October 26th, 2024 4:10pm
EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry University Football Team (7-1, 5-1 SAC) now sits tied atop the South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division after defeating No. 17 Carson-Newman University (7-1, 5-1 SAC) by a 17-10 score Saturday afternoon at a raucous Fred Selfe Stadium. It was E&H's first win over Carson-Newman since 1968 when both programs were members of the now-defunct Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference and snapped a nine-game skid to the Eagles.
Emory & Henry took the kickoff and drove deep into Carson-Newman territory but junior quarterback Charles Mutter, III (King George, Va.) fumbled inside the 10 to turn the ball over. It was just the second fumble of the year and the first lost by the Wasps' offense.
The Eagles went down the field 85 yards in 16 plays, chewing 7:34 off the clock but the drive stalled inside the red zone. C-N kicker Bennett Smith converted a 23-yard field goal with 4:16 remaining in the opening quarter for a 3-0 lead.
Both offenses struggled to get anything going until the middle of the second quarter. E&H got the ball at midfield after a Carson-Newman punt and struck down the field for the first score of the game. After sophomore wide receiver Cam Abshire (Roanoke, Va.) drew a pass interference penalty, Mutter used his legs to run in from 39 yards out to make it a 7-3 contest.
On the next drive, the Wasps defense forced a turnover as sophomore defensive lineman Ean Rhea (Glade Spring, Va.) stripped quarterback Zane Whitson. Junior linebacker Marc Harris (Tallapoosa, Ga.) recovered the ball to put E&H back on offense. On the next play, Mutter hit a streaking junior wideout Cam Peoples (Reidsville, N.C.) going down the right side for a 43-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 6:05 remaining in the half.