Football Wins on the Road at Tusculum

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Mars Hill defeated Tusculum, 31-24 on the road in South Atlantic Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field. The Lions improved to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the SAC. The Pioneers fell to 4-5 on the season and 2-3 in the league.

Matt Layman completed 10-22 passes for 176 yards and one touchdown. Jeremy Hughes led the Lions' rushing attack with 81 yards on 18 carries followed by Jamel Harbison with 60 yards on 21 carries. Keshaun Taylor caught seven passes for 67 yards. Martay Mattox led the Lions' defense with a game and career high 18 tackles as well as a forced fumble. Chris Moseley recorded his career high two interceptions in the game. His second interception of the contest sealed the win for Mars Hill. He added four solo tackles and a pass break-up. Colby Price tallied 10 tackles while Trey Clark, the SAC tackle leader, posted nine stops, eight solo. Michael Ashley played a big role in field position for the Lions. He recorded nine punts in the game for a 40.2-yard average placing four punts inside the Pioneer 20-yardline and had a long of 56 yards.

Luke Lancaster completed 38-59 passes for Tusculum but threw four interceptions. Justin Houston was on the receiving end of 16 of those passes for 129 yards. Josh Jackson rushed for 72 yards and one score. Marion Joyner and Akeem Peoples led the Pioneer defense with nine and eight tackles in the game, respectively.

Martay Mattox forced a Pioneer fumble on the opening kickoff to give the Lions possession of the ball on the TC 34-yardline. Robbie Morgan recovered the loose ball. The turnover led to a 23-yard field goal by Tyler Stewart with 12:02 remaining in the first quarter.

Jeremy Hughes then capped off a 9-play, 62-yard drive to give MHU a 10-0 lead with 56 seconds left in the opening period.

Tusculum answered the call scoring twice to take a 14-10 lead when Isaac Robinson and Josh Jackson both found the end zone on seven yard rushes. Germell Jenkins gave the Lions a 17-14 advantage with a 60-yard interception return for a score with 2:03 left in the half. The teams carried that score into the intermission.

A 69-yard pass interception by Carl Mattox setup an 11-yard touchdown rush by Jamel Harbison with 5:17 left in the third quarter to put the Lions ahead, 24-14. Once again the Pioneers battled back. Ken Drummond caught a 61-yard scoring pass from Lancaster at the 4:33 mark in the third frame and then Will Tommie hit a 26-yard field goal with 6:47 left in regulation to knot the game at 24-all.

After a Hunter Cantrell punt pinned the Lions down to their own 18-yardline, Laymen hit Gilbert Johnson on their first play from scrimmage on an 82-yard touchdown pass play to put the Lions ahead for good, 31-24. The teams would trade possessions before Moseley sealed the win when he intercepted Lancaster with 1:01 left in the contest. Mars Hill ran out the clock to leave Greeneville with the seven-point victory.

Mars Hill will host SAC rival Wingate next Saturday, November 7. It will be Senior Day and the Lions' annual Hall of Fame Game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.