Carson-Newman’s Wakefield, Strickland to Play in 2010 Valero Cactus Bowl on Friday
KINGSVILLE, Texas — Carson-Newman running back Buck Wakefield (Drummonds, Tenn.) and defensive end Donte Strickland (Louisburg, N.C.) will play in the 2010 Valero Cactus Bowl on Friday night at Javalina Stadium in Kingsville, Texas. Kickoff is set for 6:35 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on Fox College Sports and will also be webcast at www.cactusbowl.org.
KINGSVILLE, Texas — Carson-Newman running back Buck
Wakefield (Drummonds, Tenn.) and defensive end Donte Strickland
(Louisburg, N.C.) will play in the 2010 Valero Cactus Bowl on
Friday night at Javalina Stadium in Kingsville, Texas.
Kickoff is set for 6:35 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on Fox
College Sports and will also be webcast at www.cactusbowl.org.
Wakefield and Strickland both played key roles in leading the
Eagles to their 21st South Atlantic Conference title and their
first national semifinal appearance in a decade. C-N finished the
season at 11-3.
Wakefield earned second team Daktronics All-American, first team
Daktronics All-Super Region 2 and first team All-SAC honors this
season after rushing for 1,515 yards and 21 touchdowns, both of
which were the second-most in a single season in school history. He
averaged a C-N record 137.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked
sixth nationally, and also had 14 receptions for 177 yards and two
touchdowns.
Wakefield became the first Eagle to eclipse the 300-yard mark in a
single game, doing so in back-to-back games. He rushed for 302
yards and two touchdowns on just 19 carries in C-N’s 45-7 win
over Wingate in late October and piled up 332 yards on 31 carries
in C-N’s 70-35 win over rival Tusculum a week later. He also
rushed for a school-record five touchdowns in the Tusculum win.
Strickland was an anchor on the Eagle defensive line this season
and helped lead C-N to the top rushing defense in the conference
(114.6 yards per game). He finished the year second on the team in
tackles among defensive linemen with 39 and recorded five tackles
for loss and one sack. Strickland also forced three fumbles.
The Cactus Bowl, which began in 1994 as the Snow Bowl in Fargo,
N.D., will showcase 85 of the top Division II seniors from all
across America.
This year’s Cactus Bowl features nine American Football
Coaches Association All-Americans, 20 Daktronics All-Americans and
Four Harlon Hill Trophy finalists.
