GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Ivan Corbin passed for a career-high 378 yards and four touchdowns as the Tusculum Pioneers knocked off visiting UVA Wise 37-21 Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field in South Atlantic Conference football action.
The Pioneers (3-4, 2-3 SAC) churned out 539 yards offensively while the TU defense held the Cavaliers (3-4, 2-3 SAC) to 312 total yards including 17 rushing yards as the Black & Orange recorded four sacks on the day.
Corbin went 29-of-52 on the afternoon with his favorite target being Derrick Wright. Wright added career-bests with eight catches for 141 receiving yards including a 68-yard touchdown pass from Corbin to take a 20-14 lead just before halftime. TU teammate Justice Parham finished with five receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Tusculum recorded 11 tackles in the offensive backfield including three from Craig Watts and a pair of sacks from defensive end Nelson Louis.
Wise took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays as Jakoby Johnson capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown. Drew Cassidy's kick made it 7-0 at the 11:26 mark of the opening quarter. The Cavs recorded four first downs and converted two of them on third down. TU made a stop on fourth down and short yardage at the TU 22, but a face mask penalty on the Pioneers extended the possession for the visitors.
TU took its first possession of the game and got a 24-yard completion from Corbin to Parham to move into Wise territory. The Pioneers got inside the Cavs' five-yard line but a costly TU holding penalty forced a 40-yard field goal attempt which sailed wide right as the UVA Wise maintained the 7-0 lead.
The Tusculum defense forced the first of six 3-and-outs from the Cavs as the Pioneers took over at its own 41. TU would get to the Wise 22 before turning the ball over on downs after three straight incompletions.
On the first play of the second quarter, Redwine was intercepted by Jordan Taylor who returned the pick nine yards to the Wise 39. Corbin completed a 29-yard pass to Tyler Burke on third down and later found tight end Will Shellenback in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown. John Aiden Pittman's kick was no good as UVA Wise led 7-6 with 13:30 remaining until halftime.
Both teams would exchange punts including TU who was pinned deep in their territory and a shanked kick gave UVA Wise the ball at the Tusculum 27. Redwine completed a 21-yard strike to Keishoen Jarrett, followed by a six-yard TD run from Jaevon Gillespie as the Cavs extended their lead to 14-6 with 8:45 left in the second quarter.
Corbin went to the air as he found Wright on back-to-back passes covering 13 and 18 yards, followed by a 30-yard strike to Parham to the Wise 14. Corbin five consecutive passes on the drive including a 10 and two-yarder to Wright to move to the two. Corbin was dropped for a one-yard loss, but bounced back with a three-yard toss to Parham. Pittman's extra-point was good as TU trimmed the deficit to 14-13 with 5:51 left before halftime.
Wise answered with an 11-play drive which covered 58 yards, but stalled at the TU 17. Cassidy came on to kick a 34-yard field goal but his attempt hit the right upright as the Pioneers took over at the 26 with 1:37 remaining on the scoreboard.
Tusculum's possession was going the wrong way for the hosts as is Corbin was flagged for intentional grounding, setting up a second down and 27 yards to go. TU running back Cortney Jackson responded with a 21-yard rush and Corbin completed an eight-yard pass to Will Sweeper for the first down After an incompletion, Corbin hit Wright on a 68-yard bomb as he out-ran the defense and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds on the clock to take a 20-14 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Corbin was intercepted on his first two possessions of the third quarter, but the Cavaliers were unable to take advantage and would go three plays and out.
Corbin opened the third possession with a 28-yard pass to Jarvis Jones and later found Wright for a 17-yard completion to the Wise 11. Pittman would come on and drill a 31-yard field goal as the Pioneers extended the lead to 23-14 with 8:33 left in the frame.
Later in the third quarter, UVA Wise got back on the scoreboard a Redwine completed a 12-yard pass to Darrien Cassidy. The pass would cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive with the big play of the possession coming on a 23-yard completion from Redwine to JJ McNeill III. Cassidy's kick made it a 23-21 game with 49 seconds left in the quarter.
Tusculum would take the ball into Wise territory to open the fourth quarter but would turn the ball over on downs at the Wise 20. Neither team could generate much offensively on its next possessions.
The Pioneers took over at the Wise 41 and six plays later, including a defensive holding penalty on the Cavs and a key third down completion to Maurice Gomillion. Corbin would five Parham for a second time on the day with a four-yard TD pass as the Pioneers pushed their advantage out to 30-21 with 5:05 left in the game.
The visitors drove to the TU 19 following a 24-yard pass to Devin Heckstall. But Redwine was sacked by Xavier Clemmons and Redwine threw back-to-back incompletions. Cassidy came aboard to try to cut the deficit to a single possession, but his 43-yarder hit the right up-right again as TU took over with 1:21 remaining.
Tusculum worked to run the clock out as UVA Wise called a pair of timeouts. But on third down, TU back-up quarterback Tre Simmons sprinted up the middle 65-yards and was stopped at the Wise 4. From there, Jackson capped off the win with a touchdown to provide the final margin of victory.
Watts finished the game with a team-high eight tackles, while the trio of Raynell Killian, Jermaine Witherspoon and John Smith had seven stops apiece. Louis' two sacks gives him a conference leading seven on the season and 20 for his career, moving him into sole possession of second place all-time at Tusculum. He is four sacks shy of matching the all-time leader Tracy Branner who had 24 from 1997-2000.
UVA Wise's Patrick Taylor led the Caves with eight tackles, while Robert Carter made two stops and posted a pair of third quarter interceptions.
The Pioneers will host Barton College next Saturday for Homecoming with kickoff slated for 2 p.m. It will be the first meeting between TU and the Bulldogs, who will become associate football members in the SAC beginning in 2022.
