Game recaps and notes from around the South Atlantic Conference:

CARSON-NEWMAN –The No. 15 Carson-Newman Eagles came out of halftime strong, scoring 20 straight points to claim a 41-28 victory on Newberry College’s Setzler Field Saturday night ... Backup Eagle quarterback Justin Long rushed for a career-high 125 yards and sparked Carson-Newman to the win ... Newberry (1-3, 0-2 South Atlantic Conference) held leads as large as 12 points in the second quarter and held on for a one-point halftime advantage at 22-21. However, Carson-Newman (4-1, 1-1 SAC) controlled the ball for ten minutes in the third quarter while producing two touchdown drives, thereby placing the game out of reach ... Carson-Newman grabbed the lead for good with Long’s 13-yard touchdown run with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter. The sophomore picked up 44 of his rushing yards in the period. The visitors put up two more touchdowns from the legs of back Ray Hightower in the fourth quarter, while Newberry was only able to answer one ... Long entered the game in the second quarter, but was stripped on his first play at Carson-Newman’s 27. The Indians kicked a 32-yard field goal to put the Indians up 19-7 ... On the next drive, Long showed what he was capable of, running for 54 yards and throwing for 28 ... Kiel Angry finished the drive with a two-yard scoring run to draw to 19-14 ... Long threw a 29-yard pass to Willie McRae to go up temporarily at 21-19 with a minute to go in the half. Newberry responded with a 42-yard drive to put Lukshis in field goal range and the sophomore tied his career long field goal at 43 yards ... Newberry entered intermission with a one-point lead ... The teams combined for exactly 1,000 yards of total offense, with Carson-Newman claiming 541 of those. C-N put up 340 on the ground, while Newberry used its trademark aerial attack for 372 yards and three passing touchdowns ... Carson-Newman picked up 201 passing yards on only eight completions, including the game’s opening score, a 79-yard bomb from Joey King to McRae ... Long was joined in the rushing ranks by J.J. Chatmon who had 79 yards on 11 attempts, and Hightower with 73 yards and two scores off only five rushes ... Carson-Newman, now 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, hosts Presbyterian at noon. The game will be played at Jefferson County High School.

CATAWBA - The Indians rebounded from consecutive losses with a 31-0 win over Mars Hill on Saturday ... The Tribe defense dominated the Lions, holding the visitors to just 91 yards and recording 11 sacks … Ron Ellington set Catawba records with seven sacks (6 solo, 2 halves) and picked up 11 total tackles for losses ... Mars Hill was limited to -36 yards on the ground and had only one first-half first down … The Lions also converted just one time on 15 third down opportunities ... The shutout was the first for the Tribe since a 17-0 win over Edward Waters in 2003 ... On offense, Kory Fisher ran for 99 yards and a score on 15 carries and caught a pair of passes for 33 yards and a touchdown … Brad Roach completed 12-of-27 passes for 196 yards and two scores ... Rod Tenor had just one catch on Saturday, but it was the 100th reception of his career, ranking 10th all-time at Catawba … Fisher is closing in on 1,000 career rushing yards with 922 in just his second season ... He leads the team this season with an average of 103.2 yards a game … The 11 sacks on Saturday increases the Tribe’s total to 23 this season … Darryl Locklear has 4.5 and Pierre Deshauteurs has 3.5 … Both were in on two sacks against Mars Hill … Allowing just 91 yards, it marked the first time since the 2003 opener against Livingstone 87 yards) that Catawba had held an opponent to under 100 yards … Catawba had not lost three consecutive games since 1994 when the Tribe was 2-9 … The Indians will travel to Wingate this weekend and will try to avenge last season’s 35-21 loss to the Bulldogs … Catawba holds a 15-5 edge in the series and had won five straight against Wingate before last year.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College football team (3-2, 1-1) lost its first road game in four tries this year as Wingate University (5-0, 2-0) defeated L-R, 28-7, Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium and Richardson Field … Lenoir-Rhyne has hurt by seven turnovers in the game, including two interceptions that were returned for scores and its offense was limited to just 209 total yards … The Bears struck first, finishing off a 76-yard, seven-play drive with junior Andrew Tudor’s 45-yard touchdown run but the team could not score the rest of the way … L-R also missed two field goals in the contest … Lenoir-Rhyne’s defense, despite the loss, held Wingate to just 269 total yards of offense including 65 yards on the ground and tallied four quarterback sacks … Junior defensive back Rian Jefferson and senior linebacker Jamal Jackson each tallied a team-high eight tackles to lead the Bears defensively … Tudor, who was held to just 63 yards rushing, went past the 2,000-yard rushing mark (2,049 total) for his L-R career … Senior wideout Christopher Winford led all Bear receivers with six catches for 46 yards … Winford moved into sixth place all-time on L-R’s receiving list with 117 catches and third place in kickoff return yards with 1,226 yards … Koester remained in sixth place in career completions (211) and tied for eighth in touchdown passes (21) … Lenoir-Rhyne, which has played just one home game in five contests so far in 2005, finally returns to Moretz Stadium as it hosts Mars Hill College next Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. … L-R last played at home on Sept. 10, a 28-21 overtime loss to North Carolina Central … Mars Hill leads the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne, 16-14-1, and won last year’s contest by a 21-14 margin on October 9, 2004, at Mars Hill, N.C. … Lenoir-Rhyne is 35-18 (.660) all-time in its annual Homecoming game.

MARS HILL - The Catawba College Indians defeated visiting Mars Hill 31-0 in SAC football action on Saturday afternoon … Mars Hill fell to 2-3 and 1-1 in the league … The Catawba defense set the tone for the day, recording 11 sacks and holding the Lions to negative 36 yards rushing … The Indians held Mars Hill to 34 yards and one first down in the first half … Catawba grabbed the lead on the opening drive as Walter Horne capped a nine-play, 59-yard march with a one-yard plunge … The Indians got a 25-yard field goal from Rush Rollins with 4:25 to go in the half and took a 17-0 lead at the break after Fisher caught a 23-yard scoring pass from Brad Roach just 1:30 before the half … The Indians continued to hold Mars Hill at bay in the final half as the Lions’ longest drive of 33 yards ended with a interception late in the third quarter … Mars Hill finished with nine first downs and 91 yards of offense … Catawba got a four-yard run by Fisher at the 3:10 mark of the third quarter and capped the scoring on Roach’s 44-yard pass to Terrance King with 5:16 left in the game … George Washington (Warner Robbins, GA) picked up 15 yards on the ground for Mars Hill, while Ricky Spradling (Roan Mountain, TN) completed 8-of-16 passes for 109 yards … Jarrett Simmons (Lithia Springs, GA) had three catches for 66 yards … Jeremy Stewart (Irmo, SC) made 11 tackles for Mars Hill and Rashawn Champion (Jacksonville, FL) had an interception … MHC will play at Lenoir-Rhyne College on Saturday, October 8 at 2 p.m.

NEWBERRY - Fifteenth-ranked Carson-Newman came out of halftime strong, scoring 20 straight points to claim a 41-28 victory on Newberry College’s Setzler Field Saturday night ... Newberry (1-3, 0-2 South Atlantic Conference) held leads as large as 12 points in the second quarter and held on for a one-point halftime advantage at 22-21. However, Carson-Newman (4-1, 1-1 SAC) controlled the ball for ten minutes in the third quarter while producing two touchdown drives, thereby placing the game out of reach ... Newberry could only answer Carson-Newman’s three touchdowns with one, that being a Josh Stepp (Pelion, S.C.)-to-Tymere Zimmerman (Bennettsville, S.C.) 19-yard connection with 1:09 left on the clock ... Zimmerman topped the school’s all-time career receiving yards record with 116 today, giving him a grand total of 2,083 in his 2 ½ years at Newberry. He surpassed the career receptions and career receiving touchdown marks earlier this season ... Eagle quarterback Justin Long entered the game in the second quarter, but was stripped on his first play by Newberry cornerback Damien Simmons (Charleston, S.C.) at Carson-Newman’s 27. Ryan Lukshis (Irmo, S.C.) kicked a 32-yard field goal to put the Indians up 19-7. On the next drive, Long showed what he was capable of, running for 54 yards and throwing for 28. Newberry responded to two C-N scores with a 42-yard drive to put Lukshis in field goal range and the sophomore tied his career long field goal at 43 yards. Newberry entered intermission with a one-point lead ... Stepp’s 372 passing yards tonight make the third-best passing performance in school history. Forty-two attempts are the tenth most in a game, and 26 completions ties for fifth-best. He is now third on the school’s all-time passing yardage list and fourth on the total offense list ... The teams combined for exactly 1,000 yards of total offense, with Carson-Newman claiming 541 of those. C-N put up 340 on the ground, while Newberry used its trademark aerial attack for 372 yards and three passing touchdowns. Carson-Newman picked up 201 passing yards on only eight completions, including the game’s opening score, a 79-yard bomb from Joey King to Wilie McRae ... Newberry’s first points came from a 32-yard field goal from Lukshis, followed by a Deshon Rodell (Allendale, S.C.) 56-yard touchdown reception to put the Indians on top 10-7 after one period of play ... Receiver Charles Brandon (Union, S.C.) had one of the best days of his career, catching seven passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Brandon just missed scoring Newberry’s last touchdown, thwarted by a shoestring tackle with one defender to beat after picking up 57 yards to put Newberry in the red zone ... Long was joined in the rushing ranks by J.J. Chatmon (Cartersville, Ga.) who had 79 yards on 11 attempts, and Hightower with 73 yards and two scores off only five rushes ...Newberry travels to Greeneville, Tenn., for a showdown with Tusculum, the only other SAC school without a conference win, next Saturday at 1:30.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian College improved to 2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference and 5-1 overall after defeating Tusculum College 26-3 at home Saturday. The Blue Hose are off to their best start since the 1979 season and are tied with Wingate University atop the SAC standings ... The Blue Hose win improved their record in the season series versus the Pioneers to 8-1 ... PC senior quarterback Zack Ellis completed 18-of-27 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown versus the Pioneers. Ellis completed passes to seven different receivers and was not sacked on Saturday. For the season, Ellis has completed 124-of-200 passes for 1,351 yards and 15 TD’s and only three interceptions. He has a pass efficiency rating of 140.49 ... The Blue Hose defense came up big versus the Pioneers. PC limited Tusculum to 240 yards of total offense while tallying two sacks and forcing one fumble. Tusculum entered the game averaging 13.8 points per game, but were held to one field goal on Saturday ... Defensively, the Blue Hose are allowing only 10.5 points per game this season. Opponents have only scored 10 total points in the first two quarters this season. In league play, PC leads the league in scoring defense (5.0 ppg) and scoring offense (31.5 ppg). For the season, the Blue Hose are outscoring their opponents 113-10 in the first half ... The Blue Hose currently hold a +6 turnover margin including forcing six interceptions and recovering eight fumbles ... PC’s ground attack amassed 177 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 39 carries versus Tusculum. Eight different players rushed the ball for the Blue Hose on Saturday with junior Corey Fidler (Savannah, Ga.) leading the way with 87 yards on 17 carries. Freshman Chetyuane Reeder (Clinton, SC) came off the to rush for 59 yards and a pair of touchdowns on eight carries ... Sophomore wideout Justin Durant (Florence, S.C.) continued his solid play this season versus the Pioneers. Durant caught four passes for 57 yards while junior wideout Chris Pope (Ninety-Six, S.C.) added four receptions for 44 yards and one touchdown ... Redshirt sophomore kicker Stuart Mull (Morganton, N.C.) averaged 40.0 yards per punt versus Tusculum including having one punt downed inside the 20-yardline out of three attempts. Mull’s performance led to Tusculum’s average starting field position being their own 23-yardline. Mull hit a pair of 32-yard field goals on Saturday, but had another field goal attempt blocked ... Senior defense end Nick Willis (Saluda, S.C.) had another big game versus the Pioneers. Willis tallied only seven total stops, two tackles for loss (-9), one sack (-8), and recovered a fumble and returned it 43 yards ... Senior cornerback Quasi Gary (Kingstree, S.C.) and redshirt freshman linebacker Antwan Thomas (Hawkinsville, Ga.) led the Blue Hose with nine tackles apiece. Sophomore defensive tackle Terrance Blake (Kingsland, Ga.) added five total stops and one sack (-2) ... Presbyterian College (5-1, 2-0 SAC) returns to the road with a trip to Jefferson City, Tenn. to take on Carson-Newman College next Saturday, October 8 at 12 noon. The game will take place at Jefferson County High School due to renovations to Burke-Tarr Stadium have not been completed.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum College football team dropped a 26-3 decision at No. 25 Presbyterian College on Saturday… The Pioneers (2-3, 0-2 in South Atlantic Conference) were held to 240 yards offensively, while the defensive gave up 352 yards to the Blue Hose… The Pioneers completed 20-of-25 passes for 131 yards… Tusculum hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in eight consecutive quarters… Tusculum still has one of the best turnover margins in the land (+7)… The TC defense has recorded an interception in every game this season and in seven of its last eight dating back to last year… TC has also forced a turnover in 28 straight games, a streak that began Oct. 28, 2001… Saturday’s loss at Presbyterian ended several streaks… TC entered last week’s outing having won its last five games following a home loss… It was also Tusculum’s first loss in the state of South Carolina since 2001… TC senior linebacker Shawn Harris has recorded 29 career tackles for loss, which are fourth all-time in school history… The Pioneers will host Newberry this week in the eighth meeting all-time between the two schools… Tusculum leads the series 6-1 and has won five in a row against the Indians including last year’s 28-24 decision at Newberry.

WINGATE - The Wingate University defense forced seven Lenoir-Rhyne College turnovers and returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a 28-7 South Atlantic Conference football victory Saturday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadiun and John R. Martin Field. The Bulldogs have won seven games in a row at home, dating to the 2004 season ... With the win, Wingate matches its best senior college start ever and improves its overall record to 5-0 (2-0 SAC). Wingate hosts Catawba College Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ... Bulldog junior cornerback David Jones returned an errant Lenoir-Rhyne pass 60 yards for a TD with 13:53 remaining in the second quarter, giving the hosts a 14-7 lead they would not relinquish. Fellow junior cornerback Donald Brown had a 32-yard interception return for a score in the fourth quarter, accounting for Wingate’s final touchdown ... On the afternoon, Jones had three interceptions for 109 total yards. Jones also notched four solo tackles. Brown did everything but sell popcorn at halftime, recording two interceptions, seven tackles (four solo), one tackle for a loss and one forced fumble ... Lenoir-Rhyne scored first, marching 76 yards to paydirt midway through the first quarter. Bear junior running back Andrew Tudor capped the seven-play drive with a 45-yard touchdown run. LRC sophomore place kicker Andrew Coln tacked on the PAT, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead with 8:38 to go in the opening frame ... Wingate answered with a five-play, 80-yard drive on its next possession to tie the score at 7-7. Bulldog senior quarterback Brandon Boone hit junior wide receiver Dan Brooks with a 38-yard touchdown pass at the 7:31 mark of the first quarter. Bulldog redshirt sophomore kicker Jonathan Beford nailed the first of his four extra points to tie the score ... With his TD Saturday, Jones has three career interception returns for scores. His second quarter score came at the 13:53 mark and represented the last TD of the first half. The Bulldogs took a 14-7 lead to the locker room at intermission ... Wingate took a 21-7 lead on the final play of the third quarter, as Brooks recorded his second score of the afternoon. Bulldog redshirt junior quarterback Anthony Metzelaars hit Brooks for a 55-yard TD with no time on the third quarter clock ... Brooks put in a good day at the office, catching five passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. On the season, Brooks tops the Bulldog charts with five catches for touchdowns ... Brown gave Wingate its final score with 9:51 to play in the fourth frame. His 32-yard return on a pass from Lenoir-Rhyne redshirt freshman quarterback Dennis Hickman was the final score of the afternoon ... Wingate held Lenoir-Rhyne to 209 total yards. The Bulldog defense recorded seven sacks, including two each by defensive stalwarts Kenwin Cummings, Stuart Sheppard and freshman Adrian Robertson ... Tudor entered the game averaging 123.5 yards per game, tops in the South Atlantic Conference. He finished with 63 yards on 18 carries. Bear senior quarterback Kurtis Koester threw four interceptions, including three to Jones. Koester was 12-for-24 for 125 yards ... Boone improved his lifetime record as a starter to 10-0 overall. Boone was nine-for-20 for 124 yards and one touchdown. Metzelaars was two-for-seven for 80 yards and one score. Both Boone and Metzelaars threw one interception each. The Bulldogs lost two interceptions and two fumbles on the afternoon ... Wingate has won three of the last four games in the Lenoir-Rhyne versus Wingate series. Wingate will host Catawba Saturday (1:30 p.m.) at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field. In 2004, Bulldog quarterback Anthony Metzelaars threw for 309 yards and the Bulldog defense forced five turnovers as Wingate topped NCAA II fifth-ranked Catawba 35-21 at Shuford Stadium and Kirkland Field in Salisbury.