JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- Nate Inman rushed for 280 yards and two touchdowns as Carson-Newman held off arch-rival Tusculum in a 35-27 South Atlantic Conference win Saturday afternoon at Burke-Tarr Stadium.

Leading 35-27 with 11:46 remaining in the game, the Eagles (5-5, 3-3 SAC) utilized a 23-play, 85-yard possession in the fourth quarter that milked 11:11 off the clock, before turning the ball over on downs with only 35 seconds left at the TC one-yard line. Without a timeout, Tusculum's game-tying drive was halted 30 seconds later when Oliver Davis came up with an interception to end the game.

Carson-Newman accounted for all of its offensive production on the ground with 481 rushing yards, while attempting three passes on the afternoon. Tusculum (2-8, 1-5 SAC) finished with 351 yards offensively as both teams combined for 837 yards.

After the two offenses combined for 65 points and 643 yards in the first half, both defenses dominated in the final two quarters. C-N held Tusculum to 63 yards and forced four turnovers, while the Pioneers limited the Eagles to 131 yards in the seconds half and held Carson-Newman scoreless on its final eight possessions of the game.

Tusculum defensive end Terrence Smith recorded a career-high 17 tackles, including a sack. Ten of his stops came in the second half alone, while Nick Smith and Jason Muehling also added 11 tackles each, both career bests.

The Pioneers got on the scoreboard first early when Muehling forced a fumble, which was recovered by teammate Luke Harris at the C-N 21. The Pioneers drove to the C-N two-yard line and scored on fourth down on a two-yard run by Brian Marshall at the 8:40 mark of the first quarter. Freshman Logan Cornelius' kick made it 7-0.

The Eagles answered on its next possession when Inman sprinted up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

Tusculum answered on its next possession when Torrey Slaven connected with Rashaad Carter on a 44-yard completion to the C-N one-yard line. Slaven would take the quarterback keeper from there for his first collegiate touchdown to cap a six-play, 74-yard drive. Cornelius' extra-point sailed wide left for his first miss of his young career, ending a string of 28 in a row.

The C-N offense would rack up 28 points on its next four possession to take a 35-13 lead. Tyron Douglas scored on touchdown runs of three and 61 yards. Inman posted his second TD of the half on a 62-yard scamper, while Andy Hibbett added a seven-yard touchdown rush to cap the C-N spurt with 4:23 left before halftime.

Tusculum slowed down the C-N momentum on its next possession, taking advantage of a roughing the passer penalty and a 39-yard TD pass from Slaven to Carter with 3:08 remaining the half to trim the deficit to 35-20.

Carson-Newman would drive to the TC 24, but C-N quarterback Brandon Haywood was intercepted by Joe Nelson at the nine-yard line to keep the score at 35-20 at the intermission.

Tusculum would take advantage of another C-N miscue to start the second half. Haywood fumbled the ball at the Eagle 30, which was picked up by TC's Boomer Brown and returned 26 yards to the C-N 4. Marcus Foster would sweep to the left side of the line and into the end zone to cut the deficit to 35-27 at the 12:15 mark of the third quarter. But that would be the final points of the day by either team.
Tusculum's best scoring opportunity came midway through the third period as Carson-Newman was whistled for consecutive face mask penalties and back-to-back completions from Slaven to Mykelle Jones, covering two and 17 yards, moved the Pioneers to the C-N 20. A six-yard carry by Marshall got Tusculum to the 14-yard line, but Slaven fumbled the ensuing snap, which was recovered by C-N's DeShon Collins to thwart the drive.

Carson-Newman fumbled the football for the fourth time in the game on the final play of the quarter as Haywood's pitch to Hibbett was off target, but was recovered by the Eagles at their own 30-yard line.

Tusculum's final sustainable drive came in the early moments of the fourth quarter when Slaven completed a 17-yard strike to Carter to the C-N 43. But a false-start penalty and minus-two yard rush backed the Pioneers near midfield and would be forced to punt, giving the ball back to the Eagles with 11:46 left in the game.

Carson-Newman took over at its own 14-yard line and put together a methodical 23-play possession. The Eagles recorded seven first downs during the possession, including twice on third down, once on fourth down and another on a critical pass interference call against the Pioneers on third-down and 11 from the TC 24 with less than three minutes left in the game. Tusculum was forced to use all three of its timeouts after the penalty. On fourth and goal from the one-yard line, Hibbett was stopped just inches from the goal line as the Pioneers took over from there with 35 seconds left.

Slaven got out of the shadow of his own end zone with an eight yard pass to Carter, but was intercepted two plays later by Davis to end the game.

Slaven went 21-for-30 from 242 yards and a touchdown, while Marshall and Spradlin rushed for 59 and 42 yards, respectively. Slaven's three interceptions were the first of his career, ending a remarkable string of 201 consecutive pass attempts without a pick.

Carter's 143 yards was his 10th career game of 100 or more receiving yards and the second highest yardage tally of his Tusculum tenure. TC's top receiver, Deonte Gist, was limited to five catches for 42 yards in just one half of play due to a second quarter injury. He still managed 137 all-purpose yards, including 92 on kickoff returns, giving him 1,593 for his career, moving him ahead of Foster (1,520) for the all-time lead.

Gist and Carter still established a new NCAA Division II record on Saturday for the Pioneers. Gist (205) and Carter (199) have now combined for 404 career receptions between them, the most by two teammates from the same team in DII history, surpassing the previous record (399) held by Lock Haven's Jon Spinosa (218) and Bryan McGinty (181) from 1993-95.

C-N's Douglas finished with 96 yards on eight carries for a pair of touchdowns, while Haywood finished with 71 yards on 19 attempts.

Carson-Newman held the advantage of time of possession with 34:41 in the game, including 23:29 in the second half.

For Tusculum, Boomer Brown added 10 tackles, while Brian Alexander and Aaron Morgan finished with eight and seven stops, respectively. C-N's top tacklers were Larry Lumpkin and Davis with nine tackles apiece.

Tusculum will close out the regular season next Saturday when they host defending SAC Champion Wingate for a 1:30 p.m. contest. It will be Senior Day for Tusculum as 15 Pioneers will be playing in their final collegiate game.

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