Football Suffers First SAC Loss at Carson-Newman

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Mars Hill racked up 484 yards of total offense but could not overcome four turnovers and suffered its conference loss of the season at Carson-Newman by a final of 34-27 at Burke-Tarr Stadium. The Eagles improve to 5-3 overall, 3-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Lions drop to 5-3 overall, 3-1 in the league.

Carson-Newman grabbed an early 7-0 lead when Doug Belk found Keith Hardy from 37 yards with 11:50 left in the first quarter.

Jonas Randolph broke the Mars Hill career rushing record with a 27 yard gallop late in the first quarter. Randolph finished the game with 30 carries for 191 yards, with 140 of those yards coming in the first half. The Daleville, Ala., native now has 3,007 yards, surpassing Travis McFadden's (1999-2003) 2,859 career rushing yards.

The Lions threatened early in the second quarter, driving the ball to the Eagle 38 yard line, but Jon Richt was picked off by Tarvin Jones who returned the ball 31 yards to the Mars Hill 46. The interception was Richt's second of the game.

After a defensive stand, the Lions drove into Eagle territory and found the scoreboard when Randolph crossed the goal line from one yard out. Michael Pinkerton's point after attempt sailed wide left, leaving Carson-Newman with a 7-6 advantage. The scoring drive went 95 yards, lasting 15 plays and eating 8:01 off the clock.

Carson-Newman answered on the next drive when Brandon Baker rumbled 58 yards to the Lion 12 yard line. Baker scored on the next play to give the Eagles a 14-6 lead with 2:29 remaining in the first half.

Mars Hill opened the second half with a nine play, 69 yard drive. Richt found P.J. Gore for a 33 yard pickup down to the Carson-Newman 12. After an 11 yard run by Randolph, Richt plunged into the endzone from one yard out to cut the deficit to 14-13.

On the next possession, Nate Inman gained 65 yards on 3rd and 8 for the Eagles, moving the ball to the Mars Hill eight yard line. Belk found Marcus Huie for a touchdown strike to increase the Eagle lead to 21-13.

Carson-Newman increased its advantage to two touchdowns with 2:36 left in the third quarter. Baker found the endzone from 22 yards out, but Matt Gossett missed the extra point attempt to make the score 27-13 in favor of the Eagles.

Mars Hill answered when Richt hit Frankie Waters for paydirt from 74 yards out to cut the margin to 27-20 in favor of Carson-Newman at the 2:07 mark in the third quarter. The scoring toss was Richt's 17th of 2010 which set a new school record for most touchdown passes in a single season, breaking the previous record of 16 held by Ashley Abernathy since 1993.

The Lions drove into Eagle territory early in the fourth quarter, but on 4th and 2, a Richt play action pass attempt was intercepted by Jones to halt the threat.

Carson-Newman pushed its lead back to two touchdowns at 34-20 when Inman rushed into the endzone from 17 yards out. The score came with 9:02 left in the game.

Mars Hill came back with a touchdown on the next possession. Richt's 12th completion of the game went 12 yards to Gore who scored at the 7:13 mark.

The Eagles went three and out on the next drive, and Mars Hill took the ball at its own 32 yard line with 4:53 left in the game. On the second play of the series, Richt hit Travis Prince for a 35 yard gain deep into Carson-Newman territory. However, with 1st and goal at the Eagle nine yard line, Richt threw his fourth pick of the game to Issac Kinley. The Eagles ran out the clock to end the game.

Baker ended with 162 yards on 13 carries. Inman racked up 156 yards on 19 carries. Belk was 6-6 through the air on the night for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Richt finished 15-28 for 266 yards with two touchdown passes but had four interceptions. Waters had three catches for 99 yards and one touchdown. Gore recorded four catches for 58 yards and one touchdown.

Marzarius Samon posted a game-high 16 tackles for Mars Hill, including two tackles for loss and one sack. Rudy Cabral and Josh Baker each had nine stops for the Lions.

Carson-Newman gained 466 yards with 391 coming on the ground.

Mars Hill will host Catawba on October 30. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.