Carson-Newman to take on Bentley Friday night
Sept. 10, 2008
JEFFERSON CITY - After a loss last week to No. 3 North Alabama, Carson-Newman head coach Ken Sparks knows the margin of error is razor-thin for his seventh-ranked Eagles the rest of 2008.
Carson-Newman lost only one game last season, yet was denied a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
"We are pretty much playing sudden death from here on out," Sparks said Tuesday, as his team prepared to depart for Massachusetts and this week's contest at Bentley College.
Carson-Newman (1-1) will take on the Falcons out of the Northeast-10 Conference Friday night. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. at Bentley Stadium.
"We had an opportunity to put ourselves in the driver's seat in the South Region (against UNA) and didn't get the job done," Sparks added. "We can't afford to have a letdown the rest of the season."
Bentley (1-1) also enters this contest fresh off a loss. The Falcons committed five turnovers last week in a 21-10 defeat to Division I (FCS) opponent Sacred Heart.
"I look at (Bentley) and they are the real deal," Sparks said. "They had a chance to beat a I-AA school even with the turnovers. They certainly aren't going to roll over and play dead for us."
The Falcons are led, offensively, by senior quarterback John White, who has completed 50-of-88 passes for 701 yards and four touchdowns this season. He has thrown for 5,648 yards in his career - a school record.
"Their quarterback is a good one," said Sparks. "He has a big receiver or two to throw to, and a big offensive line. They have some good players, there is no question."
Bentley went 7-3 a year ago, including 7-2 within the Northeast-10. The Falcons enjoyed their first-ever appearance in the Division II postseason in 2003, and made a return trip to the playoffs the following season.
This is the first time Carson-Newman and Bentley have ever met in football.
The Eagles are entering their third game of the season and have yet to play one on Saturday. Their season opener against Concord was on a Thursday, as was last week's showdown with North Alabama.
Sparks says that has made life hectic for his squad.
"You throw in a Labor Day weekend in on top of that crazy schedule and it's got kind of confusing at times," Sparks explained "We normally have a pretty heavy practice on Thursday, because we are finalizing the whole game play and polishing it," he said. "It's the last dress rehearsal."
"We won't even have one of those this week. We will be on a bus, or on a plane, or in an airport somewhere."
Sparks hopes that despite the inconveniences, his team will respond well from the UNA loss.
"I think our kids want to respond and want to get it done," he said. "We are not where we need to be, and I think at least now we realize it. "We couldn't ask for, in most situations, them to play much harder than we played (against UNA). But we could play a whole lot better."
