Mars Hill College traveled to cloudy and rainy Greeneville, TN to try to preserve its Division II playoff hopes while tangling with the Tusculum Pioneers in South Atlantic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon. Mars Hill entered the game looking for its first win in the series since 2002. It was a happy Halloween for the Pioneers, however, taking the victory by a final score of 38-28.Tusculum led 21-13 at halftime on its Homecoming Day, but the first two quarters could have been renamed "The Jonas Randolph Show". The Lions running back toted the pigskin for 184 yards rushing through the first half and two touchdowns. Avery alumnus Josh Johnson had one catch in the first half, while teammate Zach Johnson has recorded a first half tackle.
The Lions entered the game 6-2 overall, with a 4-1 mark in conference play, while the Pioneers of Tusculum came in at 2-6, with a 1-4 conference record this season.
Mars Hill got a lift from a big kickoff return by Darin Baldwin, and opened its first second-half drive with a 16-yard pass play from QB Jon Richt to WR Josh Johnson, but the Lions were held on fourth down to turn the football over on downs.
Tusculum's ensuing offensive series of the second half was highlighted by a pass from Pioneer QB Bo Cordell to RB Marcus Foster that covered 55 yards. The Lions defense buckled down, however, resulting in a Tusculum field goal to extend the Pioneer advantage to 24-13.
Mars Hill answers with another solid drive, as Randolph continued to churn up yardage. Richt hit Josh Johnson for his third catch of the game, a first-down pass connection to give the Lions a first-and-goal to go. Three plays later Mars Hill capped 10 play, 70-yard scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown by Jonas Randolph. The PAT cuts the Tusculum lead to 24-20.
A developing story in the game was whether Randolph could break the Mars Hill single-season rushing record. Needing 250 yards to break the mark of 1,607 yards, Randolph, the second-leading rusher in NCAA Division II football, has 222 yards rushing in under three quarters of action.
The game was delayed for several minutes with three minutes to play in the third quarter when Tusculum's Jamal Ferguson had to be carted off the field after making a block on a pass completion. Tusculum quarterback Bo Cordell hit Jarrell NeSmith for a 22-yard pass play to the Mars Hill one-yard line. Pioneers backup QB Collin Wigely scored on a one-yard sneak to put the Pioneers back on the board with 1:45 to play in the third quarter. The PAT was good to give Tusculum the 31-20 edge.
The Lions' next offensive series resulted in a three-and-out, punting the football away to Tusculum as the third quarter expired with the Pioneers leading by 11 points. Needing perhaps its most important defensive stop of the season, Tusculum's Jarrell NeSmith broke the hearts of Lions fans as he broke open on a screen pass completion for a 47-yard touchdown. The PAT put the Pioneers ahead 38-20 early in the fourth quarter.
With its next possession, the Lions worked quickly to march down the field. Quarterback Luis Cruz found Josh Johnson for an 11-yard gainer, but the drive stalled and Mars Hill punted the ball back to Tusculum. Mars Hill's defense held Tusculum to a three-and-out, but a 56-yard punt pinned the Lions inside their own 10-yard line to start a huge series.
Mars Hill tried to claw back into the contest in the closing minutes of the contest, but the Lions turned the football over on downs. The Lions held Tusculum on downs to get the pigskin back with under four minutes to play, and the offense responded. A 10-yard touchdown run by Jonas Randolph, his fourth score of the contest, capped a scoring drive with 2:21 left to play. A two-point conversion pass play from Richt to Rudy Cabral cut the edge to 38-28.
The Lions attempted an onside kick to try to get the football back, but the ball fell out-of-bounds to give the Pioneers the football and run out the clock to preserve a hard-fought 38-28 victory.
Jonas Randolph ended the contest with 260 yards rushing on 38 carries with four scores, setting Mars Hill's single-season rushing record. Randolph established a new school single-season record with 1,618 rushing yards. He is 250 yards shy of the SAC season record with at least one game remaining. He also owns the records for most rushing touchdowns (16) in a single-season and most all-purpose touchdowns (16) in a season. The performance was the 11th best in South Atlantic Conference history, and the fourth time he has rushed for over 200 yards in a game this season.
Tusculum quarterback Bo Cordell finished 26 for 41 for 366 yards with four TDs and two interceptions.
Josh Johnson ended the afternoon as the leading receiver for the Lions, with four receptions for 39 yards. Teammate and fellow Avery County product Zach Johnson finished Saturday's game with a strong second half, registering seven tackles in the loss.
Mars Hill drops to 6-3 overall, with a 4-2 conference mark. The Lions will host Wingate next Saturday afternoon at Meares Stadium on Senior Day in a game that will decide second place in the South Atlantic Conference.
