VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Zane Whitson Interview
VIDEO: Major Williams Interview
VIDEO: Galen Washington Interview
VIDEO: William Johnson Interview
WISE, Va. — On the first play from scrimmage, Carson-Newman nickelback William Johnson III stepped in front of a pass from University of Virginia-Wise quarterback Jake Corkren, hauled it in and raced the final 16 yards into the end zone. The quick defensive score set the tone for the day as the Eagles obliterated the Highland Cavaliers, 52-7, Saturday in a South Atlantic Conference matchup inside Carl Smith Stadium.
Carson-Newman (5-5, 4-4 SAC) finishes its road slate with a wining record for the first time since 2017 and has won three consecutive away games this season. It was the Eagles's first 45-plus point road victory since 2016, a 47-0 drubbing of Brevard.
As for Wise (2-8, 1-7), the defeat was their most lopsided home loss against a SAC opponent since joining the league and their worst as a program since 2016. Carl Smith Field was the site of C-N head coach Mike Clowney's first victory in charge of the program in March 2021 and is now the site of the largest margin of victory in his head coaching career.
"I was proud of them, the way they came out and responded today," Clowney said of his team. "It was good to see someone else make those critical errors that we made early in the season to give us some short fields and easy scores. The good thing is, our guys were there, they were able to take advantage of those situations. That touchdown for Will Johnson at the beginning of the game did a good job of setting the tone for us."
While Carson-Newman saw its streak of four consecutive weeks recording at least four sacks end, the pressure still got to Wise's quarterbacks. The relentless rush led to some quick, ill-advised decisions that benefited the Eagles multiple times. On the Cavs' second possession, Corkren tossed a pick to Kendall Williams that led to a C-N touchdown three plays later with a three-yard Tyler Curtis run.
On Wise's third possession, Major Williams nearly picked off a third straight pas. Instead, Williams would return the ensuing punt to the Highland Cavaliers' 46. It would be a recurring theme as the Eagles' average start position on the day was UVA-Wise's 47-yard line.
"It was super critical, being able to take advantage of those," Clowney said. "It's always great when you have success and don't have to work too hard to get it."
After another Wise three-and-out, Williams again set up C-N on Wise's end of the field. This time it was quarterback Zane Whitson that would provide the highlight, tossing a 33-yard strike to Jeron Newson that he walked in to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead.
"He (Whitson) is really composed," Clowney said. "I thought he did a good job leading the offense. Zane has continued to learn to communicate. Guys are getting behind him and making plays for him."
After the Carson-Newman defense forced another punt, Whitson and the offense found themselves in rare territory, on their own 20 yard-line After a three-yard loss, Whitson found Galen Washington down the left sideline for an 83-yard touchdown, the seventh longest TD reception in school history. C-N led 28-0 as the first quarter wrapped.
"We had a little double move on the right side," Whitson said. "He (Washington) ended up making a great play. I didn't throw that great of a ball, but he still made a dude miss and took it to the house. I think that accelerated us forward, because that was part of our gameplan. We were able to execute more things because of that play."
It was Washington's first career touchdown and one he could feel was coming, based on the defensive looks UVA-Wise kept giving the Eagles offense.
"They were playing a lot of no safety today, just focusing on the run," Washington said. "That opened us up with a one-on-one matchups outside. In our (wide receiver) room, we feel like one-on-one is very disrespectful with no safety help, so we took advantage of that today."
The defense struck again in the second quarter. With Wise near midfield, safety Major Williams chased down Corkren on a scramble, only to have the ball blasted right into his hands as the Cavs quarterback was hit by C-N edge rusher Jacory Long. Williams cradled the prize, pushed from a potential tackler and raced the final 40 yards for the score. It was the second defensive touchdown for the Eagles on the day, the first time they've achieved that since the season finale victory over Catawba last season.
"I was coming off the edge, I saw the quarterback rolling out opposite of me," Williams said. "Our guys got a good push, so I decided to keep going and chase him down. Our guys delivered a blow and I was coming around the back, the ball just popped into my hand. That was all God. I just ran to the end zone with the ball."
On their next offensive possession, Carson-Newman added a 22-yard field goal from Andrew Sybert to take a 38-0 lead into the locker room.
"We've been a little bit slower getting started than we wanted to be offensively," Clowney said. "It's fun to watch our guys now. They have a concept of what we're doing and where we're trying to go and how to achieve things and get things done."
Coming out of the break, the Eagles picked up right where they left off, unleashing a seven-play, 69-yard scoring drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Whitson to Cade Meeks to take command 45-0. Whitson would finish his afternoon 10 of 14 passing for 188 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
"It's everybody buying in and doing the right thing," Whitson said. "Throughout the week, I feel like everybody's preparing to the maximum capability that they have. With everybody bought in and pushing towards one direction, we're doing a great job as a team coming together. It's helping us have success on the field."
Carson-Newman's starting unit's day was done as the fourth quarter opened, but the scoring wasn't. Wise would roll the dice on a fourth down call deep in their own territory, only to set C-N up at the 10 yard-line. Three plays later, the Eagles capitalized on an Anderson County to Anderson County connection as backup quarterback Walker Martinez tossed a five-yard TD pass to tight end Eli Davis. The Eagles led 52-0.
Wise would capitalize on the only C-N mistake of the game, a muffed punt that set them up at the Carson-Newman 37. Jaevon Gillespie would punch the ball into the paint from the two and end the scoring for the day.
Cam Ferguson led the Eagles on the ground with seven carries for 55 yards.
On defense, Major Williams finished with five tackles and 2.5 for loss, giving him 10 tackles for a loss on the season, the most ever for a Carson-Newman defensive back. He added a pass breakup and the fumble return for the touchdown. Linebacker Mekhi Brown hit double digit tackles for the third time this season, recording 10 stops and half a tackle for a loss. Kendall Williams finished with five tackles and a pick. Long clocked out with three tackles, two sacks, two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble.
The defense held Wise to just eight first downs and 209 total yards in the game.
"Those guys (on defense) needed a complete effort," Clowney said. "They did that up front, with our guys controlling the line of scrimmage. I thought our guys on the back end did a good job of seeing things that were going to happen, anticipating throws and then being able to make plays off of it."
The Eagles return to the friendly confines of Burke-Tarr Stadium as they host the Catawba Catawba Indians next Saturday, Nov. 11, in the season finale for both teams. 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.
