VIDEO: Mike Clowney press conference
VIDEO: 2022 Mars Hill Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-4, 2-3 South Atlantic Conference) takes on one of the top rush defenses in the country when Mars Hill (5-1, 4-1 SAC) arrives in Burke-Tarr Stadium for a 1 p.m. kick Saturday.
The contest is Carson-Newman's Community Appreciation Day. All community pillars (teachers, pastors and church staff, first responders) gain admission to the contest free of charge.
Mars Hill has the seventh-best run defense in the country and the best in the SAC, giving up 64.5 yards per game on the ground. Only Erskine has rushed for more than 100 yards on the ground against the Lions. Erskine is also the only team to average more than four yards a carry against MHU. The Lions locked down both Limestone's Tre Stewart and Barton's Jordan Terrell (two of the top three rushers in the SAC) to season-low totals.
"We've still got to play better behind our pads," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney said. "I think we can get lower and try to gain some traction there to be able to run the football. Then, the execution part of it is being able to hit the right gap when it's open and taking advantage of the opportunities that we create for ourselves. That's something that we've got to continue to work on as a unit. It doesn't matter what they've done and accomplished. Going into the game, we still have to find a way to be two-dimensional as an offense."
With a win over Mars Hill and a Hillsdale loss to Thomas More, Carson-Newman would move into a tie for third on the all-time wins list with the Chargers. Carson-Newman sits on 657 wins, while Hillsdale has 658. Pittsburg State leads all Division II programs with 743 victories.
Mars Hill will be angling for a third straight win in the series. Mars Hill hasn't won three consecutive in the series with C-N since taking four straight from 1977-80. • Last year Mars Hill outgained Carson-Newman 548-244. The Lions were the only team last season to pass for more than 300 yards against the Eagles. Then Lion signal-caller Jimmy Urzua was 13-of-21 through the air for 351 yards and three scores. He found Simeon Thompson four times for 206 yards and two scores. Thompson joined fellow Mars Hill wide receiver Craig Rucker as the only receivers with 200-yard days against the Eagles aerially in the last 20 years.
"We did get hurt a lot last year, and going back and watching that film, there are a lot of things going on, but I didn't realize how much they hurt us on the deep ball," Clowney said. "So, we've got to make sure that we're prepared and we're ready to compete. They did a really good job of setting us up on some routes, setting us up outside and coming back in, so we've got to do a good job of playing with proper leverage, understanding that, and then competing when the ball's in the air."
With 309 career tackles, Mars Hill linebacker Landon Honeycutt ranks fourth among all active players in NCAA Divisoin II in career tackles. Honeycutt has 15 tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his last two games against C-N. Honeycutt also ranks sixth among all active Division II players in career tackles for loss with 40.
"You can just tell that he understands the game, and he's taking time to learn the game and learn the position," Clowney said. "Through that, he's able to put himself in position to make plays."
Mars Hill has put at least three touchdowns on the board against Carson-Newman in every game the teams have played since 2012. The Eagles' limited the Jon Richt (Mark Richt's son)-led Lions to 17-points to clinch a playoff berth. MHU has scored at least 20 in the last nine meetings.
Through seven weeks of football, Carson-Newman has yet to make a field goal. C-N hasn't gone that long without a field goal since 2010, when it made one field goal on the entire year (a 41-yarder in week three)
Shockingly, Carson-Newman's best marker for success is its passing game this year. The Eagles are 3-0 when they average 7.0 yards or greater per pass, and are 0-4 when below that mark.
Preseason All-America safety Major Williams is sixth among active Division II players in non-offensive touchdowns. Williams has a pick six and two punt return TDs to his name in his career. His second career punt return for a touchdown came at Newberry. The 65-yard return registers as the 10th-longest punt return in school history.
Mars Hill has gained at least 400 yards of offense against Carson-Newman in nine of the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
The Eagles have won 15 of the last 16 straight wins at Burke-Tarr Stadium over Mars Hill. Prior to the Lions 2021 win, Mars Hill hadn't won at Mossy Creek since handing the 1989 team their only loss of the year with a 17-14 win.
Kickoff between the Eagles and Lions is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. 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. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports.
