September 26, 2015

Baker runs wild, Eagles plaster Mars Hill 62-38

MARS HILL, N.C. – Carson-Newman (3-1 South Atlantic Conference) rolled up more than 500 yards of offense and Damian Baker (Columbus, Miss.) produced the 35th 200-yard rushing performance in Eagle history to guide Carson-Newman to a 62-38 barnstorming of Mars Hill (1-3, 0-1 SAC).

Carson-Newman

3-1

Mars Hill

1-3

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Carson-Newman (3-1)	14	14	20	14	62
Mars Hill (1-3)	3	14	7	14	38

VIDEO: Ken Sparks Interview

VIDEO: Jerry Miclisse Interview

VIDEO: Jason Williams Interview

VIDEO: Austin Lewis Interview

VIDEO: Damian Baker Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

MARS HILL, N.C. – Carson-Newman (3-1 South Atlantic Conference) rolled up more than 500 yards of offense and Damian Baker (Columbus, Miss.) produced the 35^th 200-yard rushing performance in Eagle history to guide Carson-Newman to a 62-38 barnstorming of Mars Hill (1-3, 0-1 SAC) Saturday afternoon at Ammon Field.

Baker rushed for 249 yards and four touchdowns, surpassing Vic Sloan's 29-carry, 248-yard performance against Lenoir-Rhyne in 1976 for the seventh-highest single-game rushing total in Carson-Newman football history. He found the end zone four times, becoming the eighth C-N player with a quartet of touchdowns in a single game since 2004.

"Damian all year has done that," Carson-Newman head coach Ken Sparks said. "He is tough. He runs hard, and it's pretty clear that he has some ability. We're so thankful that we have him on our team."

After slogging through the offensive doldrums for two consecutive weeks, the Eagles exploded offensively. The previous two weeks, C-N produced a mere three plays longer than 20 yards. This week, Carson-Newman produced five plays of 40 yards or longer.

Aside from Baker's offensive output, Montavious Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.) rushed 12 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns while Antonio Wimbush (Kingsland, Ga.) added 62 yards and a score on six carries.

De'Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.) completed 8-of-14 passes for 69 yards.

"Overall we executed as a team today," Sparks said. "We had pretty good blocking up front and we had great blocking out of our wideouts. We played 11-on-11 instead of 9-on-11. I thought it was the backs running hard and De'Andre had a phenomenal game running things as the quarterback."

Reserve quarterback Austin Brown rushed 17 times for 128 yards and a score for the Lions. He went 13-for-22 through the air for 156 yards and a touchdown and two picks. Keshaun Taylor, the conference's leading receiver, snagged 10 passes for 127 yards and a TD.

Mars Hill ran 100 plays and gained 536 yards of total offense. The most plays Carson-Newman has ever seen run against it, and the sixth most yards the Eagles have ever allowed.

"We've got to get to the point where we play well in all three phases of the game," Sparks It was sickening to give up that kickoff return after working so hard to put a touchdown on the board."

The Eagles got things rolling in a hurry. On the second play from scrimmage, Baker took a pitch around the right side of the line and rolled 64 yards along the sideline for a score.

Following a Dylan Barnas 34-yard field goal for the Lions, Carson-Newman cracked back with an eight-play, 71-yard drive capped off by a Thomas QB sneak. The score was the 36^th rushing touchdown of Thomas' career, moving him into a tie with Brandon Baker and Antwon Oliver on C-N's all-time rushing touchdowns list.

Jamel Harbison made it a four-point game again with a three-yard cutback run; however, that led to Carson-Newman going on a 21-7 run to open up a 35-17 early in the third quarter.

Wimbush and Baker reeled off 42 and 44-yard touchdown runs, while Taylor made it an 18-point game with 12:07 left in the third quarter on a three-yard rush.

Austin Brown hooked up with Keshaun Taylor on a school-yard scramble and a 38-yard pass that brought that Lions within 11, 35-24 with 9:07 left in the third.

Carson-Newman countered with three straight scores. Baker went to the house twice, the first of which as a 52-yard draw and the second a three-yard blast over the right guard to go ahead 48-24.

Mars Hill was driving to try to get the game back inside a 20-point margin with a second and goal at the one. Harbison bounced a counter out to the right side where Emmanuel Orange (Naples, Fla.) managed to get a hat on the football and punch it into the air. Jason Williams (Fayetteville, Ga.) plucked the ball mid-flight and raced 90 yards the other way for a score.

It marked Williams' second fumble recovery for a touchdown at Meares Stadium. Williams recovered a muffed punt snap for a one-yard score two years ago.

Mars Hill would not go quietly into the night, The Lions returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a score thanks to Shaikel Davis.

A Carson-Newman fumble set up a six-play, 37-yard drive for the Lions that saw Brown get into the end zone by flipping over David Crumitie (Monticello, Fla.) on a 15-yard ramble.

Taylor rounded out the scoring for C-N with a 29-yard rush following a Jerry Miclisse (Homestead, Fla.) interception.

"We scored a touchdown and forced three turnovers and could have gotten more," Sparks said. "We didn't have enough people around the ball at times, but still made big plays. We made it hard on the defense too because of how long they were on the field."

Miclisse led the Eagles with 13 tackles and his interception. Justin Long (Kingsport, Tenn.) finished the day with nine tackles and four for loss – the eighth highest single game tally. Temoris Coats (Greenwood, S.C.) also had nine stops and made an interception. Malik Miles (Norton, Va.) also finished with a career high nine tackles.

"We've got a lot of continuing improving to do," Sparks said. "I'm grateful for these kids and for their hearts, and for the Lord giving them a spirit of being wide open with their hearts, all of that is really encouraging."

Carson-Newman stays on the road Saturday for a road showdown at Lenoir-Rhyne. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 1 p.m. for a 2 p.m. kick on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.