiver Braxton Westfield's next touchdown catch (the 17th of his career) will, move him into sole possession of fifth on the all-time receiving TD list. He needs four more touchdown catches to match Tank Black for fourth all-time (21).
With 88 career receptions and 1,350 receiving yards, Westfield is within 150 yards of becoming the 11th 1,500-yard receiver for a career. Next up on the list for Westfield to pass are Patrick Johnson (13th, nine yards, 1,359), Damon Wright (12th, 137 yards, 1,487) and Alvin Sanders (11th, 142 yards, 1,492).
A total of 12 more catches and Westfield would become the sixth player in program history with 100 catches in a career.
Westfield is already up to 41 catches and 470 yards receiving this season. The 41 catches rank 10th for a single season in school history. He is on pace to break TraShaun Ward's option-era record (45), which is seventh all-time. The single-season record is held by Tank Black (69 in 1978).
Trayzel Jureidini-Wyche has tallied 14.0 sacks in his career. That's good for 16th all-time. He needs 1.5 more sacks to catch Robbie Tebow for 13th all-time (15.5).
Carson-Newman and Emory & Henry are set to kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at noon with the AEC Countdown to Kickoff on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
