No. 4 Miles 14, No. 5 Carson-Newman 13
FAIRFIELD, AL – SIAC champion Miles scored touchdowns in each of the first two quarters and those scores held up as the Golden Bears secured their first-ever Div. II playoff win in a 14-13 home victory over South Athletic Conference (SAC) runners-up Carson-Newman Saturday. The win for the Golden Bears and third-year head coach Sam Shade comes after Miles came up short in two playoff trips under former coach Reginald Ruffin.
C-NU (9-3) was able to double up the Golden Bears (10-2) in total yards, 308 to 153, in this Super Region II first round match-up, but could only generate an early fourth-quarter field goal after trailing 14-10 at halftime.
The game came down to four stops by Miles in the fourth quarter after an early C-NU field goal in the stanza cut the lead to 14-13. The Eagles punted once, gave the ball up on downs twice after penetrating into Miles territory and had the final possession – after a Golden Bears’ fumble got them the ball back with just over a minute left at the Miles 41 – halted as redshirt sophomore DB Malachi Oglen picked off a pass at the Miles 14-yard line with just :14 seconds left.
The Golden Bears scored in the 4:23 mark of the first quarter on an 11-yard pass from QB Kamren Ivory to wideout Jaquel Fells. C-NU answered immediately with a 9-play, 60-yard drive that was capped by a 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter.
Miles got its second TD in the second stanza following a fumble by C-NU QB Justin Johnson at the Eagles’ 24-yard line recovered by Miles freshman DE Keith Green with 5:02 left. After a 19-yard completion from Ivory to Travaunta Abner (4 receptions, 36 yards), RB Jonero Scott (10 carries, 48 yards) covered the final five yards for a 14-7 lead. C-NU drove for a 43-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer to cut the lead to 14-10.
Sophomore DB Jeremiah Hudson-Davis led the Golden Bears’ defensive effort with nine tackles. Redshirt senior DE Roc Dowdell and junior LB William Hardy both had eight. Green and Ogden had the only turnovers. Miles was held to 10 first downs but did not turn the ball over.
The Golden Bears now advance to the Super Region II semifinals where they will travel to undefeated No. 1 seed Valdosta State (10-0), the champion of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Valdosta State, who had a first round bye, is also the top seed in the 28-team Div. II playoff field.