Carson-Newman Battles Back to Down Catawba, 41-31, on Homecoming

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The last three times the Carson-Newman football team faced Catawba the outcome wasn't decided until the final minutes, and Saturday was no different.

The Eagles needed a 48-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Alex Good (Greensboro, N.C.) to Reggie Hubbard (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and a 55-yard touchdown run from Good in the final four minutes to come away with a 41-31 victory over the Indians in South Atlantic Conference action on homecoming at Burke-Tarr Stadium.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 5-2 on the season and 3-0 in the SAC, while Catawba falls to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

"It was a great exhibition, again, of a group of kids that are growing and have some heart," said C-N head coach Ken Sparks, whose team has won five straight games. "I was really impressed with both teams as far as both of them wanting to win. This is a team that has a character about them that says we are not going to get beat."

Good guided the Eagles to a season-high 547 yards of offense by completing 8-of-17 passes for 188 yards and four scores and carrying the ball 21 times for 179 yards and two touchdowns. With his 367 yards of total offense, Good is now just 59 yards shy of moving past former C-N quarterback Shane Kelley (6,483 yards) for second place in school history in career total offense.

Reggie Melton (Dothan, Ala.), Buck Wakefield (Drummonds, Tenn.) and Nate Inman (Fitzgerald, Ga.) added 65, 62 and 52 rushing yards, respectively. Hubbard finished the day with five receptions for 136 yards and two scores for his third 100-yard receiving game of the season.

Catawba quarterback Patrick Dennis (Durham, N.C.) entered the contest in the second quarter for injured starter Cameron Sexton (Laurinburg, N.C.) and had an outstanding game. The junior backup connected on 26-of-37 pass attempts for 311 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Eric Morman (Rockingham, N.C.) was on the receiving end of most of Dennis' pass as he led the way with 13 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Bunn (Virginia Beach, Va.) hauled in seven passes for 61 yards and two scores in the loss.

Despite giving up 451 yards of offense, the C-N defense made plays when it counted, including forcing two turnovers. The Eagles forced a fumble late in the first half that led to their first touchdown of the night, and senior linebacker Elliette Jackson (Fairfield, Ala.) came through with an interception with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Junior safety Mario Russell (Columbus, Ohio) led the way with 16 tackles and his sixth forced fumble of the season, which leads the nation. Brian Brown (Hartwell, Ga.) added 12 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

"I was proud of the defense," Sparks said. "A couple of them played just about every snap. Brian Brown was in there just about every play and played his heart out."

Catawba struck first with a 27-yard field goal by Thomas Trexler (Wilmington, N.C.) at the 5:39 mark of the first quarter, giving the Indians a 3-0 lead.

But Catawba's lead didn't last long. After the Eagles recovered a Catawba fumble at the Indians 42, Good capped a six-play, 42-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give C-N a 7-3 lead.

The Indians regained the lead, however, on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Dennis to Morman late in the quarter, giving Catawba a 10-7 advantage heading into the locker room.

The Eagles battled back in the third quarter, and Good found Doug Belk (Valdosta, Ga.) for a 35-yard scoring strike on the opening possession of the half to give C-N a 13-10 lead.

Dennis answered later in the quarter with a touchdown pass of his own, connecting with Bunn from 14 yards out. Trexler's extra point gave the Indians a 17-13 advantage.

"Neither team could get a handle on it," Sparks said. "We had so many chances to put the game away but we gave it right back to them. That's not the way to win against good football teams."

The fourth quarter was a wild one, as the teams combined for 42 points and three lead changes. Catawba seemed to take all the momentum late in the stanza, as a 3-yard touchdown run by Hall gave the Indians a 31-27 lead with just 5:24 remaining.

But Good's 48-yard touchdown pass to Hubbard and his 55-yard touchdown run put C-N ahead for good.

The Eagles return to the gridiron next Saturday in a South Atlantic Conference matchup at Lenoir-Rhyne. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Moretz Stadium in Hickory, N.C.

"We will be facing a team that has really, really improved," Sparks said of the Bears. "They do things that give a lot of teams fits. It will be a good challenge for our football team."