JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -The Carson-Newman offense held onto the ball for the majority of the second half, while Newberry's offense had trouble with its second half execution, as the No. 7 Eagles defeated the No. 9 Indians, 49-19, here Saturday.
Newberry (4-1, 0-1 South Atlantic Conference) played well in the opening half, as they only trailed 21-19 at the break. But running back Alex Haynes was injured late in the second quarter, and his contributions were sorely missed in the second half. The senior finished the game with 93 yards on the ground and one score.
Carson-Newman (5-0, 1-0 SAC) used its vaunted veer attack to keep the Indians' offense off the field, chew up yardage and score four second half touchdowns.
The Eagles had set the tone for the game on the very first touch of the contest, as Reggie Hubbard returned the opening kickoff for a 94-yard touchdown.
Newberry took its opening possession 42 yards and scored on a Ryan Lukshis 34-yard field goal to bring the score to 7-3.
The Indians took the lead with a Haynes rushing touchdown to put Newberry up, 10-7, and a Lukshis 33-yard field goal gave Newberry a 13-7 advantage.
Carson-Newman regained the lead on a Ricky Harris 23-yard rushing touchdown and a 49-yard score through the air on a connection from Alex Good to Reggie Hubbard that was just out of the reach of Newberry cornerback Andre Moyd.
Newberry narrowed the deficit just before the half on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Gantt to Corey Seawell with one second before halftime. The two-point conversion failed, giving C-N the 21-19 halftime lead.
After Newberry's opening drive resulted in a punt, the Indians held Carson-Newman to a punt. But the tide of the game turned when Chris Jones' punt rolled out of bounds inside the 2-yard line.
Gantt fumbled the ball away inside the 1-yard line, and Carson-Newman converted the turnover into a touchdown.
From there on out, the Eagles' offense kept Newberry's offense off the field, and converted the possession into points consistently.
The Eagles rolled up 413 yards of total offense, while limiting Newberry to 270 yards total. Gantt was 11-of-23 for 117 yards and one touchdown through the air. Haynes led the rushing attack with 16 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Ricky Harris and Alex Good each recorded two touchdown carries for Carson-Newman, while Good also connected with Hubbard for one score through the air. The Eagles had three players with over 50 yards rushing and at least one touchdown.
The Indians stay on the road for another tough South Atlantic Conference test next week, as Newberry takes on Catawba College (5-0, 1-0 SAC). Kickoff on Saturday, October 6, is set for 7 p.m. at Shuford Stadium in Salisbury, N.C.
