November 25, 2009

Back to Florence: Eagles Face North Alabama on Saturday

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Anytime Carson-Newman and North Alabama meet on the gridiron, the matchup is always of great importance to both teams. But when the 10th-ranked Eagles (10-2) and fifth-ranked Lions (11-1) square off on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs, the stakes will be extremely high.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Anytime Carson-Newman and North Alabama meet on the gridiron, the matchup is always of great importance to both teams.

But when the 10th-ranked Eagles (10-2) and fifth-ranked Lions (11-1) square off on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs, the stakes will be extremely high.

C-N and North Alabama are set to kickoff at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala. The winner will advance to the national semifinals, where they will face the winner of the Minnesota Duluth/Grand Valley State game on Dec. 5.

Despite facing a team as talented as North Alabama, Eagles head coach Ken Sparks said his focus is on his own squad and getting it ready for its biggest matchup in years.

“I don’t look so much at who we play. I look at what we do,” Sparks said. “We’ve always said the team that beats us is us. That’s the way we approach it. At the same time, we know we are playing a very, very talented football team. They have a lot of great players. We are just excited about playing. It’s the first time we’ve been in this situation in a few years.”

The last time C-N and North Alabama met in the postseason was in the 2003 quarterfinals in Florence. The Lions claimed a 41-9 victory on that day to improve their playoff record against the Eagles to 4-1.

The Eagles have never won in Braly Municipal Stadium. Including this year’s 31-14 regular season loss to the Lions, C-N is 0-8 all-time in Florence.

C-N was its own worst enemy in its loss to the Lions earlier this season. The Eagles outgained North Alabama 422-332 in total offense but they turned the ball over four times, including twice deep in Lions territory.

Sparks said his team cannot afford to have those miscues again on Saturday.

“During this time of the year, it doesn’t matter who you are playing,” he said. “There are eight teams left, and all of them are good teams. If you make a mistake or you don’t execute, it will show up and you’ll get taken advantage of.”

The Eagles reached the quarterfinals on the strength of a 59-41 victory over West Alabama last Saturday.

C-N continued to dominate offensively, gaining 591 yards of total offense against the Tigers. Defensively, the Eagles struggled at times during the second half as they allowed a 49-20 halftime lead to turn into a 49-41 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Despite its struggles late against West Alabama, Sparks believes his defense will bounce back with a good effort on Saturday.

“There were seven plays where (West Alabama) gained 50 percent of its offense, which means that we need eliminate the inconsistencies of those seven plays,” Sparks said. “On some of them, we just lined up wrong. Good teams will make you pay for it, and that’s what happened Saturday. We are still a growing football team and are still getting better.”

North Alabama is coming off a 41-28 second round win over Arkansas Tech. The Lions piled up 480 yards in the win, but Sparks was impressed with how they did things differently on offense last Saturday.

“Last week they lined up and just pounded Arkansas Tech,” Sparks said. “They just went and pounded it right at them. It was pretty impressive.”

Even though North Alabama was more aggressive in their running game last Saturday, its offense still goes through senior quarterback Harrison Beck. The Harlon Hill Trophy candidate threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He has completed 59 percent of his passes for 3,542 yards, 30 touchdowns and just nine interceptions this season.

Eagle Notes:
With a rushing TD or receiving TD, Buck Wakefield (46) and Reggie Hubbard (26), respectively, would each set new school records…C-N’s lone win over North Alabama in the postseason came in the first round of the 1997 playoffs (21-7) in Jefferson City…The Eagles have not advanced to the national semifinals since 1999…C-N went on to play for the national title that season, losing to Northwest Missouri State 58-52 in four overtimes…C-N is 16-11 all-time in the Division II Playoffs…The Eagles have averaged 662.25 yards of total offense in their last four games…C-N ranks first nationally in rushing offense (356.42 yards per game), fourth in total offense (498) and eighth in scoring offense (40.5)…The Eagles have gained more than 500 yards of offense six times this season, including a school-record 803 yards against Tusculum in their season finale on Nov. 7.