Down and out

FLORENCE - Carson-Newman ended its Braly Stadium jinx and North Alabama's season at the same time Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles frustrated UNA's offense all day and used a big performance from senior running back Buck Wakefield to claim a 24-21 victory over the Lions in the NCAA Division II playoff quarterfinals.

Carson-Newman (11-2) was 0-8 in its previous trips to Braly Stadium. The win was just their second in 10 meetings with UNA (11-2), including a loss to the Lions earlier this season.

The Eagles advance to play Grand Valley State next Saturday in the semifinals.

"Carson-Newman brought great intensity and played better on both sides," coach Terry Bowden said. "They deserved to win the game.

"I can't say enough about the way our defense played. Offensively, unfortunately, we were

not on today. Their defense did a great job

throttling us up."

Wakefield rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Eagles. UNA, meanwhile, finished with just 277 yards of total offense, including negative 4 yards rushing. It was the Lions lowest offensive output of the season.

Quarterback Harrison Beck was 24 of 50 passing for 281 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted three times.

"I missed some throws today and I have to be accountable for my performance," Beck said. "Our defense put us in great situations and we have to take advantage of that, me especially. Our receivers were open, but I have to hold up my end of the bargain."

Bowden said the Carson-Newman made some changes from the first game that were effective against a UNA offense that was averaging 41.0 points per game.

"They made some nice adjustments from the last game," Bowden said. "They blitzed and played a lot of man coverage last time, but today they played more zone. They forced us to make throws and catches. We were off a couple of times and all of a sudden we're down 7 and then 14."

Despite outgaining UNA 182 to 60 in the first half, the Eagles led just 10-7 at halftime. UNA got the ball to start the third quarter and on the first play Beck dumped a screen pass to Tim Hicks, who rambled for a 48-yard gain to the Carson-Newman 8. Hicks went up the middle for the final 8 yards on the next play to give UNA it's first lead at 14-10.

The Lions had an opportunity to extend the lead late in the third quarter, taking over at the Carson-Newman 35 after a short punt. But after throwing two incomplete passes, Beck was intercepted by Mario Russell.

Carson-Newman then drove 66 yards in 11 plays. Nate Inman's 1-yard scoring run put the Eagles back on top 17-14 with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

"The drive to take the lead back was very special," Carson-Newman coach Ken Sparks said. "The start of the second half was disastrous for us, but our kids were determined to overcome it."

UNA moved the ball into Eagles territory on the ensuring possession. But Beck was sacked for an 8-yard loss on a third-down play on a blitz by Ryan Helton and the Lions were forced to punt.

On the next play, Wakefield broke free for an 80-yard touchdown run that extended the Eagles lead to 24-14 with 9:58 remaining.

Beck later hit Charles McClain for a 37-yard scoring play that cut the margin to 24-21 with 1:31 remaining. But UNA was unsuccessful on the ensuing onside kick, and the Eagles ran out the clock.

"It hurts because this season mean everything to us, especially the guys that have been here so long," linebacker Michael Johnson said. "What means the most is the way this team was able to click together. I just hate to see it end."

Carson-Newman led 10-0 after one quarter with Wakefield scoring on a 25-yard run after D.J. Taylor intercepted a Beck pass that was tipped. UNA's only score of the half came after Svante Davenport intercepted a pass and returned it 41 yards to the Carson-Newman 2. Marcus Sims dove over on the next play to pull cut UNA's deficit to 10-7.

"I felt relived at halftime because we had nothing working and were just down 10-7," Bowden said. "We got the lead in the third quarter and had a chance to make them play catch up after we got the ball on their 35. But we threw the interception in the end zone and let the opportunity go by. In retrospect, that was pretty much the story of every opportunity we had. You have to give credit to Carson-Newman for making plays."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@TimesDaily.com.