Eagles get on second half horse, roll past Trojans
October 18, 2025

Eagles get on second half horse, roll past Trojans

ANDERSON, S.C. — Carson-Newman knocked the rust off after a slow start to score four times in their final six possessions and dominate South Atlantic Conference rival Anderson, 28-6, Saturday at Spero Financial Field.

VIDEO: Ashley Ingram Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Jerron Blakely Interview

VIDEO: Garrett Rice Interview

VIDEO: Jeremiah Carroll Interview

VIDEO: Martavis Mason Interview

ANDERSON, S.C. — Carson-Newman knocked the rust off after a slow start to score four times in their final six possessions and dominate South Atlantic Conference rival Anderson, 28-6, Saturday at Spero Financial Field.

The Trojans (5-3, 3-3 SAC) boasted the best defense in the SAC heading into Saturday's matchup with C-N (4-2, 3-2). Anderson had held opponents to 243 yards and 16 points per game over their previous seven contests. Saturday, the Eagles piled up 378 total yards and put the ball in the end zone four times. It was the second most points and second most yards Anderson has surrendered to an opponent this year.

It wasn't a perfect game for Carson-Newman. The team missed a field goal and lost a fumble inside the five early before putting the hammer down. Still, head coach Ashley Ingram felt it was a key step forward for his young squad.

"I told our team, we've been here almost two seasons now, this is probably the best football game we've played," Ingram said. "If you take away three or four plays that we did poorly, a couple of penalties early on, a fumble on the one yard-line, if you took those things away, you're talking about playing a really good football game against a good football team. These guys were feeling it. They just beat L-R (Lenoir-Rhyne). Had a big win over (UVA) Wise the week before. To come on the road after a long time on the road, this is a good win."

While the offense took a quarter to get on track, the defense held strong from the opening whistle. Thanks to some deft scrambling by quarterback Tyler Wesley, the Trojans got on the board to open the second quarter with a 15-yard QB keeper, but Carson-Newman's Jimi Olarinde shot through the protection on the extra point, blocking the kick and sending the ball careening backward. Anderson led 6-0 but would not put another point on the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

The Eagles held Anderson to just 111 total yards in the second half, sacked Wesley four times and hurried him on 15 occasions, the most for a C-N team in 14 years. Carson-Newman's sack per game streak has now stretched to 29 contests and 37 of their last 38. Their four sacks Saturday were a season high.

"We started off slow, but we picked it up in the second half," C-N edge rusher Martavis Mason said. "All props to our linebackers. They were shooting the gaps, good edges, and inside guys getting pressure on the pass. We executed and got the job done. …We started with some bad rush lanes, but we had to come to the sideline and watch what we were doing wrong."

Cruz Temple led Carson-Newman with nine tackles, with one for a loss. Mason had seven tackles and a tackle for a loss. Jerron Blakely finished with five tackles and an interception. Terry Lemon, Richemard Mellien and Storm Livesay all recorded a sack. Olarinde had two tackles, a sack, a tackle for a loss and a blocked extra point. Carson-Newman's four sacks was the most the Trojans have given up in a single game this season.

Anderson running back Bryson James was the reigning NCAA Division II player of the week after running for 212 yards against Lenoir-Rhyne seven days ago. The Eagles held James to just 46 yards Saturday.

"They were moving the ball early and our defense got physical and shut them down for the last three quarters of the game," Ingram said. "Our defense is relentless. Coach (Tyler) Almond had them dialed up."

C-N put its first points on the board and took the lead for good right before halftime. Quarterback Tedros Gleaton led a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nick Hester. The extra point from Bennett Smith gave the Eagles a 7-6 lead heading into the locker room and they never gave it up.

Carson-Newman struck paydirt on its second possession of the third quarter. Gleaton opened the drive with a quick five-yard pass to Jeremiah Carroll, then fired a nine-yard pass to Keithan Washington. From there, it was all on the ground as the team pushed the ball down to the four yard-line. Kayden McCoy would take in the rest of the way for the four-yard TD run.

Eagles QB Zane Whitson opened the fourth quarter by finding Galen Washington in the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown pass to take a 15-point lead. Whitson put the final touchdown on the board himself with a punishing 27-yard run up the middle of the Anderson defense.

Whitson finished the game 4-of-7 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown and led all rushers with 14 carries for 77 yards and a score. Gleaton was 6-of-8 passing for 66 yards and a TD and rushed eight times for 58 yards. In all, 15 players touched the ball for C-N and McCoy, Washington and Hester all scored a touchdown on their first rush or reception of the season.

"We've got a lot of young guys that are really, really good football players," Ingram said. "We've just not been getting them reps. It's hard to play that many people. Last year we essentially redshirted every kid on the team. We've got this group of young slots that are really good. Kayden McCoy scored his first touchdown today. What a great young man. We're redshirting everybody again this year, so to get everybody in the game and let them play and I know it's rewarding for them. It makes me feel good. Because here's what's going to happen. They're going to come back and they're going to practice harder. They're going to be more bought in and be a little more excited about what we're doing."

The most emotional carries may have belonged to Trey Gunnings, who picked up back-to-back first downs on runs of four and 11 yards in the opening quarter on a drive that would lead to a missed field goal. This past week Gunnings' mother, Angelina, passed away unexpectedly.

"Trey Gunnings had a big run in the first half," Ingram said. "It was great that he was here with us. It was great that he got an opportunity to play. He's having a hard time with that so our heart goes out to him and his family."

The Eagles have been road warriors for the past month and will return to the banks of Mossy Creak for the first time in 35 days when they welcome UVA-Wise (1-5, 1-4) for Homecoming next week. The Highland Cavaliers fell 23-10 to Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday.

"We've got tough kids, we've got resilient kids, we've got a great coaching staff," Ingram said. "We're excited to get home. We need a big crowd out. There's some great things happening in our program. There are great things happening at Carson-Newman. We need our fans and our alums to support us. We need a huge crowd on Homecoming."

Carson-Newman at long last returns to Burke-Tarr Stadium next week for a SAC and Homecoming matchup against UVA-Wise. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.  Coverage on the Eagles Sports Radio Network begins at 2 p.m. 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.

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