September 13, 2025

No. 23 C-N rallies, but falls in OT heartbreaker at Mars Hill

MARS HILL, N.C. — For a moment it seemed as if last year’s EKG Eagles had made a return to Meares Stadium, but a fourth-and-goal pass intended for Jeremiah Carroll was broken up in the end zone to preserve a 31-24 Mars Hill overtime victory over No. 23-ranked Carson-Newman in their South Atlantic Conference opener Saturday.

#23 Carson-Newman

1-1

Mars Hill

1-1

Final	1	2	3	4	OT	T
#23 Carson-Newman (1-1)	0	0	10	14	0	24
Mars Hill (1-1)	7	14	3	0	7	31

VIDEO: Ashley Ingram Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Teddy Gleaton Interview

VIDEO: Champ Baker Interview

MARS HILL, N.C. — For a moment it seemed as if last year's EKG Eagles had made a return to Meares Stadium, but a fourth-and-goal pass intended for Jeremiah Carroll was broken up in the end zone to preserve a 31-24 Mars Hill overtime victory over No. 23-ranked Carson-Newman in their South Atlantic Conference opener Saturday.

Carson-Newman trailed 21-0 at halftime, and by 14 at the start of the fourth quarter before rallying to force the OT session.

"I was very proud of the way we fought," Eagles head coach Ashley Ingram said. "I was very proud of the way we competed, but I told them (the team) everything about that football game is on me. You can't come out here and go down 21-0. You can't make the mistakes that we made, throwing punches. Two 15-yard penalties at the end of the game. I haven't put them in tough enough situations to make those kind of plays count. Everything is on me."

It was just the second ever road overtime loss for the Eagles (1-1, 0-1 SAC) and the first to Mars Hill (2-0, 1-0). C-N is now 8-5 in overtime games. Their last overtime road loss was a 27-21 loss to Newberry on Sep. 27, 2008. Coming into Saturday, Carson-Newman had won four of its last five overtime contests, including three straight.

C-N got out of the blocks slow, gaining just two first downs in the opening quarter while falling behind 7-0 in the first 15 minutes of action. Mars Hill scored on its first drive, with J.R. Martin finding Charlie Guinade for a 20-yard touchdown strike.

The Lions stretched their lead to 14-0 in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run from Jon Gullette. On their next possession, J.R. Martin found Edward Louis, Jr. open down the left sideline for a 30-yard touchdown. Mars Hill led 21-0 and Carson-Newman's offense had yet to pass midfield.

In their final possession of the first half, the Eagles' offense finally got moving, with quarterback Tedros Gleaton, orchestrating a drive that got the team down to the Mars Hill six yard-line. On a fourth-and-goal, C-N chose to go for it and Carroll was dropped for a 12-yard loss that kept the team scoreless at the half.

"We were down 21-0 and I thought we kind of needed a spark," Ingram said. "If you go back and watch that play, it should have bene a walk into the end zone and we lose yardage on it. A lot of things we've got to do better."

C-N's defense clamped down on Mars Hill in the second half, stopping a drive at midfield to open the third quarter as Mekhi Brown forced Martin into an intentional grounding penalty that kept the Eagles' sack steak alive. Carson-Newman has now picked up at least one sack in 25 consecutive games. Brown is now 13^th all time on the C-N sack list, surpassing Robbie Tebow.

Woth some momentum on their side, the Eagles didn't waste the opportunity. Don Bradley picked up 19 yards on a rush before Gleaton kept the ball himself on three straight downs to push the spot down to the Mars Hill 25. The drive stalled there, but Bennett Smith was able to convert a 35-yard field goal to get C-N on the board, 21-3.

Carson-Newman's defense again held the Lions again, forcing a turnover on downs at their own 47. It took just two plays for the Eagles to make it a whole new ballgame as Gleaton found Carroll streaking down the seam for a 53-yard touchdown pass.

"We 've got to come out and play better, start faster," Gleaton said. "We need to go in there, watch film and clean up our mistakes and play harder next week. We fought back in the second half. The defense didn't let them score and the offense drove down the field. We've got to start faster, but the positive is that we did fight and didn't give up."

Mars Hill was able to extend their lead before the third quarter ended with a 21-yard field goal from Diego Loredo but still led by just two scores.

With plenty of time left, C-N took their next possession methodically down the field, with Gleaton and Jaden Sullins trading rushing attempts. Jaden Griffen took the final handoff right for a two-yard touchdown run to pull within a touchdown, 24-17.

"You've got to score once and it doesn't matter how you get there," Ingram said. "We needed a touchdown and to get a stop and our defense gave us an opportunity to do that. I appreciate the guys battling. We made some plays down the stretch and we can be good, but I told them that it's so hard to win college football games. It's so hard to win on the road. It's hard to win against a fifth or sixth year quarterback of that caliber and we made too many mistakes to win the game."

After a Mars Hill three-and-out, C-N tied the game on a 10-play drive that took more than five minutes off the clock. Gleaton took it to the house himself on a four-yard carry to knot up the score 24-24.

Gleaton would finish the game with 21 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown to go with 5-of-8 passing for 91 yards and a score. The sophomore transfer quarterback from Navy recorded the 383^rd 100-plus yard rushing game for the Eagles and was the first QB to eclipse the mark since Ivan Corbin's 111-yard effort against No. 7 Newberry on Oct. 1, 2022.

With 2:56 on the clock, the Lions still had plenty of time to win the game in regulation. Mars Hill got the ball down to the C-N five yard-line with the chance to end the game with a field goal, but Martin made his one mistake in the game, tossing an interception to Carson-Newman's Richemard Mellien who returned it 30 yards to send the game to overtime.

"We were in the right position," C-N cornerback Champ Baker said. "We just have to executive, follow through and trust the coaches' plays. We'll do better next time. We're a team that likes to fight. We're not going to give up. We're never going to quit and I think that helped us shut them down in the second half. …We grew closer. We grew a stronger bond and we're going to be ready next week. It makes us hungry."

Baker led the Eagles with 7 tackles and a pass breakup. Brown and Mellien finished with six tackles apiece. Mellian added two tackles for a loss and a pass breakup. Brown recorded the lone sack for C-N.

Mars Hill got the ball into the end zone on their only overtime possession with Martin making up for his error by tossing a perfect fade pass to Javonte Sherman in the right corner of the end zone.

The Eagles pushed the ball down to the 11 with their chance in the extra period, but the final pass fell incomplete to end the game. In spite of fighting back from a 21-0 deficit and trailing by 14 in the fourth quarter, a total C-N has never overcome in school history, Carson-Newman fell just short.

"It's valuable (the learning experience) for me too because I didn't have our team ready to play," Ingram said. "I think all of it's valuable. I'd rather have been on the other side of it and learn those lessons. We've played here the last two years and been down a combined 38-0. It's not wining football. It's not good enough. Not good enough by me. We've got to get it better."

The Eagles return to SAC action next Saturday, Sep 20, when they host Lenoir-Rhyne at Burke-Tarr Stadium at 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagles Sports Radio Network begins at noon with the AEC Countdown to kickoff on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to Flo Sports at cneagles.com/FloFB.