GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum Pioneers will be on the road once again this Saturday afternoon when the Sons of Davy Crockett travel to Hickory, North Carolina to take on the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears at Moretz Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m. (ET).
Saturday's contest will be a rematch of last spring's South Atlantic Conference championship game where Tusculum claimed its third SAC title and fourth conference crown overall with a 28-23 win over the Bears in Hickory. For Tusculum, it snapped an eight-game losing streak to Lenoir-Rhyne and it was the Pioneers' first win "Between the Bricks" since 2008.
Tusculum (2-3, 1-2 SAC) is coming off a tough 43-35 road loss at 10th-ranked Wingate last weekend. The Pioneers were poised to pull off the upset, but TU's game-winning scoring drive came up short with a last second interception which was returned for a Wingate on the game's final play.
Lenoir-Rhyne (2-2, 1-2 SAC) suffered its second league loss of the season as the Bears were upended 35-28 at UVA Wise last Saturday.
The two teams who played for a conference title six months ago, are locked in a tie for sixth place in the league standings and are scrambling to get back into the SAC title discussion.
SERIES HISTORY
For the 25th time since 1924, Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne will square off on the collegiate gridiron. Lenoir-Rhyne owns a 13-11 edge in the series winning 10 of the last 12 match-ups. The Bears had posted eight straight wins over the Pioneers until TU snapped that run with last April's win in Hickory.
Lenoir-Rhyne won the first meeting of the series on Nov. 15, 1924 as the Bears blanked Tusculum 6-0 at College Field in Hickory. The two teams wouldn't meet again until 74 years later at Pioneer Field as Tusculum posted its third straight win to open the 1998 season with a 20-5 home victory over the Bears.
L-R won the first South Atlantic Conference meeting in 1999 in Hickory when Ryan Wilson scored the game-winning TD with 4:09 left in the game in a 21-14 L-R win in Hickory. Tusculum got its first league win over the Bears the following season when D.J. Starling blocked a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter as the Pioneers held on for a 10-9 win in the first game at the newly renovated Pioneer Field (Sep. 30, 2000).
The Tusculum win sparked five straight victories over the Bears from 2000-2004 and a stretch where the Pioneers went 8-1 over Lenoir-Rhyne in a nine-year span.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Pioneers continue to have the SAC's top scoring offense which is churning out 38.4 points per game (31st in NCAA II).
Tusculum is tied for the NCAA Division II lead with its four defensive touchdowns this year. The TU defense has forced nine turnovers (3rd in SAC / 42nd in NCAA II) this season which have resulted into 46 points including a pair of TDs last week at Wingate.
The Pioneers leads the conference in pass defense (174.4 ypg - 31st in NCAA II), passing yards per completion (14.66 ypc - 33rd in NCAA II) and tackles for loss allowed (4.80 tpg - 33rd in NCAA II). TU is also second in the SAC in fumble recoveries (5 - 29th in NCAA II), team kickoff return average (26.65 ypr - 12th in NCAA II), defensive interceptions (4), fewest sacks allowed (1.20 spg - 28th in NCAA II) and total defense (303.6 ypg - 37th in NCAA II).
Tusculum is second in the league in first down offense (82 – 47th in NCAA II), defensive interceptions (4 – 36th in NCAA II), passing defense (195.5 ypg – 29th in NCAA II), tackles for loss allowed (4.75 tpg – 31st in NCAA II), team tackles for loss (8.5 tpg – 26th in NCAA II) and total defense (273.0 ypg – 17th in NCAA II).
Quarterback Ivan Corbin is leading the charge after posting one of his best games in a TU uniform. On Saturday, he passed for 286 yards and touchdown and added 53 rushing yards and a TD on 13 carries. Corbin is averaging 210.4 passing yards per game (5th in SAC), including 14.82 yards per completion which is tops in the league and 22nd in the country. He has passed for 1,052 yards (3rd in SAC) for six touchdowns (6th in SAC) and is also the team's top rusher tallying 41.2 yards per game including two rushing scores. He also has a pair of two-point conversions to his credit.
Including his first two seasons at Limestone (2016, 2017), Corbin has passed for 3,459 passing yards and 28 touchdowns. He has also rushed for eight touchdowns in his collegiate career.
His top target has been junior wide receiver Justice Parham. The Valdosta State transfer leads the Pioneers in receptions (21 – 8th in SAC), receiving yards (408 – 3rd in SAC / 44th in NCAA II) and TD catches (4 – 3rd in SAC / 44th in NCAA II). He is also averaging 81.6 receiving yards per game (4th in SAC). He has hauled in a TD catch in six of his last seven games dating back to last season and has a TD grab in eight of his 10 career outings with the Pioneers. His 18.83 yards per reception average is the third-best in school history.
Sophomore Tyler Ajiero is second on the roster with 14 receptions for 191 yards while Derrick Wright is third with 12 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown.
Cortney Jackson is the team's second-leading rusher with 177 yards on 38 carries and a team-leading three touchdown rushes (3rd in SAC) while Reggie Kellum is third in rushing (169 yards – 33.8 ypg).
Will Shellenback has started in every game this year at tight end where he has made four catches for 45 yards. Bryce Moore, who played quarterback in his first two seasons at Tusculum, has moved to tight end where he has made five catches for 115 yards including a 33-yard TD toss from Justice Parham in the final moments of the Newberry game.
The offensive line, which has allowed six sacks in its first five games, includes tackles Andrew Theobald and Rick Jeantihomme, guards Tremaine Chatman and Mike Peppin, and anchored by two-year starting center Thomas Mahoney. The TU offensive front has helped the TU rushing attack average 155.2 yards per game (5th in SAC).
Defensively, 15 Tusculum players have recorded double-digit tackles led by the trio of Jahaud Russ, Jermaine Witherspoon and Ty'Korian Brown, who have each tallied 26 stops apiece.
Russ has been credited with 17 solo tackles and nine assists to go along with his four tackles for loss. He has posted four tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries and returned a fumble for a 49-yard touchdown in the SAC-opener against Limestone.
Brown leads the team with 18 solo stops, including nine coming in last week's game at Wingate where he amassed a career-high 15 tackles from his cornerback position. He leads the team with four passes defended including an interception.
Witherspoon also posted a career-best last Saturday with his 10-tackle performance. He has one tackle for loss, forced a fumble and an interception in his four contests this year.
Free safety John Smith is fourth with 24 tackles including two for loss and two pass break-ups. Junior defensive end Nelson Louis has 24 tackles including six stops for loss and a league-leading five sacks (. The 2018 SAC Defensive Freshman of the Year has moved into a tie for fourth-place on TU's all-time sacks list with 18. Louis has forced two fumbles this year, giving him three for his career.
Senior punter Andrew Cantrell is slated to appear in his 32nd consecutive game. The CoSIDA Academic All-American is third in the league with his 40.5 punting average (28th in NCAA II) where he has forced 11 fair catches and four punts inside the 20-yardline in his 21 kicks this year.
Greeneville sophomore kicker Eli Shepherd missed the Wingate game due to injury, but could return this week. He has tallied 24 points including 12-of-14 on extra points and 4-of-6 on field goals. Freshman John Aiden Pittman handled the placekicking duties last week where he went 5-for-5 on extra points.
Redshirt freshman Jarvis Jones established a new Tusculum record with his 100-yard kickoff return for touchdown last week against Wingate. Jones is averaging 42.5 yards per return on his four kickoffs, while Kellum is averaging 23.0 yards on his three kickoff returns.
FOLLOW THE GAME
The radio call of the game will be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive. The "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton and Joe Byrd will describe all the action. The Pioneer Pre-Game Show begins at 12 p.m. (ET). Stayton is in his 25th season as the broadcast voice of Tusculum University Athletics.
Lenoir-Rhyne University will also provide a video stream of Saturday's contest and those links will be available at www.TusculumPioneers.com.
