Football Falls at Carson-Newman

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - No. 24 Carson-Newman defeated Mars Hill 35-17 Saturday afternoon at Burke-Tarr Stadium. The Lions finish the regular season 6-4 overall and 5-2 in the SAC.

Both teams will now wait to see if they get a berth in the Division II playoffs. The NCAA selection show will be at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Follow the links on the Lions' website to watch the show.

The Lions missed out on the SAC crown because Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Catawba Saturday 44-14 to win the title outright with a 6-1 conference record.

The Eagles (8-2, 5-2 SAC) recorded 488 yards rushing. Carson-Newman cashed in on the ground by committee. Brandon Baker led the way with 190 yards on 22 carries. Brandon Haywood, Andy Hibbett and Tyron Douglas followed suit with 153, 75 and 74 yards, respectively.

The Eagles got the day started with a Douglas five-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead off a 10-play, 52-yard drive.

Mars Hill and Carson-Newman traded scores back and forth with the Eagles getting a couple more Douglas touchdown runs. A Jarrett East-Brown blocked punt led to one of those scores.

The Eagles held a 21-17 lead at the break after the Lions racked up 291 yards of first half offense, but Carson-Newman dialed up the defensive pressure in the second half to hold the Lions to 118 yards of total offense and zero points.

Jon Richt passed for 305 yards on the Eagle defense. He was 19-42. Richt had a receiving corps that saw Dimitri Holmes and Deunta Jennings both grabb 115 yards worth of receptions. Shaikel Davis rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries. Jasper Mason led all tacklers with 19 stops, 10 solo and a sack. Troy Harris followed with 11 tackles, all solo and one for loss.

Jon Sites led C-N with 10 tackles. The Eagles were charged with 16 penalties for 117 yards.