October 31, 2015

Sparks moves into tie for fifth on all-time wins list, Eagles decannonize Saints 69-28

GAFFNEY, S.C. – Carson-Newman jumped out to a 42-7 halftime lead and never looked back as head coach Ken Sparks moved into a tie for fifth on the all-time wins list with his 332nd career win – a 69-28 beatdown of second-year program Limestone.

Carson-Newman

7-2

Limestone

2-6

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Carson-Newman (7-2)	21	21	14	13	69
Limestone (2-6)	7	0	7	14	28

VIDEO: Ken Sparks Interview

VIDEO: Antonio Wimbush Interview

VIDEO: TraShaun Ward Interview

VIDEO: Brian Bembry Interview

VIDEO: Emmanuel Orange Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

GAFFNEY, S.C. – Carson-Newman jumped out to a 42-7 halftime lead and never looked back as head coach Ken Sparks moved into a tie for fifth on the all-time wins list with his 332^nd career win – a 69-28 beatdown of second-year program Limestone.

Sparks ties legendary Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres for fifth on the wins list.

"Larry Kehres is a quality football coach who's a good friend and someone I have a lot of respect for," Sparks said. "I can't carry his whistle because he won so many games so fast. It's a shame for my name to be even with his name.

"But we're still grateful for that and for the other people who deserve the credit for this. I haven't played a play. I've just line up with a good group of men for whom I'm very grateful."

Carson-Newman spread the ball around offensively, eight different players had at least 30 yards rushing and none with more than 85 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, six different players scored touchdowns on the ground. Carson-Newman hasn't had a game with eight players with more than 30 yards rushing this century. Seven players all crested 30 yards rushing in 2009 in a 77-7 rout of Brevard.

The Eagles generated 619 yards of total offense, including nearly 400 yards in the first half.

The Eagles offense operated efficiently and quickly in the first half. Carson-Newman scored on its first three possessions before fumbling away its fourth. However, that led to three more first half scores for the Eagles that saw C-N only punt once.

Carson-Newman got a short field to begin the game after a failed onside kick by the Saints, a missed play that would be a harbinger of doom for Limestone. The Eagles marched down the field in two plays. Damian Baker (Columbus, Miss.) plunged in to get the scoring started a 14-yard TD on a pitch around the right side of the line.

Limestone countered with a seven-play, 73-yard possession. Vyncent Smith scored on a 19-yard screen pass from Jonathan Clark.

"I didn't like our start defensively," Sparks said. "We were on a roller coaster early and we've got to grow out of that. Coach Clowney was preaching a bit after the first five minutes of the game and he shouldn't have to do that. It doesn't take but one of those miscues to get you beat. This was step number four since we lost, now we have to move on to step five."

Then Carson-Newman opened the flood gates. Defensively the Eagles forced a three-and-out before mounting an aerial assault on the next drive.

Back-to-back completions from De'Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.) to TraShaun Ward (Miami, Fla.) put the Eagles in front 14-7 on a 33-yard slant over the right hash marks.

Antonio Wimbush (Kingsland, Ga.) then found the end zone twice, once on a 32-yard pitch left and twice on a 35-yard trap right,

A Justin Long (Kingsport, Tenn.) interception of a screen pass set up a short field and a Jamal Jones (Chattanooga, Tenn.) seven-yard score.

The Eagles rounded out their second quarter scoring when reserve QB Noah Suber (Asheville, N.C.) fired a 29-yard missile to Ward along the right side of the end zone to set the first half margin at 42-7.

Carson-Newman let the good times roll in the second half. Emmanuel Orange (Naples, Fla.) intercepted a Clark pass with a leaping effort in the boundary left. Four plays later, the Eagles were in the end zone. Baker caught a screen pass along the numbers on the left side of the field, slipped out of the grasp of the Saints Chase Baker and dashed his way down the left sideline for his first receiving touchdown of the season.

A Limestone fake punt set Carson-Newman up with a short field two drives later; Suber capped the drive with a two-yard quarterback sneak.

That closed a string of 49 consecutive points for the Eagles. Marcus Williams (Apopka, Fla.) plunged into the end zone on a six-yard run and Jared Dillingham (Central, S.C.) scored in his home state on a one-yard run. Those scores helped the Eagles set the final margin at 69-28 in favor of C-N.

Wimbush led C-N on the ground with 82 yards on a mere six carries. Williams followed with 60 yards on nine carries and the score. Suber had 51 yards on 11 carries.

"Antonio is a quality football player," Sparks said. "And I enjoyed watching him. I also enjoyed Marcus, Ben Davenport and Dillingham at the end of the game. It was great to watch them complement each other. It's wonderful to coach a game where eight different people have 30 yards rushing. We played about 70 people today. So I'm thankful for that so they can grow a little bit too."

Carson-Newman transfer Daitwan Commodore led Limestone with 16 carries and 63 yards with a score.

De'Andre Thomas tallied 140 yards through the air on 7-for-8 passing. Suber was 3-for-7 for 99 yards a pair of TD tosses. The Saints rotated three quarterbacks. Jonathan Clark received the most time, completing 7-for-12 passes for 71 yards and a score. He also tossed two picks.

Ward produced his second 100-yard receiving performance of the season with 104 yards and two touchdowns on four catches.

Carson-Newman forced four turnovers – a season high – with Orange, Long and Jamar Johnson (Waycross, Ga.) interception and a fumble recovery from Malik Miles.

Brian Bembry (Palmetto, Fla.) lived in the Saints backfield. The freshman defensive tackle had 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack on the day. Brandon Staton (Barnell, S.C.) led C-N in tackles in his home state with eight stops.

Carson-Newman returns home Nov. 7 against North Greenville. The Crusaders and Eagles kick off at 1 p.m. with pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starting at noon on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.