VIDEO: Ashley Ingram presser
VIDEO: Highlights
FAIRFIELD, Ala. — In a defensive struggle that came down to the final seconds, No. 24 Carson-Newman fell, 14-13, to No. 22-ranked Miles in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs at Sloan-Alumni Stadium, Saturday.
"It was a great college football game," C-N head coach Ashely Ingram said. "Hard fought. It looked like at the end, I'm not sure either one of us wanted to win it. In the end, they made one more play than we did. I certainly give them a lot of credit. I feel for our guys. That's a tough way to go out. That's football and that's life."
The Eagles (9-3) held the Golden Bears (10-2) to just 153 yards of total offense in the loss, a season low for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champions. It's the fourth consecutive opponent C-N has held under 260 yards of offense. Miles has now won 10 straight games on its playoff run and its victory at home was the first ever playoff win at Sloan-Alumni Stadium. Carson-Newman is 9-4-1 all time against members of the SIAC. The Eagles are 40-22-1 in the playoffs since the 1980 postseason and 3-17 in the playoffs on the road since joining NCAA DII. C-N's last playoff win was a road victory at Bowie State, 17-9, in 2019.
"I told the guys there at the end, I'm so proud of all they accomplished this year." Ingram said. "So proud of where they came from, but the reality is, we've got get a little bit better. We've got to continue to work."
With sacks from Martavis Mason and Jacory Long, the Eagles extend their streak of games with at least one sack to 23. Carson-Newman has recorded at least one sack in 31 of its last 32 contests. Cruz Temple led the C-N defense with nine tackles and a fumble recovery. Christian Hicks and Kendall Williams had six tackles apiece, with Hicks adding half a tackle for a loss, a pass break up and a quarterback hit. Max Bryant finished with four tackles, one tackle for a loss and a forced fumble. Miles managed just 69 yards on the ground.
"They played their heart out," Ingram said. "The guys laid it on the line. … (Defensive Coordinator) Larry Slade did a great job in getting our guys ready to play."
Both teams exchanged punts to open the game, but Miles found pay dirt on their second possession. Quarterback Kamren Ivory capped an 11-play, 55-yard drive with a 11-yard touchdown pass to Jaquel Fells.
C-N answered back after wide receiver Cade Meeks set the team up near midfield with a 26-yard kick return. Justin Johnson found Jeremiah Carroll for a 21-yard pass. Johnson would call his own number to get the team inside the 30, before finding Carroll again for a 12-yard pass that set the team up at Miles' 17 yard-line.
Jayden Sullins would do the rest, carrying the ball four consecutive times to finally push his way into the paint with a two-yard score.
It was another big day on the ground for Sullins, who crossed the century mark for the fifth time this season. The junior running back from Cullman, Ala., playing in his home state, rushed 27 times for 134 yards and a TD. Sullins' 1,224 yards on the season is the 17th highest rushing total in school history.
The score sat at 7-7 until under five minutes left in the first half. Capitalizing on a Justin Johnson fumble deep in C-N territory, Ivory found former Eagles tight end Travaunta Abner for a 19-yard gain down to the Carson-Newman five. Jonero Scott took it the final five yards to put the Golden Bears up 14-7.
The Eagles got the offense rolling again before the half ended, with Benett Smith hitting a 43-yard field goal to make the score 14-10 at the horn. Smith would open the second half with a miss that hit the crossbar from 50 yards but would pull C-N to within a point with a 29-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter to end all scoring in the game.
"We had to fight for every yard," Ingram said. "It's a credit to (Miles head) coach (Sam) Shade and his defensive staff. Obviously, Ronald McKinnon is a dear friend of mine, he coaches their inside linebackers. They just did a great job. I tip my hat to those guys."
Carson-Newman had mutliple chances to take a lead in the fourth quarter. C-N had the ball twice inside Miles 40 after Smith's field goal made it a one-point game, but dropped a fourth-down pass for first-down yardage and failed to gain enough yards on a fourth-and-four rushing attempt.
C-N even had a miracle third chance after the dropped fourth down pass. C-N had two timeouts left when Miles got the football back with 79 seconds left. C-N stopped the Golden Bears on the first two plays, buring their timeouts in the process. On third-and-seven, Miles would get to run a play before presumably punting to give the ball back to the Eagles with 20 seconds left and at least 70 yards to go. Instead, Max Bryant disrupted the play in the backfield, forcing a fumble that Cruz Temple hopped on top of.
The Eagles were unable to take advantage of their resuscitation. Two plays later, Zane Whitson threw a jump ball that Malaki Ogden picked up to seal Miles' first-ever playoff win.
Carson-Newman piled up 305 yards of total offense, the second time in the Ashley Ingram era that the Eagles have outgained an opponent and lost. The C-N defense held Miles to just 10 first downs in the game and 5-of-15 on third down. Carson-Newman was 4-of-14 on its third down conversion attempts.
Zane Whitson finished 6-of-13 passing for 76 yards, no touchdowns and a pick. He rushed five times for 13 yards. Johnson was 5-of-7 for 50 yards passing and added five rushes for 17 yards.
"My thoughts are with our football team and our seniors," Ingram said. "They poured so much into it. They are hurting and I have so much love and respect for what they've given to this football team.
"I told them the day that I got here that I'm not going to be one of those coaches that says, 'when I get my guys in.' I told them that the moment I signed the contract, they were 'my guys' and we were going to do everything that we could to make them successful. We certainly tried. We won the Mountain Division. We made the national playoffs. They gave us everything."
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