GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Carson-Newman football team scored 42 unanswered points en route to a 56-14 win over arch-rival Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
With the victory, the 21st ranked Eagles (9-1, 7-1 SAC) secure their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division title and punch their ticket for next week's SAC Championship Game. C-N will face the NCAA Super Region II top-ranked team and the Piedmont Division champs, the Wingate Bulldogs next Saturday in Wingate, North Carolina.
Carson-Newman's win snaps a three-game losing streak to Tusculum and records its first win in Greeneville since Oct. 18, 2014.
Jayden Sullins rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while the Carson-Newman defense forced three Tusculum turnovers returning two of them for scores. All three miscues resulted in 21 points for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman rushed for 330 yards on the afternoon and completed one pass in four attempts. Tusculum finished the game with 274 yards including 159 rushing and 115 passing.
The Pioneers were penalized a season-high 10 times for 147 yards, while the Eagles was flagged eight times for 89 yards. The 147 penalty yards are the fourth-most in program history and the most in the series which had its 53rd recording meeting in the second oldest gridiron rivalry in the State of Tennessee.
TU got on the scoreboard late in the first quarter as TU went 58 yards in 13 plays culminating on a three-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Matthew Palazzo. Senior John Aiden Pittman's kick was good as Tusculum led 7-0 at the 3:05 mark of the quarter.
Carson-Newman took advantage if a 31-yard return and a face mask call on the play as the Eagles took over at the 50. Another face mask call set up the visitors at the TU 12. On third down and nine, quarterback Justin Johnson completed his only pass of the day as he found Jeremiah Carroll as he was stopped at the one yard-line to set up first and goal on the final play of the quarter. Johnson plunged up the middle on the first play of the second quarter for the touchdown. Bennett Smith's kick was good to tie the game at 7-7.
Palazzo would be intercepted on Tusculum's next two possessions to set up back-to-back touchdowns for the Eagles. Jim Olarinde returned the first pick 17 yards for a touchdown. Two plays later, Kendall Williams would come up with the interception and returned it 29 yards to the TU 3. Sullins would score his first TD of the afternoon on a three-yard run as the Eagles led 21-7 with 10:00 remaining in the half.
Tusculum looked to have some momentum as senior AJ Hill took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 48 yards to the C-N 49. But the drive would stall there and senior punter Stefaan Forbes hit a 40-yarder to pin the Eagles at the C-N 7.
Sullins added his second score of the quarter when he rambled up the middle for a 51-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 28-7 with 3:19 left in the period as that would be the score at halftime.
C-N made it 35-7 as Sullins ran to the left side for a 42-yard gain to the TU 20. Five plays later, Cade Meeks scored on a 15-yard TD run to push the lead out to four touchdowns
The Pioneers would go for it on fourth down on its next two possessions, but would be turned away each time.
Carson-Newman capped off its 42-0 run with Tyler Curtis' 29-yard rush to the end zone on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Tusculum broke the scoring drought early in the final stanza as senior Jalen Hunt scored on a four-yard touchdown to make it a 42-14 contest.
C-N was quick to respond on Keithan Washington's 58-yard touchdown run with 8:17 remaining.
Tusculum got deep into Carson-Newman territory but on fourth down, C-N defensive lineman Sherman Turner recovered a fumble and returned it 82 yards for the touchdown to cap the scoring.
The Eagles converted five of its eight third down tries (63%) while TU went 3-of-14 on third down (21%) and 2-of-5 (40%) on fourth down. Tusculum held onto the football for 38:42 which are ranked third in program history.
Palazzo finished the game going 13-of-25 for 101 yards, while Richard Hunter was 2-of-3 for 14 yards. Palazzo was also TU's leading runner with 31 rushing yards.
Forbes ended the contest averaging 48.8 yards on his four punts including two inside the 20.
C-N's Mekhi Brown led all players with eight tackles including one for loss. TU senior linebacker Earnest Johnson III accounted for six stops including one for loss. Senior Terrick Ponds added five stops, while Daryl Smith was credited with four hits including one behind the line of scrimmage.
Saturday's game was Senior Day at Pioneer Field as Tusculum honored its 26 seniors in pregame ceremonies. It was also Tusculum's Homecoming Game
Tusculum will wrap up the 2024 season next Saturday as they travel to Catawba for a 6 p.m. contest in Salisbury, North Carolina. The Pioneers have already played at Shuford Stadium as TU faced off against Lenoir-Rhyne in Salisbury on Sep. 29.
