VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Cade Meeks Interview
VIDEO: Jaylen Myers Interview
VIDEO: Cam Ferguson Interview
VIDEO: Mekhi Brown Interview
VIDEO: Major Williams Interview
NEWBERRY, S.C. — With a chance to try run down the clock, punt the ball away and give Newberry's offense one final chance, Carson-Newman instead went for the throat.
With 1:22 on the clock on third and eight in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, quarterback Jaylen Myers hit wide receiver Cade Meeks with a 42-yard bomb down the right sideline to seal a 34-21 win for the Eagles at Setzler Field in a South Atlantic Conference matchup Saturday night.
It was the first win for Carson-Newman (2-3, 1-2 SAC) in Newberry since 2010 and snapped a three-game losing streak this season. The Eagles have knocked off the Wolves (3-2, 2-1) in back-to-back meetings for the first time since their 2013 regular season and playoff contests.
"The biggest thing that you saw was a group of kids come together," C-N head coach Mike Clowney said. "You saw them believe in one another. You saw them not compromise. You saw them understand what it looks like to play this game as one unit. I'm so proud of how they responded today."
The final offensive play call is one that will be discussed in Eagle lore for a long while. Nursing a 26-21 lead after trailing through the first three quarters, Carson-Newman, after a failed Wolves onside kick following a Jy Tolen touchdown run to pull within five, took over at the Newberry 44 with 1:37 left in the game. The Wolves held all three of their time outs.
The Eagles rushed twice, gaining two yards, with Newberry stopping the clock both times, barely bleeding away 15 seconds of game time. The expected football plan would have been, run it one more time, protect the ball and kick it away, relying on the defense to hold on in the final minute and change. Clowney had other plans.
Meeks sensed what might be coming after the way the defense played him during the first snap. When Carson-Newman called a time out to discuss what to do next, he was ready.
"The first play on that drive I was on the left side and ran a jet motion and I was supposed to block, so I wanted to act like I was running a wheel right to catch eyes and he (the opposing defensive back) didn't look at me," Meeks said. "When I came out and they told me Coach Clowney wanted to take a shot, I was like, 'let me go' and it was there. I wanted it."
Myers, who had a fantastic day under center, did not hesitate to agree with his coach's unorthodox call.
"We were all in the huddle on the sideline and we were talking to the head man and they were like, 'what do you want to do?'" Myers said. "He (Clowney) said he wanted to go with the play action pass and we did it."
The ball was snapped, the offensive line held firm and Meeks slipped by his man to find a perfect pass placed directly into his hands from the senior quarterback for a 42-yard game ending strike.
"You're sitting there, the game is on the line," Clowney said. "You're at their place and outside of us, probably nobody believes we're going to win the football game. There was no point in giving them the ball back right there. Sometimes you've got to take chances. I think Coach (offensive coordinator Kevin) McKeethan and his staff got together and made a great call and got the ball in the endzone. That sealed the game for us."
Meeks would finish with five catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns, the first 100-plus yard day for a C-N receiver since Braxton Westfield in the 2022 season finale victory over Catawba and the 71st 100-yard receiving day in Carson-Newman history.
To get to that point, to make the winning call, the Eagles had to comeback from a third quarter deficit first.
Newberry opened the game clicking on all cylinders on offense, putting together a quick, three-play, 37-yard scoring drive after forcing a Carson-Newman three-and-out on their opening possession.
The Eagles answered back with a big play of their own, with Meeks hauling in his first long TD of the day on their ensuing possession, a 58-yarder from Myers, but a blocked extra point kept C-N from evening the score. It was the first offensive touchdown for Carson-Newman at Newberry since 2016, but they still trailed 7-6. Another quick drive from the Wolves, capped with an Andre Banks four-yard TD run, put the home team up 14-6 and the Eagles saw their own offense stall out for the rest of the half.
It was the defense that kept the Eagles in the game, holding Newberry out of the endzone for the second and third quarters after surrendering the two early touchdowns.
"I think we got anxious on some stuff," Clowney said. "I think Coach (Larry) Slade and his staff made some adjustments to just let them play football. Guys adjusted and responded to that and were able to seal the rest of the game off."
The game flipped in the third quarter for the Eagles. On Newberry's second possession, deep in their own territory, C-N linebacker Mekhi Brown jumped a Brayden Phillps pass at the 13-yard line and returned it into the paint for the score. Carson-Newman failed the two-point conversion attempt and trailed 14-12 but had the wind at its back.
"I feel like it was just assignment football," Brown said. "I was in the right place at the right time and I made a play."
It was Brown again who kept the Wolves off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, blocking a 37-yard field goal attempt from Lawson Reel.
That was all the push the offense needed. After being stymied on the ground most of the afternoon, the Eagles rushing game came to life. Cam Ferguson reeled off consecutive runs of 14 and 65 yards to give Carson-Newman a first-and-goal at the Newberry one. Tyler Curtis toted it the final yard for the score, giving the Eagles a 20-14 lead, their first since their season opening win over Virginia-Lynchburg.
"It goes back to last week for us," Clowney said. "We were down there (in the redzone) and we couldn't run the ball in. That was a challenge for us all week. If we got in that situation, we were going to find a way to run the football and get it across the goal line. Our guys responded to that."
Ferguson rushed eight times in the game for 86 yards.
"We started off rough, but continued running the ball and being patient," Ferguson said. "It was going to open up at some point and it just happened to happen right there on that drive."
The defense held firm again, forcing a punt on a three-and-out and this time Carson-Newman safety and punt returner Major Williams made them pay. Williams fielded the ball at his own 18, assessed the blockers in front of him, and maneuvered his way to the endzone for a 65-yard touchdown return. It was the second punt return of Williams' career and his first since last year's game against Catawba.
"I saw my guys working on the punt return unit," Williams said. "As they were coming down, I saw the gap was in the middle and I just had to beat one man and it was the longsnapper. It was there, my guys held up their men and I hit the crease as fast as I could and finished the run."
With their backs against the wall, the Wolves answered with a scoring drive to get back into the game and push the score to 26-21 with less than two minutes to play before Myer's pass to Meeks shut the door for good.
Myers finished 15 of 20 passing for 191 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Nine different C-N players hauled in passes in the game.
"It was the whole group," Clowney said. "Even on Major's punt return, there's a block there. There were times when we didn't have time to throw the football, but in those instances, we gave our quarterback time to get down the field. On Mekhi's touchdown, we'd gotten the guy (Newberry QB) hemmed up and he kind of made a desperation throw which was an interception for a pick six. All of those show up on the stat sheet as individual plays, but they were big time team plays."
Williams, Jacory Long and Jetteryous Jones all c-led the defense with eight tackles apiece. Williams added one for a loss, Long had a tackle for a loss and a sack and Jones a tackle for a loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
The Eagles will return to the field next Saturday, Oct. 7, when they host archrival Tusculum inside Burke-Tarr Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
