Eagles Set For Thursday's Home Opener Against Campbellsville

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman football team enters Thursday's home opener against Campbellsville in an unfamiliar position.

C-N is 0-2 to begin a season for the first time in 26 years, but an inauspicious start doesn't always mean championship hopes are dashed. The Eagles went on to turn the 1983 season around and won head coach Ken Sparks his first national title.

When the Eagles and Tigers kickoff at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Burke-Tarr Stadium, Sparks said his team will be looking to get back on the winning track.

"We need to respond," he said. "I think in the long run we're going to be a great football team, but we're licking our wounds right now. We need people to come out and support us."

The meeting will be C-N's first-ever with Campbellsville and just the second against a NAIA opponent since making the move to Division II in 1993. The Eagles' last game against an NAIA school was Webber International (44-0) in 2006.

Sparks said he is interested to see how his team handles playing an opponent from a lower division after opening the season against two quality Division II squads.

"I think it's going to be probably one of our bigger challenges mentally because we're supposed to win," Sparks said. "But (Campbellsville) doesn't know it. They will be as excited about playing us as anyone on their schedule this season. It will be interesting to see if we have the maturity to handle it."

The Tigers, which went 3-8 last season, opened 2009 with a 38-37 victory over Cumberland University last Saturday.

Campbellsville racked up 509 yards of total offense and was led by running back Wayne Coffee, who rushed for 216 on 26 carries. Freshman quarterback Robert Hill also showed off his ability to run by gaining 189 yards on the ground.

"We will be playing a pretty talented team," Sparks said. "They are a good looking football team when they got off the bus. They have a talented quarterback and running back and are just a quality football team."

The Eagles will be looking to continue the success they had offensively in last Saturday's 31-14 loss to then-No. 4 North Alabama. C-N piled up 422 yards of offense, including 314 yards on the ground.

Senior quarterback Alex Good (Greensboro, N.C.) led the way with 153 yards rushing on 30 carries, becoming the first Eagle with 30 carries since Antwon Oliver in the 1999 national championship game.

C-N's downfall against the Lions was turnovers and penalties. The Eagles finished the night with three fumbles and an interception and committed 12 penalties for 85 yards.

"Our biggest challenge right now is us," Sparks said. "We keep shooting ourselves in the foot and are not playing Eagle football like we need to."

Eagle Notes:
C-N will take the field on Thursday riding a four-game losing streak, which is the first of the Sparks era, but the losses have been against four quality opponents...Tusculum and Valdosta State, both playoff teams, defeated the Eagles to close out the 2008 season, and Winona State (2-0) and then-No. 4 North Alabama (2-0) have handed C-N both its losses this season...Thursday's contest will be C-N's first at home since Nov. 1, 2008 (314 days), as the Eagles have played their last four games on the road...The Campbellsville game kicks off the Eagles' first three-game homestand since 2002...C-N will face UNC Pembroke (2-0) at home next Saturday before hosting Newberry in its South Atlantic Conference opener on Sept. 26.