GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum Pioneers (4-1, 2-1 SAC) and the Carson-Newman Eagles (2-3, 1-2 SAC) will open South Atlantic Conference divisional play this Saturday afternoon when the two East Tennessee rivals meet at Pioneer Field. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
It will be the 51st meeting between the Pioneers and Eagles in a series which has been dominated by Carson-Newman, but the Pioneers have won the last three meetings in Greeneville, including the last two encounters.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS GAME
Tusculum has designated Saturday's home football game with Carson-Newman as "Breast Cancer Awareness" Day.
The Pioneers encourage fans of Tusculum and Carson-Newman to wear pink to Saturday's game in recognition of October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
There will be a Breast Cancer survivor recognition during the game along with other activities remembering those who have passed away fighting this disease.
PREVIEW THIS WEEK'S GAME
Tusculum overcame a 360-mile trip and a shortened game week in last Thursday's 14-13 win at Barton. TU rallied from a 13-point deficit and overcame a pair of potential game-winning field goals by the Bulldogs in the final two minutes to remaining undefeated on the road this year (3-0).
Carson-Newman also overcame a double-digit deficit with last Saturday's 24-14 upset win over No. 7 and defending SAC Champion Newberry. The Eagles trailed 14-0, but scored the final 24 points of the game and limited the Wolves to 17 yards in the second half to record the program's 650th victory.
TU opened the season with a pair of wins against CIAA programs including a 70-13 home win over St. Augustine's followed by a 23-21 come-from-behind victory at Chowan. TU would return home against Wingate, but three turnovers and 12 sacks doomed the Pioneers to a 27-10 loss. The Pioneers bounced back with back-to-back road wins at Catawba (50-13) and Barton (14-13) to wrap up pre-divisional play.
Carson-Newman has faced the 12th toughest schedule in the nation through its first five games including three outings against national-ranked programs. The Eagles were subdued 38-7 in the season-opener with No. 12 West Georgia, before returning home to post a 27-6 win over Franklin Pierce. C-N suffered a 40-37 double overtime heartbreaker to Limestone in the SAC opener at Burke-Tarr Stadium before dropping a 34-13 decision at No. 18 Lenoir-Rhyne.
But a new season begins today as Divisional play will be contested over the next five weeks as TU and C-N will face off in a critical Mountain Division battle.
The top team from the Mountain and Piedmont Divisions will square off in the SAC Championship Game on Nov. 12 at the site of the Piedmont Divisional winner.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Tusculum is off to its best start to a season in 12 years as the Pioneers are 4-1 overall and 2-1 in SAC play.
The Tusculum defense is listed amongst the leaders in the South Atlantic Conference in several statistical categories including first in the country with three defensive touchdowns and 25th nationally with 11 turnovers gained including six over the last two weeks. The Pioneers are also tops in the conference with eight interceptions (10th in NCAA II).
TU is second in the SAC in total defense where the Pioneers are allowing 258 yards per game (14th in NCAA II). TU is also second in first down defense (98) and turnover margin (+2 - 42nd in NCAA II). The Pioneers are eighth in pass defense (134 ypg - 3rd in SAC), 15th in the country in team tackles for loss (8.8 tpg) and 36th in scoring defense (18.2 ppg - 4th in SAC).
Through the first five games, linebacker Wesley Scott has emerged as TU's top tackler with 38 tackles including a season-best 14 last week and Barton. He has eight tackles for loss with one sack and is tied for the team lead with four quarterback hurries. The Keiser University transfer earned All-Conference honors with the Seahawks in 2021 where he led the team with 90 tackles and helped his KU to the NAIA quarterfinal.
Junior defensive back Jermaine Witherspoon is second this season with 30 total tackles including 11 last week at Barton. He has a pair of passes defended including his fifth career interception last month at Chowan.
New Haven transfer Ryan Dolce is third with his 28 tackles including three for loss and a sack. The graduate student has shined at the nickel position where he has amassed two pass break-ups and two QB hurries. In the win at Catawba, he posted six tackles including a forced fumble and returned an interception for a 72-yard touchdown (5th longest in TU history).
Last year at New Haven, Dolce played in 12 games while earning Northeast 10 All-Conference honors and helped New Haven to a league title and berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Preseason All-SAC defensive lineman Dajavon White has been building on last year's solid rookie campaign. He leads the team this year with nine tackles for loss (5th in SAC / 22nd in NCAA II) and four sacks (8th in SAC). His 19 total tackles are tied for fourth on the team.
Trejen Fox-Birdwell has been a force on the defensive front for the Pioneers this year. He has 19 tackles including seven behind the line of scrimmage, three sacks and is tied for the team-lead with four QB hurries. He also lettered on the TU baseball team as a pitcher last spring.
Sophomore linebacker Earnest Johnson is sixth on the squad with his 17 stops including four for loss, one sack, two quarterback hurries and forced a fumble.
Jamichael Wilson has earned the start at nose guard for Tusculum in the first five games of 2022 where he has totaled 15 tackles including five behind the line of scrimmage, including two sacks.
On offense, Tusculum is ranked second in the SAC in scoring offense (33.4 ppg - 31st in NCAA II), total offense (386.2 ypg) and fourth down conversion percentage (62% - 26th in NCAA II). TU is second in the conference passing offense (222.4 ypg) and sixth in rushing offense (163.8 ypg).
Sophomore quarterback Tre Simmons is orchestrating the Tusculum attack as he leads the SAC in total offense (243.8 ypg - 38th in NCAA II), touchdown passes (9 - 28th in NCAA II) and points responsible for (60 - 47th in NCAA II). He is second in the league in passing yards per game (214.6 ypg - 46th in NCAA II) and is fourth in passing efficiency (126.0).
Two weeks ago against Catawba, he rushed for a career-high 122 yards on 11 carries including a 44-yard touchdown. He went 16-of-28 through the air for 156 yards and a touchdown.
He has passed for SAC-best 1,073 yards this season with a completion rate of 54.4 percent with six interceptions. In his 14-game collegiate career, he has passed for 1,849 yards and 17 touchdowns against six interceptions.
Simmons best outing of his young career came in last year's meeting with Carson-Newman as he went 22-of-35 for 362 yards and three touchdowns. he also rushed for 32 yards including a TD against the Eagles.
Fifteen different players have recorded a catch this season for the Pioneers led by All-SAC choice Justice Parham. Parham has made 15 receptions for 224 yards and three touchdowns (4th in SAC). In his TU career, he has made 84 catches for 1,385 yards (14th in TU history), which includes 15 touchdown receptions (T7th in TU history).
Sophomore Tyler Ajiero is second for the Pioneers this year with 14 catches for 198 yards and a touchdown.
Tulsa transfer Kemani Brown is third on the roster with 10 receptions for 139 yards and tied for the team-lead with three touchdowns, which are third-most in the conference.
Sophomore Tyler Burke appeared in 10 games including a pair of starts in his 2021 rookie season. He finished with 20 receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He also posted a school-record 100-yard kickoff return in the season-finale win over Carson-Newman. He averaged 30.4 yards on his 10 returns which is the second-highest average in program history. In 2022, he has made nine catches for 167 yards and a TD.
Sophomore Lanadrick Bradley has accounted for seven receptions for 76 yards.
Mydreon Vines is a seasoned veteran with 34 games of NCAA Division I experience including three seasons at East Carolina and last year at NCAA-FCS Western Carolina. This season, he has made four grabs for 51 yards and a touchdown for the Pioneers
The team's top two running backs from a year ago are back led by graduate student Maurice Gomillion. In his 37 career games, he has rushed for 1,176 yards (12th in TU history) on 286 carries (10th in TU history) and nine touchdowns. He has also made 47 receptions for 476 yards and three TD grabs. This season, he has rushed for 160 yards on 39 attempts (4.1 ypc) including 57 yards at Catawba.
Senior Cortney Jackson earned All-SAC second team honors in 2021 in the TU backfield. This season, he has carried the ball 41 times for a team-best 234 yards and two TDs. He rushed for 79 yards at Catawba including a 67-yard touchdown run.
Marist College transfer Mekhai Johnson has been a welcomed addition to the TU backfield. He is second on the roster in rushing for 221 yards on 30 attempts with a team-best four touchdowns (4th in SAC / 48th in NCAA II). He rushed for a team-high 78 yards on eight carries last week including a touchdown.
Johnson was a standout in his 33-game career at Marist where he was an All-Conference performer, especially on the return team where he was a three-time NCAA FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week.
The Tusculum offensive line lost three starters from a year ago but returns the anchor of the trenches in All-SAC first team choice Tommy Mahoney. He has been a consistent performer in his 21 consecutive starts at center for the Pioneers and is an early candidate for the SAC's Jacob's Blocking Trophy.
Junior Ben Shellenback also returns for the Pioneers after playing in all 11 games last year including eight starts at tackle and earning Preseason All-SAC second team accolades. He missed the season-opener against St. Augustine's but returned to the lineup and earned starts in the last four games.
The veteran duo of Bryce Moore and Will Shellenback are manning the tight end position in 2022. Moore made the transition from quarterback in 2021 as he played in eight games with one start. He finished the year with seven catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Shellenback has been Tusculum's starter at tight end for the past two seasons. He finished last year with eight receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns. This season, he has made five grabs for 27 yards including a TD reception against Wingate.
Veteran punter Andrew Cantrell has been manning TU's special teams for the past four-plus seasons. Including the four seasons his older brother Hunter spent at TU, there has been a Cantrell punting for the Pioneers in the last nine gridiron campaigns. Andrew has punted in 42 games and is third all-time with 212 punts for 8,204 yards. His 38.7 career punting average is 7th in the TU record book while his 69 punts inside the opponents' 20-yardline are tied for the second-most by a Pioneer and just two from breaking the record held by his brother (70).
Andrew Cantrell is having a banner season so far in 2022 where he is fifth in the SAC in punting averaging 41.4 yards per punt which is also 33rd in the country. He is tied second in the league with his 11 punts inside the 20 yard-line including a career-best five at Chowan.
Andrew has also shined off the field where he is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and is a national nominee this year for the prestigious AFCA Good Works Team.
Cumberland University transfer and sophomore kicker Juan Villasenor has emerged as TU's starting kicker. He leads the team in scoring with 31 points (8th in SAC) including a career-high 14 at Catawba. He went 3-of-4 on field goals and was perfect 5-of-5 on his extra point tries to earn SAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He connected on a 23-yard field goal in the third quarter which proved to be the game-winner in TU's 23-21 win at Chowan. He has gone 16-of-17 on his extra point tries including a perfect 6-of-6 against St. Augustine's in his TU debut. He is also 5-of-7 on field goals which has him second in the SAC in field goal percentage (.714 - 42nd in NCAA II) and his 1.00 field goals per game average is also second in the league (35th in NCAA II).
Sophomore John Aiden Pittman handled the kicking duties for the Pioneers in the last half of the 2021 season and finished the year going 27-of-30 on extra points and 2-of-5 on field goals. He finished fourth on the team in scoring with his 33 points. He has handled the kickoff duties this year where he has posted three touchbacks and has been perfect on his four extra point tries.
THE SERIES
The Tusculum/Carson-Newman football rivalry began in 1904, making it the second oldest collegiate gridiron series in the State of Tennessee (The Tennessee/Vanderbilt rivalry is the oldest as the Volunteers and Commodores first met in 1896). C-N has dominated the all-time series and leads 35-13-2.
Carson-Newman won the first two meetings in 1904 and 1913, before Tusculum reeled off six consecutive wins from 1914-1920. On Oct. 11, 1919, the Pioneers scored a program-record 103 points in a 103-0 shutout of the Eagles.
C-N would go 6-0-2 in the next eight meetings before Tusculum ended the drought with a 3-0 win over the Eagles in Jefferson City en route to capturing the Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference football title, the Pioneers' first league crown in program history.
Carson-Newman would run off a string of 13 consecutive wins including 10 straight from 1935-1950 and then three in a row from 1998-2000 when the Pioneers became South Atlantic Conference members. Eight of those C-N wins during the streak were by shutout.
Tusculum ended the losing streak with a thrilling 37-36 win over Carson-Newman on Oct. 13, 2001 in the Eagles' first-ever trip to Pioneer Field. Aaron Claridy scored go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds left. C-N answered 21 seconds later when Shane Kelley hit Alvin Sanders with an 18-yard TD pass to pull the Eagles to within one. Carson-Newman went for the two-point conversion and the victory, but Antwon Oliver was stopped shy of the goal-line by Michael Anderson to preserve the TU victory.
Two years later, Tusculum would post a 27-18 triumph over Carson-Newman as the Pioneers captured its second conference championship and its first in the SAC.
The Eagles would win the next four meetings, before Tusculum would get back in the win column. On Nov. 8, 2008 in the regular-season finale, the Pioneers jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first half and led 38-24 midway through the third quarter. C-N quarterback Alex Good rallied the troops with TD runs of one and 80 yards to tie the game in the fourth quarter. With 4:24 left in the game and C-N driving Jeremy Thompson scooped up a fumble went 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Good completed a 43-yard TD pass to Otis Miller with 1:49 on the clock. But the game-tying extra point was blocked by TU's Brandon Kelley as the Pioneers won 45-44. The win secured a three-way tie for the SAC Championship and earned TU its first NCAA Division II Playoff appearance.
The Eagles won the next seven meetings including a 49-48 victory in the 2010 season-finale which arguably is considered the most exciting game in the history of the rivalry. In a game which featured 10 lead changes including with 5:50 remaining when LiRonta Archie put the Pioneers back in front 48-41 with his 26-yard fumble return for a touchdown. C-N responded with a 14-play, 77-yard drive as Tyron Douglas scored on one-yard TD with 35 seconds remaining. After a C-N timeout, the Eagles elected to go for the lead and Doug Belk's successful two-point run gave the visitors a one-point lead (49-48). With only one timeout remaining the Pioneer moved into C-N territory and with six seconds left, All-American kicker Gareth Rowlands set up for a 53-yard field goal try. His kick was plenty long enough but hit the left upright on the game's final play.
The 2016 game was another thriller as Tusculum scored the first 20 points of the game only to see Carson-Newman rally and tie the game at 23-23 in the fourth quarter with nine minutes left in regulation as the contest would go into overtime, a first in the history of the rivalry. Carson-Newman scored on its first possession and kicked the extra point to go up 30-23. After two incomplete passes on its first two plays of its possession, Luke Lancaster completed a 20-yard strike to Rodnell Cruell for the first down. Tony Belle would run it in for a three-yard touchdown. TU head Jerry Odom, who was in his first season with the Pioneers, elected to go for two and the win. Lancaster rolled out to his right and completed a pass in the flat to Jordon Shippy who would dive and extend the ball over the goal line for the game-winner (31-30).
Carson-Newman would win the next two in Jefferson City to extend its streak to 16 in a row in home wins over the Pioneers. TU would post a 41-28 win in the 2018 meeting at Pioneer Field.
The Pioneers have won three in a row over C-N at Pioneer Field including last year's 48-13 win over the Eagles.
TICKETS
Fans may purchase tickets on-line through HomeTown Ticketing on the Tusculum Athletic web site at: www.TusculumPioneers.com/information/tickets.
All ticket purchases (on-line and in-person) are CREDIT CARD ONLY. Cash WILL NOT be accepted at the gate. Gates open this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Admission for Tusculum home football games is $15 for all entrants. Admission is $10 for adults 65 and older and for children ages 6-12. Children 5 and under will be admitted free. Tusculum students will be admitted free and valid Tusculum ID is required.
Spectators using HomeTown Ticketing can choose to print tickets at home or use mobile entry tickets at the gate. All attendees are currently required to wear face masks while inside Pioneer Arena.
PARKING
Parking for Tusculum football games is FREE and on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Tusculum fans are asked to utilize the main stadium parking lot behind Pioneer Field and Pioneer Park as well as other available parking lots on campus.
VISITING FANS are asked to utilize the South parking lot by the Indoor Practice Facility. Visiting fans will have easier access to the South Entrance and the visiting grandstand area.
Fans are asked to utilize the clearly marked spots in the parking lot. Parking is not permitted at curbside or in grass areas.
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.
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.
The "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton and Joe Byrd will describe all the action for both the radio and video broadcasts. Stayton is in his 26th season as the broadcast voice of Tusculum University Athletics.
