SAC Week Seven Preview

October 18th, 2024 8:00am

SAC Week 6 saw a lot of heart pumping action, as four of the six games were decided by one score. I expect some very good matchups this week as well, as we inch closer and closer to playoff time. Right now, I think there are five SAC schools who still have pretty good shots at getting considered, while a couple others already find themselves on the wrong side of the fence. My game of the week this week is Wingate at Limestone. Last season I was at this game in Wingate, and Limestone found a way to win with a surprising defense performance. Will the Bulldogs elite defense get revenge? Or will the high-powered Saints offense rue the day?

Though we are still a few weeks away from the official regional rankings from the NCAA, our friend InkBlot Sports has released his first D2 bracketology and had three SAC schools in the postseason: #1 Carson-Newman, #6 Wingate, and #7 Limestone. If you haven’t checked out his work, be sure to do so.

Let’s get into what’s on the menu for this weekend.

Players of the Week

Offense: Dustin Noller (Limestone)- 378 yards, 2 touchdowns and a touchdown run in OT to win it.

Defense: Darrion Perry (Anderson)- game high 13 tackles, sack and two pass break ups

Special Teams: Caleb Bonesteel (Wingate)- 3 for 3 field goals, 5 for 5 extra points

SAC Power Rankings

1. Carson-Newman
2. Wingate
3. Limestone
4. Emory & Henry
5. Lenoir-Rhyne
6. Mars Hill
7. Newberry
8. Catawba
9. Barton
10. Anderson
11. UVA Wise
12. Tusculum

Last Week: 6-0

Season: 36-8

Wingate Bulldogs at Limestone Saints

Location: Gaffney, SC / 12 PM

Line: Wingate -3.5 / SP+: Wingate 29.1, Limestone 22.4

Series: Wingate leads 8-1. (Limestone won the last meeting, 17-10, in 2023)

Safe to say the Wingate Bulldogs are still in the zone. Wingate jumped out to a 33-0 lead at the half and then continued pouring it on in the 2^nd half against Barton, winning 50-0. The Bulldogs now have had eight consecutive shutout quarters and held the last two opponents to 79.5 yards per game. That’s outrageous, regardless of what level of football you are playing. Dontorian Best and Brandon Perry each had interceptions in this past game, and five different Bulldogs recovered fumbles. The offensive output was better and still balanced, with 156 yards passing and 189 yards on the ground. Seven different Bulldogs had at least four carries, spreading the wealth. If the Bulldogs offense can continue to compliment the outstanding play of their defense, it’s going to make them a tough out.

Limestone jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead against Catawba last weekend, before it turned into a back-and-forth double overtime affair against Catawba. A Daniel Deneen Jr. 27-yard chip shot with :25 seconds to go tied the game, and then SAC Offensive Player of the Week Dustin Noller would run in from three yards out to end the contest in the second overtime period, giving Limestone the 36-33 win. Despite the talent that left in the offseason, the Saints offensive has barely missed a beat. Noller is Noller, but the improvement from guys like Kevin Lalin, Jalen Jones, Tre Williams and DJ Black has been a godsend. The defense at times has looked very good, but still has some major lapses at times where they give up a lot of points in a hurry. They gave up over 500 yards to Catawba without their two best offensive stars. But just like last year, they seem to make the big stop when they are called upon.

Prediction: Wingate escapes Gaffney moves to 5-1.

I spent a solid couple hours trying to decide on this game and still have as little confidence in my pick as I did then. Limestone’s offense is elite, even with what they lost. People forget they beat Wingate last year without everything back Tre Stewart. Last year they struggled somewhat to move the ball against Wingate, but still found plenty of success. Wingate’s defense is elite, but they will be facing an offense significantly better than what they’ve seen the past few weeks. The difference in this game comes down to Wingate’s offense vs. Limestone’s defense. Statistically, the Bulldogs scored a smidgen more this year but put up less yards than last. However, their defense is better in 2024. Limestone’s offense statistically is better in 2024 than 2023, and their defense is about the same in yardage, slightly better in scoring defense. Defense travels, and I just feel like Wingate’s defense will make Limestone make some mistakes.

Emory & Henry Wasps at Anderson Trojans

Location: Anderson, SC / 1 PM

Line: Emory & Henry -18.5 / SP+: Emory & Henry 33.5, Anderson 19.1

Series: 1^st Ever Meeting

It took four Tusculum turnovers and two blocked field goals, including one near the end of regulation, for the Wasps to avoid a letdown last weekend, surviving a 23-21 ballgame against the Pioneers. Trace Butcher hit a kick 42 yards out with 5:27 remaining to put Coach Hunter’s team ahead for good in this tussle. I said in last week’s column that this was a trap game and boy did the Wasps get awfully close. I was slightly surprised the Pioneer offense was moving the ball as well as they were at times, averaging nearly 6 yards per play. Only one quarterback played in this one, with Charles Mutter III going 19 for 30, 256 yards and a score. He only got sacked three times this week, so there’s a positive. Jordan Jackson rushed for over 100 yards again, and Cam Abshire had six grabs for 138 yards to lead the team in receiving yards. Jacob Robinson had yet another pick six for the defense, who had Jarrell Harrison and Trevor Dowdell block field goals. It wasn’t pretty but survive and advance however you have to!

You could feel it coming after the heartbreaking loss in overtime against Catawba, but Coach Lamb and the Trojans recorded their first ever SAC win last weekend, 20-13 over UVA Wise. In a day where the offense was okay and the defense was not as okay, it was the defense who made the big time plays when it mattered most. Carter Wit’s interception was a massive one (biggest in school history but that’s a tad cheesy to say), and five different Trojans recorded a sack on Jake Corkren, including a sack on a 4^th down and long play that essentially ended the ballgame. Darrion Perry (SAC Defensive POTW) led the way with 13 tackles, a sack, and two pass breakups. Jerrod Woods, Caleb Gleason, Colton Smith and Rya Richardson joined the sack party. It was a monumental win for the young program, and they will look to use the momentum they’ve built the past couple of weeks going forward.

Prediction: Wasps sting Trojans, move to 6-1.

Put this down as another one where the Wasps could get caught looking ahead to next weeks showdown with Carson-Newman. Emory & Henry did not look good last week overall against Tusculum, but I think their defense should handle business and give the Wasps the win by a couple scores. Their defense is significantly better than Anderson’s, and it would take Tyler Wesley and company to have their best day of the season for the upset to happen. Or Emory & Henry to cough it up a bunch.

UVA Wise Cavaliers at #18 Carson-Newman Eagles

Location: Jefferson City, TN / 1 PM

Line: Carson-Newman -23.5 / SP+: Carson-Newman 36.2, UVA Wise 14.7

Series: Carson-Newman leads 4-1. (Carson-Newman won the last meeting, 52-7, in 2023)

Coach Bass’ crew had a 10-7 lead heading into the half of this one, but three 4^th quarter drives end in turnover on downs along with only getting a field goal in the 2^nd half helped Anderson knock off the Cavaliers last weekend, 20-13. UVA Wise had nearly 150 more yards of offense, was only -1 in the turnover margin, and had the ball :32 less seconds than their opponents, but gave up 5 sacks and had 50+ more yards in penalties. The bright spot for Coach Bass had to be the way they were able to run the ball, with Dejauvis Dozier and Ian Scammell rushing a combined 32 times for 229 yards. DJ Powell led the team with 76 yards on 3 catches. The rushing game is better than folks think. They’ve averaged 175.7 yards per game when they didn’t play ETSU or Wingate. It’s obvious that UVA Wise had got better in year one, despite the record being below .500.

Carson-Newman pulled off the largest 4^th quarter comeback in school history last weekend, stunning division rival Mars Hill, 28-27. It was miraculous. Zane Whitson’s pass gets tipped by Jeremiah Carroll and Cade “Clutch Catch” Meeks is right there to pull the Eagles within 6. A perfect on-side kick and recovery gave the Eagles the ball, which they drove down the field. On 4^th and 1 from the 1, Jayden Sullins used a grown man run to put it in the endzone, and an extra point gave the Eagles the W. It was quite possibly the most insane sequence of events I’ve seen in 17 years of watching SAC football. The Eagles are now 6-0, looking to go to 7-0 and have found ways to win in a multitude of ways this season, while getting better each week. As Adam Cavalier, SID at Carson-Newman, said, “EKG Eagles”.

Prediction: Carson-Newman goes to 7-0 for the first time since 2003.

This may get ugly. While UVA Wise has made some tremendous strides in Gary Bass’ first year, the differences in Mossy Creek have been tremendous. The Eagles defense has had some consistency issues of late but should get plenty of pressure on Jake Corkren in this game and dominate the line of scrimmage. I think the Highland Cavaliers will have issues slowing down the option and won’t be able to keep up with the offense. Distinct advantages on offense and defense, give Coach Ingram’s crew a big win on Saturday.

#19 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears at Barton Bulldogs

Location: Wilson, NC / 2 PM

Line: Lenoir-Rhyne -25.5 / SP+: Lenoir-Rhyne 35.2, Barton 16.5

Series: Lenoir-Rhyne leads 13-0. (Lenoir-Rhyne won the last meeting, 47-3, in 2023)

It was a bit of a slow start for Doug Socha’s bunch in the battle for the Bishops’ trophy last weekend, but the Bears offense did just enough in the 2^nd half to pull away from Newberry, 24-3. The biggest area of improvement, from their upset loss to Emory & Henry, was cutting down on the penalties (just 4 for 51 this week). Jalen Ferguson was very good at this one, completing 69.4% of his passes for 328 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to outstanding wide out DeAree Rogers. Alex Boyd once again stepped up admirably in the run attack, toting the rock 12 times for 92 yards and a score. Adonis McDaniel, DeAree Rogers, Songa Yates III and Tate O’Bryan each had 3+ catches for 45 + yards. Defensively, it was business as usual for the Bears: shutting down the pass, though the run game was more successful than I expected for Newberry. Nic Cheeley stood out on defense, with a team leading 6 tackles and an interception.

Barton was at the wrong end of an absolute beatdown last weekend, losing 50-0 against Wingate. Barton was held to just 89 yards of total offense, turned the ball over seven times (five interceptions and two fumbles), and had more penalty yardage than total yardage. It was a bad day against an elite defense. Trevor Nored was 12 for 24, 71 yards and 2 interceptions. Wingate also did a great job shutting down Jayden Flood-Brown, holding him to 2 catches for 9 yards. About the only bright spot on the day for Coach Hester’s squad was Matt Smith having a pretty good day on the defensive side of the ball. Smith finished with 11 tackles, a sack, and 2.5 tackles for loss. Connor Stanley picked off Brooks Bentley as well for Barton.

Prediction: Bears blow out the Bulldogs, improve to 6-1.

The Bears haven’t been as flashy and dominant as they were last year thus far, but they are still significantly better on offense and defense to be truly threatened in this one. Barton got dog-walked last week and has struggled to put up much offense outside of the early season tilts. Barton has struggled to run the ball (or pass consistently) and can’t stop the run. If they are going to pull off the monster upset, Nored probably has to throw for over 400 and they have to have some pick-sixes or fumble returns. Freak scores. Jalen Ferguson and company are just to much, and this is over by halftime.

Tusculum Pioneers at Mars Hill Lions

Location: Mars Hill, NC / 2:30 PM

Line: Mars Hill -10.5 / SP+: Mars Hill 31.3, Tusculum 19.4

Series: Tusculum leads 23-15-2. (Tusculum won the last meeting, 29-27 in 2 OT, in 2023)

Coach Billy Taylor’s team fell behind 13-0 after the 1^st quarter and a lot of teams with the same record probably would’ve thrown in the towel. However, Matthew Palazzo and the guys got things going and after a Corey Moraux fumble recovery for a score, the Pioneers led 21-20 with just over 9 minutes to go. After a field goal gave the Wasps the lead again, Tusculum moved down the field and got into position for a game winning kick. The kick was blocked, and the Wasps held on 23-21. It’s been a tough start to the season, both on and off the field due to the hurricane, for the Pioneers. But they have slowly improved each week and came darn close to giving their in-state rival Carson-Newman a two-game lead in the division. Palazzo would finish 9 of 15 for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the two interceptions were huge, and he coughed it up on a fumble. Tusculum’s defense played better, not great but better, getting to the quarterback 3 times but still hasn’t had the ability to force turnovers like last years team did. Step by step, as I already said, the new systems and growth are showing.

There are tough losses, then there are soul crushing losses. The Lions dominated the 1^st quarter against Carson-Newman last weekend, 17-0. The Eagles fought back to make it a 3-point halftime lead. Coach Clifton’s bunch had a 27-14 lead with just under two minutes to go, but gave up a touchdown, onside kick recovery, and another score as time expired, losing 28-27. JR Martin was a thorn in the Eagles side once again: 218 yards passing, 77 yards rushing, 2 touchdowns. Jon Gullette, one of the most underrated backs in the league, rushed for 66 yards (1 TD) and had 50 yards in the air. Malik Laurent and Izaiah Jean-Baptiste scored touchdowns; and the Lions defense held the Eagles to under 300 yards of total offense. It will be interesting to see how the squad responds from such a heartbreaking loss, but Tim Clifton and the leaders on this team will have them ready for tomorrow.

Prediction: Mars Hill wins, goes to 2-3.

I expect the Lions to bounce back and get a big win over Tusculum, the two teams who have finished 1^st or 2^nd in the division the past two years. Mars Hill has had an incredibly tough early season schedule and has lost 3 games to 3 potential playoff teams. If Tusculum is able to do some of the good things they did last week, they can play spoilers, but frankly, think Mars Hill comes out angry after losing last weeks game. Don’t see the Pioneers scoring enough or making enough stops to get the win and JR Martin to have a field day.

Newberry Wolves at Catawba Indians

Location: Salisbury, NC / 6 PM

Line: Newberry -6.5 / SP+: Newberry 28.4, Catawba 28.2

Series: Newberry leads 29-21. (Newberry won the last meeting, 38-31, in 2023)

Newberry held Lenoir-Rhyne scoreless in the first and was down just 10-0 going into the half. But two scores in just about five minutes of game time in the late 3^rd put this game on ice, 24-3 in the Bears favor. The Wolves defense did a decent job stopping the run (114 yards on 28 carries) but got shredded in the passing game (328 yards, 9.1 yards per). Their own passing game struggled mightily, as Coleman Gray handled most of the snaps and went 6 for 20 for 61 yards. For all the negatives in this one, the one positive was Coach Knight’s run game was effective at gaining yards, with Quez Spells and Dwayne Wright rushing for 158 of their 197 yards. Their inability to consistently pass the ball has put a ton of pressure on the run game and defense. Newberry has an average of 138 yards in the air in their 4 losses, and that’d be even below 100 if you just did SAC losses. Running the ball and strong defense has long been Newberry’s calling card, but they lack the “good enough to keep you honest” passing attack thus far in 2024.

Catawba fell behind 14-0 to Limestone in the first five minutes of regulation last weekend, before going on a 27-13 run from that point on to the end of the 4^th. As mentioned by other folks, whatever is the opposite of a golden horseshoe found on a four-leaf clover is the kind of luck Coach Haines team has this year, as they lost yet another conference game by one score, 36-33 in double overtime. LJ Turner had yet another outstanding game, 38 carries for 188 yards and 2 scores. Hunter Sheppard played extremely well, throwing for 231 and a score. He made several big-time throws in this one. Catawba did a lot of things right, which gave them a chance in this one: limit turnovers, control the clock, run the ball well. Limestone’s offense was just too much to overcome. Does the “bad luck” continue to the Indians, or do they finally get out of the fog?

Prediction: Catawba takes down the Wolves, moves to 3-4.

I’m going with the Indians in this one. Luck must turn around at some point, right? Catawba has the significantly better offense, led by LJ Turner. Turner is averaging 142.5 yards per game this season (over 250 per game in the past two weeks). The Indians also still, despite no Preston Brown, have the advantage at quarterback as well. Newberry has the edge defensively, but not by a wide margin. Both teams have had some major struggles this year. I think Catawba’s offense makes a few more plays than Newberry’s. The lower scoring it is, the better chance the Wolves (who used to be Indians) have at getting win #2.

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