JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Anderson lost to Carson-Newman 29-13 on Saturday at Burke-Tarr Stadium. AU held the ball for 31:10, converted 6 of 12 third downs and scored on all three red-zone trips with two field goals and one rushing touchdown. Carson-Newman rushed for 285 yards and intercepted the Trojans twice.
The Black and Gold's offense converted half of its third-down opportunities and finished drives when it reached the red zone. Defensively, AU held Carson-Newman to a field goal after a third-quarter series reached the 1-yard line and kept Carson-Newman off the scoreboard after a fourth-quarter drive reached the AU 11.
Zay Williams caught five passes for 82 yards and added a 1-yard punt return.
Parr Folsom rushed for 74 yards on eight carries.
Darren Lloyd scored on the ground and finished with 46 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Carter Wit led AU with 12 tackles, while
Alex Ledford added nine. Wit has surpassed the 200-tackle career milestone and now has 205 tackles.
The Trojans followed Carson-Newman's opening touchdown with an 11-play, 60-yard drive that ended with
Phillip Bonacci's 34-yard field goal at 4:15, cutting the score to 6-3.
Wilson Edwards kept the possession moving with third-down completions to
Rob Sanders for 8 yards and Williams for 16, then hit Williams for 42 yards to reach the C-N 8 before a recovered fumble and a sack forced the field-goal try. Carson-Newman responded with a 74-yard touchdown pass, but
RJ Gibson blocked the extra-point attempt to keep the margin at 12-3. AU picked up one first down on its final drive of the quarter, but back-to-back sacks stalled the possession, and Carson-Newman led 12-3 at the end of the first quarter.
After Carson-Newman moved ahead 26-3 in the second quarter,
KD Whitt's 25-yard kickoff return started a 73-yard, seven-play drive that ended on Lloyd's 15-yard touchdown run at 3:47 and Bonacci's extra point. Earlier, the Trojans' defense opened the quarter with a three-and-out, including an Andre Goodman/
Luke Rankin tackle for loss on third down, before the offense picked up a first down on Folsom's 11-yard run and later stalled after a sack. Carson-Newman blocked Samuel Mullis' punt and scored on Joshua Adams' 40-yard run, and DJ Thornton's 39-yard interception return with 8:25 left made it 26-3. Folsom helped AU answer with 9- and 32-yard runs, Sanders converted third-and-2 with an 8-yard carry, and Lloyd finished the drive as the Trojans totaled 81 rushing yards and four rushing first downs in the quarter. The AU defense used three Carson-Newman penalties and tackles by Ledford, Wit,
Zay Nalls and
Cross Killen to force a late punt, and the quarter ended with Carson-Newman ahead 26-10.
Carson-Newman produced the only points of the third quarter, but the Trojans held Carson-Newman to a 19-yard Bennett Smith field goal after a long red-zone series reached the 1-yard line. Earlier, AU opened the half with Whitt's 21-yard return and moved the chains on Edwards' 11-yard completion to Williams before the drive ended on an interception at the Carson-Newman 31. The Black and Gold defense forced a punt on the next possession, while a later drive from its own 10 ended with Mullis' 42-yard punt. Carson-Newman then drove 47 yards on 10 plays, but
Daniel Williams made stops on consecutive snaps near the goal line and
Scotty Miley forced a fumble that Carson-Newman recovered before settling for the field goal and a 29-10 lead. AU closed the quarter by beginning a 10-play drive, with Edwards running for 15 yards on the first snap and Lloyd moving the ball to the AU 42 as the quarter ended.
The Trojans produced the only points of the fourth quarter, moving from their own 42 to the Carson-Newman 14 before Bonacci hit a 31-yard field goal at 10:59 to make the score 29-13. On the possession, Lloyd converted third-and-1 with a 2-yard run, a Carson-Newman pass interference penalty added 15 yards, and Edwards found
Kenneth Brown for 18 yards to the 16. Carson-Newman then held the ball for a 17-play, 54-yard drive that consumed 9:58, but AU kept it out of the end zone after it reached the 11, limiting two late runs to three yards before a 28-yard field-goal attempt missed with 58 seconds left. The Black and Gold used the final possession to pick up first downs on Folsom's 14-yard run, Edwards' 10-yard completion to Williams and another Carson-Newman pass interference call, reaching the Carson-Newman 37 before time expired.
The Trojans host Catawba at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in Anderson, S.C.
