GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- It's happening a week earlier than scheduled, but the 2021 South Atlantic Conference spring football championship will be awarded this Saturday as the Tusculum Pioneers venture to Hickory to take on the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears at Moretz Stadium.
Tusculum was originally scheduled to host arch-rival Carson-Newman today, while Lenoir-Rhyne was to entertain their long-time nemesis Catawba this afternoon "Between the Bricks." Last week, both Carson-Newman and Catawba announced they were opting out of the remainder of their spring seasons.
With the cancelation of those games, coupled with the Pioneers clinching the SAC Mountain Division title last Saturday with a 49-17 win over Limestone and the Bears' 44-21 dismantling of Wingate to clinch the top-spot in the Piedmont Division, the SAC spring title game was moved up a week and will be played this week in Hickory.
The athletic administrations at Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne, along with league officials, mutually agreed to move the championship game up a week from its originally scheduled date of April 17.
Tusculum will be vying for its third SAC football title in program history (2003, 2008), while the Bears, a charter member of the the South Atlantic Conference, will be looking to claim its third straight league championship and 10th overall (1975, 1988, 1994, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019).
In last Saturday's home win over Limestone, TU quarterback Rogan Wells passed for a career-high 519 yards and accounted for six touchdowns as the Pioneers recorded their third straight victory. Wells, a transfer from Valdosta State, completed passes to 10 different receivers including TD passes of 38 and 56 yards to running back TJ Jones and a scoring toss each to Justice Parham, Tory Ponder and Derrick Wright. Wells also ran for a 13-yard touchdown to kick start a 28-0 run in the second half by the Pioneers.
Tusculum amassed 666 offensive yards against Limestone, while the TU defense limited the Saints to 221 yards (50 rushing, 171 passing).
Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a 30-0 first half lead including a 27-point second quarter as the Bears defeated Wingate 44-21 last Friday at Irwin Belk Stadium. L-R out-gained the Bulldogs 407-174 on the night and held Wingate to minus-43 yards on the ground thanks to five sacks. The Bears dominated time of possession (35:57-24:03) while the defense forced four turnovers and recovered a fumble in the end zone for the game's first touchdown.
Saturday will be a busy day on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus. Beside hosting the SAC Championship Game, this weekend is also Homecoming Weekend, Senior Day and L-R's Hall of Fame Game.
Tusculum will be looking to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Bears, a drought dating back to 2011. TU is also in search of its first win in Hickory since 2008. In fact, TU's two SAC championship seasons included road wins at Lenoir-Rhyne.
SERIES HISTORY
For the 24th time since 1924, Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne will square off on the collegiate gridiron. Lenoir-Rhyne owns a 13-10 edge in the series winning the last eight meetings and 10 of the last 11. Tusculum's last win over the Bears came at Pioneer Field as TU edged the Bears, 26-25 on Oct. 15, 2011.
Lenoir-Rhyne won the first meeting on Nov. 15, 1924 as the Bears blanked TC 6-0 at College Field in Hickory. The two teams wouldn't meet again until 74 years later at Pioneer Field as Tusculum posted its third straight win to open the 1998 season with a 20-5 home victory over the Bears.
L-R won the first South Atlantic Conference meeting in 1999 in Hickory when Ryan Wilson scored the game-winning TD with 4:09 left in the game in a 21-14 L-R win in Hickory. Tusculum got its first league win over the Bears the following season when D.J. Starling blocked a 41-yard Bryce Rieger field goal in the fourth quarter as the Pioneers held on for a 10-9 win in the first game at the newly renovated Pioneer Field (Sep. 30, 2000).
The Tusculum win sparked five straight victories over the Bears from 2000-2004 and a stretch where the Pioneers went 8-1 over Lenoir-Rhyne in a 9-year span.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
After opening the season with a disappointing 21-6 loss at Newberry to get the unique 2021 spring campaign started, the Tusculum Pioneers have been clicking ever since heading into this weekend's South Atlantic Conference championship game at Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Pioneers are averaging 51.3 points per game during its current three-game winning streak, while the TU defense is allowing a SAC-best 16.3 ppg this spring, including 14.7 ppg in its last three contests.
Since that Newberry loss, Tusculum has bounced back with road wins over Mars Hill (58-20) and Erskine (47-7) and last week's home victory over Limestone (49-17).
In their last three games, Tusculum is also averaging 617 yards per game of total offense, while the defense is
Valdosta State transfer Rogan Wells will get the start at quarterback once again for the Pioneers. Wells leads the SAC in passing, averaging 298.3 yards per game while throwing for seven touchdowns (1st in SAC) against one interception. He has also rushed for 21.3 yards per game with a TD.
Wells, a 6-4, 230-pound graduate student from Fort Mill, South Carolina, has a 31-4 career record in his 35 career starts at quarterback. While at Valdosta, he led the Blazers to a pair of Gulf South Conference titles (2018 & 2019) and perfect 14-0 undefeated season and the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship.
During the 2018 national title run, Wells led the Valdosta to a 61-21 rout over Lenoir-Rhyne in the Super Region 2 final. Wells went 19-of-27 for 209 passing yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 46 yards on seven carries including a 24-yard TD run with 21 seconds remaining in the first half to send VSU to the locker room with a commanding 34-7 lead.
Another connection for Wells and this week's SAC title game is that new Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Mike Jacobs, was the head coach at Notre Dame College (Ohio) for four seasons including 2018 when Wells and Valdosta State faced off against Jacobs' Falcons team in the NCAA II National Semifinal. VSU edged Notre Dame 30-24 to advance to the NCAA championship game.
Wells was named GSC Offensive Player on two occasions (2018 & 2019) and was a two-time national finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy.
Wells has accounted for 10,523 total offensive yards in his career. Entering this week's action, Wells has amassed 2,025 rushing yards and 8,544 passing yards in his 38 career contests. He has accounted for 110 career touchdowns including 81 passing, 27 rushing and two receiving.
Wells leads the SAC this spring in passing yards (353.5 ypg), TD passes (12), pass efficiency (173.1) and total offense (375.2).
Junior running back TJ Jones has emerged as TU's scoring leader as well as its catalyst in the ground attack for the Pioneers. He has scored a team-best eight touchdowns this year including three apiece in against Mars Hill and Erskine while hauling in two TD receptions against Limestone.
Jones, a transfer from the Georgia Military College, is averaging or 67.5 per game (3rd in SAC) and his five rushing scores are tied for the league lead. He has eight total TDs are the most in the conference.
Jones is averaging 127 all-purpose yards per game which is third in the league. Last week, he totaled 232 all-purpose yards including 81 rushing on 15 carries and seven receptions for a team-best 151 yards and two scores.
Junior Maurice Gomillion is averaging 4.0 yards per carry this year with three touchdowns. In his 21 career outings, he has rushed for 653 yards on 149 carries and four TDs. He was also credited with a TD reception during his freshman campaign in 2018.
All-South Atlantic Conference receiver Tory Ponder led the Pioneers in 2019 with 35 receptions for 571 yards and six touchdowns. This spring, Ponder has made 11 grabs for 218 yards including last week's six-catch, 140-yard performance. He is also TU's punt returner averaging a SAC-best 8.9 yards per return.
Justice Parham, a transfer from Valdosta, leads the Pioneers with his 250 receiving yards on 14 catches, averaging 62.5 yards per game (7th in SAC). Parham is also tied for the spring lead with three TD catches.
Tyler Ajiero, who was named the SAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance at Erskine, is fourth on the roster with 189 receiving yards on 11 receptions. His two TD grabs both came in the Erskine game.
Senior linebacker Jackson Cauthen leads the Pioneers this spring with his 27 tackles including five for loss and a sack. He posted a season-best 11 stops last week against Limestone, earning him SAC Defensive Player of the Week laurels.
Cauthen will be playing in his 24th and final game of his career as he will be graduating with honors next month and is a nursing major. He eclipsed a personal milestone last weekend as he posted his 100th career tackle at Tusculum.
Two-time All-SAC linebacker Ivan Hogans is second on the roster with his 21 tackles including a team-high 12 solo hits. He has made five tackles behind the line of scrimmage including two sacks. He has recorded at least two tackles in each of this 35 career outings, where he has totaled 251 for his career (11th in TU history). He has also amassed 37 career tackles for loss (8th in TU history) for the 2018 All-Region selection.
Defensive lineman Logan Cowart is third on the team with his 17 tackles including a team-best six for loss and two sacks with two QB hurries.
Sophomore free safety John Smith has also made 17 tackles with two for loss and a fumble recovery.
Raynell Killian, a transfer rover back from Valdosta State, played two seasons with the Blazers where he appeared in 24 games and finished his VSU career with 52 tackles, including 34 solo hits and five pass break-ups. He is fourth on the team with his nine tackles including one for loss. In his four games at TU, he has tallied 13 tackles including two for loss and a team-high three pass break-ups.
Defensive end Nelson Louis, the 2018 SAC Defensive Freshman of the Year is tied for the team-lead with six tackles for loss including a TU-leading three sacks.
Junior punter Andrew Cantrell is averaging 38.1 yards per punt which is fifth in the league. He has recorded three punts over 50 yards and has pinned the opposition inside the 20-yard line a SAC-best seven times.
Sophomore Eli Shepherd led Tusculum in scoring in 2019 with his 49 points which are tied for the 10th in school history. He has gone 45-of-48 in his career on extra points and 8-of-13 in field goals. He was a perfect 8-of-8 at Mars Hill and went 7-of-7 last week vs Limestone.
FOLLOW THE GAME
Coverage of all the action of Tusculum University football is on the Pioneer Sports Network. Fans can listen locally on WSMG Radio at 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, and on-line at jewel955.com. The "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton, along with Joe Byrd, describe all the action. PSN coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday with the Pioneer Pregame Show followed by kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
Live video and live stats links for all Tusculum football are available at www.TusculumPioneers.com.
