VIDEO: Ashley Ingram Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Cade Meeks Interview
VIDEO: Mehki Brown Interview
EMORY, Va. — Carson-Newman saw a chance to secure a South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division title slip through its fingers Saturday, as four turnovers doomed the No. 17/17-ranked Eagles in a 17-10 loss to Emory & Henry at Fred Selfe Stadium.
Carson-Newman (7-1, 5-1 SAC) can still claim the Mountain Division, but would need to win its next two games against Anderson and Tusculum, and for the Wasps (7-1, 5-1) to drop one of its contests with Mars Hill or Virgina-Wise. The loss ends C-N's seven-game win streak, tied with nine NCAA Division II teams for the longest active streak in the country. The Eagles also saw their six-game road win streak end, good enough for the third longest active run in NCAA DII. Carson-Newman's 10 points are its lowest output of the season.
"The game kind of went the way I thought it would go," C-N coach Ashely Ingram said. "They're a good team and it was going to be a knock-down, drag out. They made the plays and we didn't make them."
The Eagles defense showed up early forcing a turnover on Emory & Henry's opening possession with their backs near their own end zone. Wasps quarterback Charles Mutter took off for a 39-yard run, but Mekhi Brown punched the ball out on his tackle and Jett Jones recovered it at the C-N nine yard-line.
Carson-Newman made the most of its first forced turnover since a 31-28 overtime victory over Wingate on Sep. 21, turning it into three points after a 16-play, 85-yard drive capped with a Bennett Smith 23-yard field goal.
The score sat at 3-0 until midway through the second quarter. After forcing a C-N punt deep in its own territory, Emory & Henry took over at their own 46. Two plays later Mutter sprinted up the gut of the defense for a 39-yard touchdown run. E&H led 7-3.
An Eagles turnover set up E&H on the wrong side of the field in the ensuing possession, with Zane Whitson getting stripped on a sack on his own 43. Again, it was a quick strike from Mutter, this time on a 43-yard TD pass to Cam Peoples that gave Emory & Henry a 14-3 lead. The Wasps have forced at least one turnover in every game this season and have forced at least three in each of their victories. Saturday, the Eagles gave it up four times, a season high. E&H leads the nation in turnovers forced with 25.
A Cam Ferguson fumble on C-N's next chance with the ball would lead to a 46-yard field goal from the Wasps' Trace Butcher for a 17-3 lead. The teams would take that score into the locker room at the half.
"It comes with a lack of focus," C-N wide receiver Cam Meeks said of the turnovers. "They're a good team that played very well today. They had some stuff they came out with that we weren't expecting so we had to gameplan on the spot. … We were beating ourselves."
Carson-Newman's offense came to life as the second half opened. Facing a third and 15 at their own 33, Zane Whitson evaded pressure and sent a 33-yard toss into the waiting hands of Meeks on a schoolyard play. Whitson had to go to the sideline after the hit, but Tre Luttrell, seeing his first action since the win over Wingate, deftly worked the team down the field. Keithan Washington scored on the four-yard TD run in his only carry of the game to pull the Eagles within a score, 17-10.
C-N's defense found its footing in the second half and kept the Wasps off the scoreboard for the final 30 minutes of gametime. E&H did not cross the 50 yard-line even once in the second half. The Eagles defense held the Wasps to a total of 54 yards on 23 plays in the third and fourth quarters.
"They (Emory & Henry) did good with the QB counter, running it up the middle," Brown said. "They just gashed us. In the second half, we played with a different kind of spark. We threw the first punch. We came out a little slow in the first, but in the second, we brought it a little bit."
Brown finished with five tackles and a forced fumble, Kendall Williams led the Eagles with 10 tackles. Jacory Long had three tackles and 1.5 for a loss. Storm Livesay recorded one tackle, a sack and a forced fumble. Livesay's sack keeps C-N's 19-game sack streak alive. The Eagles have recorded at least one sack in 27 of their last 28 games.
"Our defense played their tail off, they played well enough for us to win,". Ingram said. "The key to the game was their secondary making plays in the run game. (We didn't) block them as well as we needed to. And then their secondary making plays in the pass game."
It was that Wasps secondary that would slam the door on C-N's two best chances to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Emory & Henry cornerback Chendrick Cann plucked a sure touchdown pass from Luttrell out of the air right before it could land in Meeks' hands with under six minutes to go in the game.
C-N had another shot at evening it up, but Jarrell Harrison beat Cam Ferguson to a Luttrell pass for the pick to end the comeback attempt with 1:19 left in the game.
"On the perimeter, they won those battles," Ingram said. "They were fast, they knew what they were doing and they were well coached. …We were 1 of 11 passing and had some opportunities to make some plays. Give them some credit, but we've got to do a better job there. We were sacked once, so protection wasn't an issue. They lined up how we thought they'd line up. We just didn't make a play."
Jayden Sullens led Carson-Newman with 18 carries for 92 yards. Don Bradley had 11 rushes for 65 yards. Ferguson picked up 61 yards on 14 carries. Zane Whitson added 56 yards on the ground with 15 keeps.
A chance at playing for the SAC title remains on the table for the Eagles as well as its first playoff berth since 2019. Carson-Newman must handle its business next week as they host Anderson (S.C.) to get back on track.
"All we can do is get better from this and play a good game and beat Anderson next week," Ingram said. "Then we worry about Tusculum the following week. We can't do anything, but control what we can do. If we take it one at a time and keep winning football games, we'll be happy with the result."
The Eagles return home to Burke-Tarr Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 2, as they host SAC rival Anderson (S.C) (3-5, 1-5) for Homecoming and Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network will begin at 2 p.m. with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM Knoxville), Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
