September 11, 2015

Eagles look to improve defense as Shorter visits Mossy Creek

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-0) welcomes Shorter (0-0) for a noon kickoff Saturday at Burke-Tarr Stadium looking for improved execution on defense and kick coverage.

Shorter

0-1

Carson-Newman

2-0

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Shorter (0-1)	7	0	0	0	7
Carson-Newman (2-0)	7	7	3	3	20

C-N Game Notes

Shorter Game Notes

SAC Game Notes

VIDEO: Ken Sparks Press Conference

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-0) welcomes Shorter (0-0) for a noon kickoff Saturday at Burke-Tarr Stadium looking for improved execution on defense and kick coverage.

The Eagles won their 600^th game in the program's storied history last Thursday. However, that win was far from easy. C-N beat the University of the Cumberlands 59-56 – a score that features the most combined points ever in a C-N football game and the second most C-N has ever allowed under 36-year head coach Ken Sparks.

C-N allowed a school record 8.2 yards a carry to the Patriots, saw kick returner Wendell Williams return two kickoffs for touchdowns and allowed UC to convert on 9-of-11 third downs. The Eagles have focused mightily on improving those aspects this week.

"The first thing we did yesterday in practice after we stretched was work on kickoff coverage," Sparks said. "The second thing we worked on yesterday was trying to get off blocks and holding blocks and getting to the football. The third thing we did yesterday in practice was third down offense and defense against each other. The fourth thing we did was kickoff return because it was bad too, it just didn't show up as bad in the statistics like the kickoff did. Our kickoff return was ugly. So, that was one, two, three, and four in the practice schedule yesterday."

Sparks said that he still has faith and confidence in his defense because of the effort they exuded Thursday.

"They went through the Seals challenge," Sparks said. "They have been through a real intense summer program. They have poured themselves into what we've asked them to do. I just believe that they are going to continue to improve. I know one thing that hurts us, and there's really nothing we can do about, but we have a lot of people who didn't play that I wish were playing. But they may not play all year because of injuries- for various reasons."

The Eagles will look for better execution against a Shorter team that also has a game under its belt, albeit against the University of the Faith, a program that the NCAA has said will no longer be a countable opponent. Essentially, it renders the Hawks' 38-12 win over the Glory Eagles an exhibition win.

University of the Faith had given up 70 points to two opponents prior to facing Shorter. Sparks said as a result, the Hawks get things pretty vanilla and didn't show too many of the cards they hold.

"We don't know too much about this year's edition because they didn't get challenged too much in their first game," Sparks said. "Consequently, I don't know how much we saw of the real Shorter. They were very dominant in the first ball game."

The Hawks relied heavily on the fullback dive out of their triple option flexbone against Faith. B.J. McCoy and Aki Coles combined to rush for 218 of the team's 274 yards on the ground. McCoy finished with a game-high 125 yards, the most for Shorter since 2013, on 17 carries, while Coles added 93 more yards.

Defensively, the Hawks literally bring back everyone. All 22 members of the Shorter two-deep return from a year ago.

The star among that group is Jordan Shaw. Shaw was named to six All-American teams a year ago and landed on five preseason lists heading into this season. He led the team in tackles for the second straight year with 53 solo hits and 36 assists. He also led the team and the GSC with a team-record eight interceptions and ranked fifth nationally.

His top game came against Mars Hill last year when he intercepted three passes, one that was returned for a record-tying 100 yards for a touchdown. He made four tackles and recovered a fumble in the last meeting the Hawks had with Carson-Newman back in 2013.

"He's a bit like (former Catawba Indian and current San Francisco 49er LJ) McCrae probably in the fact that he's big and runs real well and then he's a lot like (former L-R Bear and SAC Defensive Player of the Year) Michael Green in a lot of ways because he has that sixth sense Green had of where the ball would be," Sparks said. "He seemed to always be at the right place at the right time it seemed like. If he was the player of the year in the Gulf South Conference then he must be pretty good because they've got some pretty good players in the Gulf South Conference."

The Hawks will be seeking to end a seven-game losing skid that capped off the 2014 season, when Shorter started the year winning three of their first four games. The Hawks' last regular season win came Oct. 2 last fall when they defeated Gulf South Conference foe Mississippi College 27-14.

The last time the teams got together in 2013, Carson-Newman forced six three and outs but also allowed four touchdowns that covered a combined 250 yards. Those four plays accounted for 64 percent of the Hawks' 392 yards of total offense that day.

The Eagles will once again turn the keys of their offense over to De'Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.). The record-book watch is still on for the Eagles' senior signalcaller. Thomas needs 23 yards on the ground to crack the 2,000-yard mark for his career. He also could vault four spots on C-N's rushing touchdowns list if he finds his way into the end zone three times. Thomas enters the game with 35 career rushing touchdowns, 38 would move him into fifth place on the list and past his former teammate Andy Hibbett.

Damian Baker (Columbus, Miss.) rushed for 174 yards and three scores to lead the Eagles on the ground in week one. He leads the nation in rushing touchdowns and is ninth in rushing yards.

Carson-Newman's game with Shorter will be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network. Coverage for the noon kickoff begins at 11 a.m. with the Appalachian Electric Cooperative Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online with a free high definition stream at cneagles.com/live.