Johnsonville, TN—North Greenville scored 21-unanswered points and scored a late special teams touchdown on Saturday to down the Carson-Newman Eagles 31-21, snapping a three-game skid.

The Basics

• Score: NGU – 31 / CN – 21
• Location: Burke-Tarr Stadium (Carson-Newman University)
• Records: NGU 4 – 4 / CN – 5 – 3

Quick Facts

• Saturday’s meeting between the Crusaders and Eagles was just the seventh in the history of the two programs.
• Carson-Newman led the series 4-2 before North Greenville’s victory on Saturday. North Greenville is now 3-4 against the Eagles but has won two straight.
• Before the game, each team took a knee for a moment of silence to honor Coach Ken Sparks. The former head coach for the Eagles and future Hall-Of-Famer passed away following last season.

The Rule of Three

• Two streaks were ended on Saturday afternoon following the NGU win. North Greenville snapped its three-game losing streak while also snapping Carson-Newman’s three-game winning streak.
• How it Happened
  Carson-Newman put up the first points of the game with a nine-yard rushing score with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
• North Greenville answered with a field-goal early in the second quarter but the Eagles connected on a 76-yard pass to extend the lead to 14-3.
• The Crusaders found paydirt with 3:05 left in the first half when Will Hunter found Robbie Brown from 11-yards out to cap an eight play 73-yard drive, making the score 14-10 at halftime.
• Hunter would throw his second score of the day with 10:15 left in the third quarter, finding Demajiay Rooks from 15-yards out. Rooks’ score gave NGU its first lead of the game at 17-10.
• North Greenville tacked on one more score at the start of the fourth quarter, riding the legs of Tristan Jackson who toted it in from nine-yards out to extend North Greenville’s edge to 24-10.
• Carson Newman found their answer on the ensuing drive when Derek Evans capped a seven-minute march with a one-yard rushing touchdown, cutting NGU’s lead to a field goal.
• North Greenville got some help on a roughing the kicker but was still forced to punt with just over a minute left in the game.
• CN punt returner Tavion Rorie received the Foos kick but had the ball jarred loose but long-snapper Hunter Haines on the one-yard line. The fumble was scooped up by Jacob Harper who ran it in to secure the win for North Greenville.
• The touchdown was Harper’s first career score after transferring from the University of Tennessee Martin.

The Good Guys

• Will Hunter threw for 214-yards on 19-completions. Hunter also had a pair of touchdowns.
• Tracey Scott ran for 61-yards on 16-carries to lead in both categories while Tristan Jackson tacked up the team’s only rushing score.
• Robbie Brown led all receivers with 84-yards on eight catches and a touchdown. Demajiay Rooks finished with 25-yards and a score.
• Defensively the Crusaders held the Eagles to their lowest rushing total of the season at just 106-yards. Carson-Newman was averaging just over 200-yards on the ground coming into Saturday's contest.
• Brandon Burger led the charge with 10 total tackles while Matthew Thomas led the Crusaders with three tackles for a loss and a sack.
• Seth Laughter and Jacob Harper both recovered a CN fumble, one of which was taken back for a touchdown.

The Other Team

• Dillingham led the Carson-Newman rushing attack with 60-yards on 13-carries while Derrick Evans scored both rushing TDs.
• Evans Also had a passing touchdown as he completed nine passes for 177-yards.
• Dorren Miller led the Eagles with 145-yards receiving and the lone receiving touchdown.

Next Time Out

• North Greenville will enjoy a rare bye-week before hosting Delta State on November 4th at 2 pm for homecoming.