GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Sons of Davy Crockett venture to the Commonwealth of Virginia when the Tusculum Pioneers take on the Emory & Henry Wasps at Fred Selfe Stadium this Saturday afternoon. The South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division clash is slated to kick off at 1 p.m.
Tusculum (4-3, 4-1 SAC) has won four of its last five games including a 35-7 dismantling of UVA Wise in last Saturday's Homecoming at Pioneer Field. Sophomore quarterback Matthew Palazzo passed for 314 yards for three touchdowns including two over 70 yards as TU remains tied atop the Mountain Division standings.
Emory & Henry (3-4, 1-4 SAC) lost its Homecoming contest as the Wasps dropped a hard fought 24-14 decision to Division co-leader Mars Hill. MHU accounted for 350 yards and held onto the football for almost 35 minutes. E&H was limited to 188 total yards including 48 rushing yards and surrendered five sacks to the Lions.
This will be Tusculum's first trip to E&H in 73 years with its last trip to the Emory, Va. campus coming in 1950.
The Pioneers begin a run of back-to-back road games while Emory & Henry is in a stretch where they will play four of its last five games of the 2023 schedule at home. E&H opened the season playing five of its first six on the road.
THE SERIES
Tusculum and Emory & Henry continue a football rivalry which dates back to 1915. This week will be the 18th meeting between the two schools in a series where the Wasps own a 13-4 lead including wins in eight of the last nine meetings.
The two teams last met in Emory, Virginia on Oct. 28, 1950 as the Wasps won 47-0.
The Pioneers would drop their sponsorship of football in 1951 before reinstating the sport in 1991.
TU and the Wasps meet as league opponents for the first time since they were members of the Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The series began on Oct. 25, 1915 as the Pioneers posted a 28-0 win over the Wasps in Greeneville. TU would win two of the first three meetings, before Emory & Henry ran off five straight wins from 1920-25.
Tusculum snapped that run in 1926 with a 14-3 win. The teams met again in 1927, and would not face off again in 1940 and 1941 before halting the series due to World War II.
The teams met again four more times from 1946-1950 before the series would take a 72-year hiatus before meeting last year in Greeneville as Tusculum posted a 35-9 Homecoming win over the Wasps in the first contest as South Atlantic Conference members.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Tusculum Pioneers are looking to keep the momentum on the side of the Black & Orange when they face a tough Emory & Henry club this week.
The Pioneers played its first three games on the road to open the 2023 campaign and got off to a disappointing 0-2 start with a 38-7 loss to future NCAA-FBS and Conference USA member Kennesaw State. TU followed with a 21-17 defeat at Virginia State, who is currently still one of 15 NCAA Division II programs who are undefeated. VSU enters this week ranked 20th in the country.
The Pioneers answered with a 23-21 signature win at Wingate and followed with a convincing 35-21 home win over Catawba. Tusculum rallied with 14 second half points against red-hot Barton, but a last second field goal sent the surging Bulldogs to a 17-14 win in Greeneville.
Tusculum bounced back with a 27-21 win at arch-rival Carson-Newman for the Pioneers' first victory in Jefferson City in 89 years. TU posted its second straight victory with its convincing 35-7 win over UVA Wise.
The Pioneers 4-2 Division II record has Tusculum in discussions for a possible NCAA II Playoff bid. But TU head coach Jerry Odom and the Pioneers know there is little room for error heading down the home stretch.
Similar to last season, the Tusculum defense continues to force turnovers and the Pioneers are amongst the national leaders in takeaways forcing a SAC-leading 16 turnovers, which are 14th-most in the nation. TU has recovered three fumbles and have recorded a SAC-leading 13 interceptions, which are the third-most in the country.
Tusculum is also averaging 3.57 sacks per game this season which is the fifth-best average in Division II and second in the league behind Wingate (4.00 spg).
Junior All-SAC linebacker Wesley Scott leads the team with his 6.0 tackles (8.6 tpg - 2nd in SAC / 24th in NCAA II). He is tied for the team-lead with nine tackles for loss (7th in SAC) including a team-high five sacks (4th in SAC). Two weeks ago, he earned SAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the win at Carson-Newman.
Including his two years at Keiser University, he has amassed 275 career tackles in his 38-game career including 156 stops as a Pioneer (18 games).
Junior linebacker Earnest Johnson III is sixth in the league with his 51 tackles including eight for loss and three sacks. He leads the team with his eight quarterback hurries including a career-high four at Carson-Newman. The Preseason All-Conference selection has made 131 tackles in his 31 career games including 24 for loss.
All-SAC defensive back Ryan Dolce leads the team with his 10 passes defended which are second in the conference and 18th in NCAA II. He posted a career-best six pass break-ups against Carson-Newman which are tied for the second-most in program history.
Dolce is third at TU with 49 tackles including a SAC-high 34 solo hits (37th in NCAA II). The University of New Haven transfer recorded a career-high 11 tackles against Barton and in his three collegiate seasons he has totaled 148 career tackles. Last week against UVA Wise, he recorded three tackles with an interception and a break-up.
Senior defensive back Jermaine Witherspoon is fourth on the squad with 33 tackles including nine passes defended (4th in SAC / 25th in NCAA II) with three interceptions (5th in SAC / 36th in NCAA II) and six break-ups. He has been credited with 156 tackles in his collegiate career while his nine interceptions are tied for fourth in TU history with Cameron Thomas (2013-16) and Jay Boyd (2016-18). His 23 career passes defended (9 INT, 14 PB) are ranked 10th in school history.
Dajavon White, a 2022 All-SAC first team selection on the defensive line, has made 32 tackles this year with a team-best nine behind the line of scrimmage (8th in SAC) with four sacks including one resulting in a safety at Wingate. He was named the SAC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at Wingate. He had three tackles for loss at Carson-Newman including his 15th career sack which are the eighth-most in school history.
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Gavin Rowell is sixth on the roster with his 31 tackles including a team-best nine for loss (8th in SAC). He tallied seven stops at Wingate including a sack for a safety. He followed with six tackles against Catawba including two for loss and a sack. Last week against UVA Wise, he was credited with five tackles including a sack.
All-SAC defensive lineman Joslyn Mira is seventh on the team with 27 total tackles including four for loss with three sacks and four QB hurries. Mira has recorded 84 career tackles in his 29 collegiate outings.
Senior cornerback Ty'Korian Brown had his run of posting an interception end at four straight games, matching the feat by TU All-American and NFL standout Ricardo Colclough during the 2003 season. Brown's four interceptions are first in the SAC and ninth nationally. Brown's 29 career passes defended are tied for the sixth-most in school history while his eight career interceptions are tied for seventh. Brown's eight passes defended this year are sixth in the SAC. In his 35 career outings, he has been credited with 99 total tackles.
The Tusculum offense matched a season-high with its 35-point outburst against UVA Wise. The Pioneers have generated over 400 yards offensively in three of its last four games including back-to-back 300 passing yard performances by redshirt sophomore quarterback Matthew Palazzo. Since earning his first collegiate start at Wingate last month, the Greeneville native has posted a solid 4-1 record under center.
Palazzo has accounted for SAC victories over Wingate, Catawba, Carson-Newman and UVA Wise. He has passed for 1,282 yards, averaging 256.4 yards per game in SAC contests (3rd in SAC). His 17.3 points responsible per game average leads the SAC and is 17th in NCAA II. He has passed for 11 touchdowns (3rd in SAC / 50th in NCAA II) including seven in his last two outings (4 vs Carson-Newman, 3 vs UVA Wise).
Palazzo threw for a career-best 370 yards going 26-for-39 with four touchdowns and two interceptions at Carson-Newman. He went just 14-of-27 last week against UVA Wise, including two picks by the Cavs, but he threw for 314 yards with three touchdowns and also ran for his team-leading sixth rushing score (3rd in SAC / 41st in NCAA II).
He is averaging 15.5 completions per game (3rd in SAC) and has a completion to 17 different receivers this year.
The top target in the Pioneer arsenal this season continues to be junior Tyler Burke. The All-SAC pick has made 33 catches (5th in SAC) for 507 yards (4th in SAC / 37th in NCAA II) and four touchdowns (5th in SAC). He established career highs with seven receptions for 151 receiving yards at Carson-Newman. He followed with five grabs for 115 yards and two more touchdowns, including a 70-yard TD catch.
The 2022 All-SAC honoree has played in 28 career games, recording 91 receptions for 1,290 yards (19th in TU history) with 12 touchdowns. For his career on special teams, he is averaging 26.5 yards per kickoff return and posted a school-record 100-yarder in his 2021 rookie campaign against Carson-Newman.
Senior Joe Robustelli is second on the team with his 16 grabs for 348 yards with a TU-high four touchdown receptions (5th in SAC). In this year's home opener, he made five catches for 88 yards and a touchdown against Catawba. He tallied five receptions for 89 yards including a pair of TDs. Last week against UVA Wise, he posted a season-best 114 yards including a 73-yard TD reception.
Running back Jalen Hunt has rushed for 282 yards on his 70 carries for a 4.0 average. He ran for a season-best 86 yards with a touchdown against Catawba. He's also made seven receptions for 21 yards including his two TD grabs against Carson-Newman.
Freshman Jojo Restall is second on the team with his 258 rushing yards on 43 attempts (6.0 ypc). He ran for season-best 79 yards on 13 carries against Catawba. He is coming off a 76-yard performance against UVA Wise including a 41-yard touchdown run.
Veteran tight end Will Shellenback has 35 games under his collegiate belt where he has made 29 receptions for 320 yards and four touchdowns. In 2023, he has posted seven catches for 77 yards.
Sophomore tight end Reginald Hunter has posted six receptions for 57 yards including a 39-yard performance at Wingate including his 25-yard reception to set up a short TD run for Tusculum's second touchdown.
Shorter University transfer Nicholas Pope has emerged as TU's starting punter and is averaging 39.7 yards per punt which is fifth in the league. His 14 punts inside the 20 are tied for first in the SAC while is 22 fair catches are the most in the conference. Pope played four seasons at Shorter where he did double-duty as placekicker and punter. In his SU career he totaled 122 points including 19 field goals and 68 extra points.
Two weeks ago at Carson-Newman, he averaged 44.2 yards per punt with two inside the 20 with a long of 52 yards. He also connected on all three of his extra point attempts. He followed with averaging 40 yards per punt including three inside the 20, earning him SAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Junior placekicker John Aiden Pittman has made 58-of-63 of his career extra points for a school-record .921 PAT percentage which is the fifth-best in program history. He scored five points at Virginia State including a career-long 35-yard field goal. He went a perfect 5-of-5 on his PAT tries last week against UVA Wise.
Junior Josh Curray is in his third season as Tusculum's long-snapper. He earned All-SAC Mountain Division recognition last year and earned a spot on the Academic All-District team.
FOLLOW THE GAME
If you can't make it to Saturday's game, fans can watch the action on-line at www.TusculumPioneers.com on the Pioneer Sports Network and FloSports.com, the official video stream provider of the South Atlantic Conference.
Cody Guinn and Joe Byrd will describe all the action with the radio pre-game show beginning at 12 p.m.
The radio call of the game will be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive.
