September 1, 2023

Historic defensive performance keys Eagles to season-opening Dragon slaughter

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - While the offense made its share of plays and fresh-faced running backs shined, it was the defense that put forth an historic performance as Carson-Newman knocked off Virginia-Lynchburg 35-3 inside Burke-Tarr Stadium in its season opener Thursday night.

Virginia-Lynchburg

0-1

Carson-Newman

1-0

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Virginia-Lynchburg (0-1)	0	3	0	0	3
Carson-Newman (1-0)	7	7	14	7	35

VIDEO: Mike Clowney Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Jet Jones Interview

VIDEO: Jake Cottle Interview

VIDEO: Zane Whitson Interview

VIDEO: Cam Ferguson Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - While the offense made its share of plays and fresh-faced running backs shined, it was the defense that put forth an historic performance as Carson-Newman knocked off Virginia-Lynchburg 35-3 inside Burke-Tarr Stadium in its season opener Thursday night.

C-N's defensive unit surrendered a total of 75 yards to the Dragons (0-1), the third lowest total in school history. It's the fourth time in program history that the Eagles (1-0) have held a team to two yards or fewer per play as the Dragons managed just 1.9 per snap.

"I was proud of the way our defense played," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney said. "They played with really good energy. The good thing about our defense is that we have several guys coming back that are doing the same thing. So that is what you want to see, find a groove and be able to communicate with one another and eventually that turns into making stops and making plays."

The Eagles held VUL to just five first downs and all but seven of their offensive yards came from their only scoring drive, capped a 24-yard Jacob Davis field goal deep into the second quarter. Carson-Newman's defense picked off two passes and sacked Dragons quarterback CJ Brooks three times.

"I think coach (defensive coordinator Larry) Slade had a good plan, but it doesn't matter if you have a good plan if the kids don't execute it," Clowney said. "They did a great job of executing it. For the most part, we played sound assignment football and made tackles. We can continue to grow from there."

Jake Cottle led the C-N defense with five tackles, 1.5 sacks and two tackles for a loss. Jacory Long had half a sack and two tackles for a loss. Major Williams and Jeterryous Jones each picked off a pass.

"When guys run to the football, the mistakes don't show up as bad," Clowney said. "When we break this video down, we'll find them, but this will give us something good to coach from."

With preseason All-South Atlantic Conference running backs TJ King and Tyree Nelson sidelined with injuries, the Eagles had to count on a less experienced backfield and the young men delivered. Nine different backs carried the ball for Carson-Newman Thursday night, amassing 274 yards on the ground. C-N was led by freshman Cam Ferguson, who finished with 14 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. Senior Jayden Sullins, who last carried the ball for the Eagles in 2021, had seven rushes for 51 yards.

"Jayden was a guy that was ineligible last year and to see him get back on the field and working and seeing his transition is pleasing," Clowney said. "Cam is straight out of high school and you can see guys buying into him. He's been what we've been talking about all summer long. He's a Steady Eddie. He comes in, works as hard as he can every day. If you do that every single day, you'll see that production you want."

Last season's third-leading rusher Tyler Curtis did most of his work in the redzone, rushing seven times for 32 yards and two scores.

"Even before the season started, we knew we had to get a lot of production out of the running back room," Clowney said. "We challenged those guys not to be comfortable, but go out and work and compete. It was good to see the two new guys come in and compete."

After forcing the Dragons off the field with a quick three-and-out to open the game, the Eagles offense unleashed a 15-play, 61-yard, nearly eight minute scoring drive with a mix of runs and precision passing from sophomore quarterback Zane Whitson. A pass from Whitson to sophomore wideout Cade Meeks set C-N up at the five yard-line. Two players later, Curtis plunged into the paint for the score.

"With (offensive coordinator) Kevin (McKeethan) being new and our guys learning their jobs, I thought they did a good job of being methodical," Clowney said. "We're still figuring out who we are, who our kids are and which ones can step up and perform in different situations for us. Going through that experience and being consistent on both ends of the football, not being overly flashy, that's a good mark. I think as the kids find their groove and we can attack the ball a little bit better, hopefully we can convert that to more explosive plays."

VUL's punter never got to see the field on its next possession as Jeterryous Jones came down with a tipped ball interception to set the Eagles up at midfield. This time it was Sullins who did most of the work, reeling off runs of 11, five and 10 yards to move the ball to the Dragons' six yard-line. Curtis would tote it the rest of the way to open the second quarter and put C-N up 14-0.

Carson-Newman's defense remained stout, grabbing turf and forcing consecutive thee-and-outs, but the offense bogged down on Virginia-Lynchburg's side of the field in back-to-back drives. After a near disaster on a punt, where C-N punter Andrew Sybert had to escape pressure to barely get off a 24-yard kick, the Dragons enjoyed their only scoring drive of the day to get on the board, 14-3. A Whitson interception on the Eagles' ensuing drive would keep the score unchanged by halftime.

"That was the most disappointing part of the game to me," Clowney said. "We came out and we scored and then it was like we got bored with the game almost. That can't happen. My message at halftime was that we were too casual. We talk about where we want to go and what we want to be, but that's a standard you hold all the time, regardless of whether you're down by 14 or up by 14. You have to play the play that's in front of you."

That halftime message worked, as Carson-Newman opened the third quarter with Whitson leading a 12-play, 63-yard scoring drive that ate up more than five minutes of game time. It was Ferguson who got his number called mostly on the drive, picking up seven of his 14 carries on that single possession, including a six-yard run into the endzone to put the Eagles up 21-3.

Two drives later C-N struck again, this time with Tre Luttrell at quarterback hitting Meeks down the seam for a 43-yard touchdown strike to push the score to 28-3.

Whitson returned to the game in the fourth quarter to find Julius Cobbs for a 42-yard touchdown pass that finished the scoring and sent the Carson-Newman starters to the bench.

Whitson wrapped his first start for the Eagles 8-of-19 passing for 103 yards and a touchdown with a pick. He added 26 yards on the ground. C-N amassed 420 yards of total offense and was penalized just three times for 25 yards. As impressive as the opening week victory was, Clowney knows there's plenty of room for improvement.

"We need to dissect this video so we can see what we need to get cleaned up," Clowney said. "A lot of time in practice scenarios, it's hard to figure that out. Defensively, maybe three times this spring we tackled all the way to the ground. We'll be able to go back in and evaluate ourselves from an execution standpoint."

The Eagles will return to the field next Saturday, Sep. 9, when they travel to Johnson City to take on the FCS East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at William B. Greene Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 4:30 with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.