GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- A trip to the South Atlantic Conference Championship Game is on the line when the Sons of Davy Crockett make the short trip over Sam's Gap to take on long-time rival Mars Hill at Meares Stadium this Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
The SAC Mountain Division crown will be decided as the Pioneers and Lions square off for a 39th time.
Both teams enter this week red-hot as Tusculum (8-1, 6-1 SAC) has won its last six in a row for the longest active winning streak in the conference. Meanwhile, Mars Hill (6-2, 6-1 SAC) has posted four straight wins (3rd longest in SAC).
The SAC Piedmont Division title also comes down to a winner-take-all contest as No. 22 Newberry travels to No. 20 Wingate this week.
The Pioneers scored 35 unanswered points in last week's 49-14 rout over Erskine on TU's Senior Day. Tre Simmons accounted for four touchdowns, while Ryan Dolce posted a pair of interceptions in the victory.
The gutted out a tough 20-16 road win last week at UVA Wise. Jervon Newton rushed for a season-high 151 yards including a 26-yard touchdown. Landon Honeycutt had season-best 13 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and a sack.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Tusculum will be vying for the program's second SAC Mountain Division title in the last three seasons when they take on the Mars Hill Lions.
Besides a trip to the SAC Championship Game being on the line, the Pioneers are looking its resume for a potential NCAA Division II Playoff berth. TU is ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Super Region 2 Poll and are one of three SAC teams listed including No. 3 Wingate and No. 9 Limestone. With no automatic berth and the top-seven teams advancing to the playoffs, the Pioneers know they control their destiny.
The Pioneers are riding a six-game winning streak for the first time in 19 years and could tie the school single-season mark for wins in a season (9 - 2003 & 2008) as well as the longest winning streak in program history (7 in 2003).
It has been a balanced approach for the Pioneers this season with a vaulted offense to go along with one of the top defenses in the country.
The Pioneers lead the nation with 18 interceptions as well as team passing efficiency defense (80.95). TU is second in the country with 24 caused turnovers and its +8 turnover margin is best in the SAC and 12th in NCAA II.
Coach Jerry Odom's hard-hitting defense has been turning turnovers into offense with the Pioneers converting those 24 turnovers into 73 points including four defensive touchdowns (1st in SAC / 4th in NCAA II). TU has forced at least one turnover in eight of its nine games this season with the only turnover-less outing coming in a loss to Wingate (Sep. 17).
Defensively, Tusculum is also ranked 10th in the country in scoring defense (14.3 ppg - 2nd in SAC), 12th in total defense (263.4 ypg - 2nd in SAC), 12th in pass defense (148.0 ypg - 3rd in SAC), 21st in first down defense (137 - 3rd in SAC), 22nd in red zone defense (.684 - 2nd in SAC), 39th in 3rd down defense (.336 - 3rd in SAC) and 40th in rushing defense (115.4 ypg - 3rd in SAC).
Last week, the Pioneers limited Erskine to 202 total yards for the game, including 22 yards in a scoreless second half for the Flying Fleet.
Leading the way on defense has been linebacker Wesley Scott. Scott TU's top tackler with 74 tackles, averaging 8.2 per game (2nd in SAC), including 10.3 tpg over the last four games. He has a team-best 11 tackles for loss with one sack and is tied for the team-lead with six quarterback hurries.
He posted a team-best nine tackles two weeks ago vs Emory & Henry and returned an interception for a 35-yard touchdown. For his efforts, he was named the SAC Defensive Player of the Week.
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.
New Haven transfer Ryan Dolce is second on the roster with his 43 tackles including four for loss and a sack. He is tied for the team-lead with three interceptions including two last week against Erskine. He has four pass break-ups to his credit to go along with and three QB hurries. In TU's 50-17 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).
In 2021 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.
Junior Jermaine Witherspoon is third this season with 38 total tackles including 11 stops in a 14-13 win at Barton. He has a pair of passes defended including his fifth career interception at Chowan. He was injured during the Carson-Newman contest and has missed his last three games.
Sophomore linebacker Earnest Johnson is fourth in stops with 37 tackles including eight for loss, one sack, three quarterback hurries and forced two fumbles (5th in SAC) with a recovery. Johnson recorded career highs last week with seven tackles and three TFL vs Erskine.
Junior defensive back Trey Trawick has moved into fifth on the team with 31 tackles including five for loss and leads TU with six pass break-ups. He is averaging 6.3 tackles in his last three games including eight hits each against UVA Wise and Emory & Henry.
Preseason All-SAC defensive lineman Dajavon White has made 28 tackles with 10 tackles for loss (10th in SAC) and a team-best five sacks. He also has four QB hurries and has recorded a blocked kick.
Senior Trejen Fox-Birdwell has been a force on the defensive front for the Pioneers in 2022. He has 27 tackles including eight behind the line of scrimmage, three sacks and five QB hurries. He also lettered on the TU baseball team as a pitcher last spring.
Jamichael Wilson has earned the start at nose guard for Tusculum in every game this season where he has totaled 25 tackles including eight behind the line of scrimmage and two sacks.
Senior John Smith has been credited with 25 tackles too including one for loss with an interception and a pass break-up. He joined the century tackle club with his three stops against Emory & Henry.
Joslyn Mira had the game of his life at UVA Wise earlier this year where he posted a career-high eight tackles including three for loss with a sack. He also had a QB hurry and blocked a field goal with 58 seconds remaining to preserve a 10-9 win. Mira is tied for the team-lead with his six QB hurries to go along with 23 tackles including seven for loss and two sacks.
Ten (10) different Pioneers have recorded an interception this season led by Dolce and the Robinson Twins (Andrae & Adrian) who have three picks apiece (4th in SAC / 46th in NCAA II). Andrae Robinson has 22 tackles including 20 solo hits. Against Catawba, Andrae returned his pick for a school-record 97-yard touchdown. He also has two break-ups and a fumble recovery. Adrian Robinson has made 16 tackles on the year with one for loss, one pass break-up and forced a fumble.
The Robinsons have established a rare feat on two occasions this season with two siblings each recording an interception in the same game. The duo did it at Catawba and followed with repeating the feat at UVA Wise.
Tusculum defensive back Ty'Korian Brown and 2021 All-SAC standout Jordan Taylor eachhave two interceptions each.
On offense, Tusculum is listed amongst the SAC leaders including scoring offense (32.8 ppg - 2nd in SAC / 38th in NCAA II), total offense (405.4 ypg - 2nd in SAC / 47th in NCAA II), passing offense (226.9 ypg - 2nd in SAC), rushing offense (178.6 ypg - 6th in SAC / 44th in NCAA II), first down offense (182 - 2nd in SAC) and fourth down offense (63% - 2nd in SAC / 24th in NCAA II).
Sophomore quarterback Tre Simmons is orchestrating the Tusculum attack as he continues to lead the SAC in total offense (245.6 ypg - 37th in NCAA II). He is also first in the SAC in touchdown passes (17 - 24th in NCAA II), total passing yards (1,933 - 33rd in NCAA II), passing yards per game (214.8 ypg - 41st in NCAA II), points responsible for (120 - 34th in NCAA II), points responsible for per game (13.3 ppg - 40th in NCAA II) and completions per game (16.44 cpg - 45th in NCAA II).
He passed for a season-high 307 yards and three touchdowns against Emory & Henry two weeks ago and has completed a TD toss in eight of his nine starts this year, including three last week against Erskine. He also hauled in a 20-yard TD pass from Kemani Brown against the Fleet.
He rushed for a career-high 122 yards at Catawba earlier this year on 11 carries including a 44-yard touchdown run. He recorded 279 total offensive yards and accounted for three touchdowns with zero turnovers in a 34-6 win over Carson-Newman. He ran for 89 yards including a career-long 71-yarder for a TD which is tied for the 10th longest run from scrimmage in school history.
In his 18-game collegiate career, Simmons has passed for 2,709 yards (8th in TU history) and 25 touchdowns (6th in TU history) against 11 interceptions (T9th in TU history). His 3,114 total offensive yards are the seventh-most by a Pioneer.
Eighteen (18) different players have recorded a catch this season with eight of them having recorded at least 100 receiving yards.
Sophomore Tyler Burke leads the Pioneers with his 25 catches for 389 yards (15.6 ypc) and five touchdowns (T1st in SAC). Last week, he hauled in four receptions for 64 yards including a 52-yard touchdown. Seven of his 25 grabs have been for over 20 yards this season.
Senior and All-SAC honoree Justice Parham has made 20 receptions for 301 yards and three touchdowns. In his TU career, he has made 89 catches for 1,462 yards (13th in TU history), which includes 15 touchdown receptions (T7th in TU history).
Sophomore Tyler Ajiero is third on the TU team with 17 receptions and is third with his 253 receiving yards and a touchdown. He has not played the last two weeks, but could return to the line-up this week at Mars Hill.
Tulsa transfer Kemani Brown is fourth on the roster with 15 receptions for 195 yards and is second with three touchdowns. He has made a catch in seven of his nine outings including a season-best four receptions for 89 yards and two TDs in his TU debut vs St. Augustine's.
Sophomore Lanadrick Bradley has accounted for 13 receptions for 184 yards including a 49-yard TD catch last week against Erskine. It was his second collegiate TD and first in a Pioneer uniform since transferring from Shorter University.
Mydreon Vines is a seasoned veteran with 43 collegiate games under his belt including 34 at the NCAA Division I level which includes three seasons at NCAA-FBS East Carolina and last year at NCAA-FCS Western Carolina. This season, he has made nine grabs for 168 yards and three touchdowns including last week's 35-yarder vs Erskine.
In the offensive backfield, Marist College transfer Mekhai Johnson has emerged as TU's top all-purpose runner. He has totaled 771 all-purpose yards this year (85.7 ypg - 10th in SAC) including a season-best 156 yards vs Emory & Henry. He rushed for 78 yards on eight carries including a five-yard touchdown. He also hauled in a 78-yard TD reception for the 14th longest catch in school history. Last week against Erskine, he tallied 147 all-purpose yards (81 rushing, 20 receiving, 46 kick returns).
Johnson has 495 rushing yards (6th in SAC) including a team-high six TD carries (6th in SAC). In his last six games, he has run for 444 yards and four touchdowns during that span. His seven total touchdowns have him first on the team in scoring (42 pts).
He has rushed for 1,358 yards in his collegiate career including 33 games 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.
Graduate student Maurice Gomillion has ran for 1,387 yards (8th in TU history) in his career on 320 carries (10th in TU history) and nine touchdowns. He has also made 53 receptions for 508 yards and three TDs. This season, he has rushed for 371 yards on 73 attempts (5.1 ypc).
Sophomore Cortney Jackson earned All-SAC second team honors in 2021 in the TU backfield. This season, he has carried the ball 58 times for 358 yards and five TDs (T5th in SAC). He rushed for 79 yards at Catawba including a 67-yard touchdown run. He has missed the last two games due to injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Jackson has rushed for 915 yards in his 18-game career at Tusculum which includes 12 touchdown carries. He needs 85 rushing yards to become the 14th player in program history with 1,000 for his career.
The Tusculum offensive line has battled injuries for most of the season but the anchor of the trenches has been All-SAC first team choice Tommy Mahoney. He has been a consistent performer in his 25 consecutive starts at center for the Pioneers and is a candidate for the SAC's Jacob's Blocking Trophy.
Junior Ben Shellenback played in 11 games last year and was a Preseason All-SAC second team pick in 2022. He has played in all but one game this year with seven starts.
Senior Taylor Williams earned a start in the season's first three games but was injured against Wingate. He returned to the TU line-up last week after a five-week absence.
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 and has started in eight of TU's nine games this year. He has made 11 receptions for 115 yards while recording a catch in each of his last five games.
Shellenback has played eight of nine games this year where he has eight grabs for 32 yards and a touchdown. In his TU career, he has played in 26 games while totaling 202 receiving yards on 21 receptions including three touchdowns.
Andrew Cantrell has been TU's starting punter for the past five 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 already broken one of his brother's career records and is closing in on two more. He has punted in 46 games and is second all-time with 236 punt attempts and 9,206 punting yards. His 39.01 career punting average is seventh in the TU record book while his 77 punts inside the opponents' 20-yardline are a new school record, breaking the record held by his brother (70). He is six punt attempts and 299 punting yards away from owning TU career marks on both categories.
He is having a banner season in 2022 where he is fourth in the SAC in punting averaging 41.6 yards per punt which is also 18th in the country.
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.
Sophomore John Aiden Pittman has been handling the kickoff duties on special teams and took over on extra points two weeks ago vs Emory & Henry. He has made all 15 of his extra-point tries this year.
Cumberland University transfer and sophomore kicker Juan Villasenor was TU's starting placekicker for a majority of the season before the Emory & Henry game. He is second on the team in scoring with 40 points 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 22-of-24 on his extra point tries including a perfect 6-of-6 against St. Augustine's in his TU debut. He is also 6-of-12 on field goals.
The trio of Tyler Burke, Mekhai Johnson and Marquel Pittman lethal to opposing special teams during their career. Add freshman sensation Eddie Watson on punt returns, Tusculum has one of most productive return units in the land. All of them have posted a TD return during their respective careers.
Burke has returned 14 kickoffs in his career for an average of 25.2 yards per return including a school-record 100-yarder for a touchdown last season against Carson-Newman.
Johnson, who was one of the top return men in NCAA-FCS while at Marist, has continued that trend with Tusculum, averaging 29.4 yards on his five returns this season. At Marist, he averaged 23.8 yards on his 75 kickoff returns including two TD returns over 90 yards.
Pittman, who is also an All-Region and All-SAC standout on the TU track & field team. posted a 96-yard kickoff return (5th longest in TU history) for touchdown last week vs Erskine. He is averaging 49.7 yards per return this year.
Watson made an impression in his collegiate debut with St. Augustine's which included a 61-yard punt return for a touchdown. He has returned 28 punts for an average of 9.9 yards per return (3rd in SAC / 21st in NCAA II).
THE SERIES
The 39th renewal of the Tusculum/Mars Hill football series will be held this week as the Pioneers travel to their cross-mountain rival for a third season in a row. Tusculum leads the series 22-13-2.
Since 2000, the Pioneers have won 15 of the last 22 meetings with the Lions. MHU captured a thrilling 23-20 overtime win in the 2012 meeting. In 2010, the Lions outlasted TU in a shootout, 45-39. Prior to that, TU rattled off seven consecutive wins in the series, including three times at Mars Hill.
Tusculum won seven of the first eight games in the series that started in 1922. The Lions posted eight consecutive victories from 1936 to 1999 (Teams did not meet on the gridiron from 1939-1993).
From 2000-2009, Tusculum went 9-1 against the Lions, including a stretch of seven in a row from 2003-2009. MHU won three straight from 2010-2012.
Twenty (20) of the 38 previous meetings have been decided by seven points or less.
TICKETS (THROUGH MARS HILL ATHLETICS)
Tickets for Saturday's road game at Mars Hill may be purchased on-line through the MHU web site at: https://marshilllions.com/athletics/Ticketing. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for students with a valid ID. Only cash sales are allowed at the gate, but fans paying on-line may do so with a Credit or Debit Card through HomeTown Ticketing when they arrive at the stadium.
For further information on ticketing and MHU's bag policy: https://marshilllions.com/athletics/tickets.
FOLLOW THE GAME
If you can't make it to Saturday's game, fans can watch the action on-line at www.TusculumPioneers.com and FloSports.com, the official video stream provider of the South Atlantic Conference.
The Tusculum radio call of the game with Brian Stayton and Joe Byrd will be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at: www.TusculumPioneers.com.
