GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum Pioneers will host the Chowan Hawks in the 2021 home football opener at Pioneer Field this Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be the inaugural gridiron encounter between the two programs, which were both victorious last week on the road in their respective season-openers.
Tusculum (1-0) amassed over 500 yards offensively and scored two defensive touchdowns en route to a 58-14 dismantling of St. Augustine's last Saturday. Chowan (1-0) grinded out a 30-24 overtime win at Mars Hill last Thursday night.
Tusculum's win last week snapped a five-year losing streak in its season-opening game, while extending TU's winning streak to five in a row dating back to last season. The Pioneers enter this week's game riding a four-game home winning streak and will be looking for the program's first 2-0 start since 2013.
LAST WEEK'S GAME
The Pioneers piled up 540 yards of total offense and scored 44 unanswered points to start the game in the opener at St. Augustine's. TU senior Maurice Gomillion ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense held the Falcons to just 114 total yards.
TU starting quarterback Ivan Corbin passed for 190 yards and a touchdown, while freshman signal caller Tre Simmons passed and ran for a score. Eleven different receivers recorded a reception led by Justice Parham who posted four catches for 98 yards including a 46-yard touchdown. Tusculum rushed for 296 yards on the day as Cortney Jackson added 64 yards and a TD, while Reggie Kellum tallied 60 rushing yards.
Defensively, Raynell Killian led the Pioneers with eight tackles including two tackles for loss and a sack. He also recovered a fumbled lateral in the end zone for a touchdown. Delonte Jones added five tackles, while Quaheim Glasgow totaled four tackles and returned a fumble for a 20-yard touchdown.
The Tusculum defense also did not allow a third-down conversion in 13 tries by the Falcons while the Pioneer offense converted 30 first downs.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Tusculum head coach Jerry Odom, who is in his sixth season at the helm of the Pioneer program, returns 49 lettermen from the spring including 15 starters from TU's 4-1 team that captured the South Atlantic Conference Championship.
Eight starters are back from a defensive unit that was near the top of the league in scoring defense and total defense. The Pioneers allowed 17.6 points per game which was second in the SAC and 10th in the nation, while also limiting foes to 311.2 total yards per game (2nd in SAC / 17th in NCAA II) including a conference-best 84.0 rushing yards allowed per game (7th in NCAA II).
Offensively, the Pioneers led the country last spring with 394.2 passing yards per game, while generating a 37.6 points per contest (2nd in SAC / 12th in NCAA II). Overall, TU generated 533.4 yards offensively which was the second-most in the land.
Senior Craig Watts (St. Petersburg, Fla.) anchors the linebacker corps after recording 17 tackles in the spring including three tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He accounted for two tackles last week at St. Augustine's. The Valdosta State transfer accounted for 70 tackles and in interception in 2018 as he helped the Blazers to a NCAA II National Championship.
Senior Jahaud Russ (Tampa, Fla.) will see playing time again at middle linebacker for the Pioneers. He has totaled 20 tackles in his TU career which includes 3.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, all coming in 2019.
Sophomore Delonte Jones (Harvey, Ill.) joined the Pioneers from Iowa Central where he starred in 15 games over the past two seasons including 2019 where he logged 28 stops. He finished with five tackles in last week's TU debut.
Up front, the Pioneers have veteran depth including Ryan McIntyre, Xavier Clemmons, Quaheim Glasgow and Nelson Louis.
McIntyre (Chipley, Fla.) has logged 25 career games with the Pioneers including all five outings in the spring where he posted 17 tackles including 3.5 for loss while forcing two fumbles and recovered another on a sack.
Clemmons (Douglas, Ga.) has played in 28 outings where he has totaled 60 tackles with eight for loss and four sacks. Glasgow (Newberry, S.C.) is a veteran of 24 contests in the trenches where he has made 71 tackles with 10 for loss and three sacks.
Louis (Moultrie, Ga.), the 2018 SAC Defensive Freshman of the Year, continues to return to the form he enjoyed in 2018 when he led the Pioneers with 17 tackles for loss including 10 sacks as he finished the season with 53 total stops. This past spring, he tallied 11 tackles including seven for loss and led the team with two sacks. In last week's opener, Louis tallied two sacks and forced the fumble resulting in Glasgow's TD return.
NCAA II All-American sprinter Widchard Guervil (Ft. Myers, Fla.) returned to the TU football roster last week at the bandit slot. The 11-time All-Region track and field honoree last played on the Pioneer football team in 2017 where he played in nine contests where he was credited with nine tackles including three sacks.
Kane Deshauters (Brevard, N.C.) made nine tackles last spring in his five outings which including two tackles for loss. He contributed three tackles including two for loss last Saturday.
In the secondary, free safety John Smith (Cocoa, Fla.) is the team's top returning tackler from the spring campaign as he posted 24 tackles including two for loss. Smith was credited with one tackle last weekend.
Senior Raynell Killian (Jacksonville, Fla.) is also back after making 17 tackles including 10 solo hits. He is moving to the starting rover position for this week's game. The Valdosta State transfer also has two tackles for loss and three pass break-ups in his five outings in the spring. In his two previous seasons at Valdosta, Killian appeared in 24 games in his two seasons with the Blazers. Including last spring, Killian has been part of three straight seasons winning a conference championship.
Ty'Korian Brown (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Jordan Taylor (Miami, Fla.) are slated to man the cornerback positions this fall. Brown was credited with playing in two games this past spring where he logged a pair of solo tackles. In his 2019 rookie season, he tallied 26 stops with eight pass break-ups. Taylor made three appearances in the spring where, posting four tackles with one for loss. Joining the duo at the corner slot are Andrae Robinson (Covington, Ga.) and Jonovan Lowe (Tucker, Ga.).
Trey Trawick (Milledgeville, Ga.) could also see time at rover and played in four contests in the spring as he totaled four tackles for the Pioneers.
Adrian Robinson (Covington, Ga.) played in four games last spring, recording three tackles for the Black and Orange.
Leading a very talented receiver corps is junior Justice Parham (Tarpon Springs, Fla.). Last spring, he emerged as the team's top receiver posting a team-high 20 receptions (2nd in SAC) for 364 yards (1st in SAC) and four touchdowns (T1st in SAC). He was also tied for second on the team with 24 points scored.
Tyler Ajiero (Tifton, Ga.) played in all five games in the spring and earned a start in the SAC Championship game. He finished the abbreviated season with 13 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Derrick Wright (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) made nine receptions for 102 yards and three touchdowns in his five-game campaign.
Also joining the fray are Georgia Southern transfer Darion Anderson (Warner Robins, Ga.) and former Catawba College wideout Will Sweeper (Irmo, S.C.). Anderson played in 48 games with the Eagles, totaling 22 catches for 474 yards and five touchdowns. Sweeper played two seasons at Catawba including 2018 where he earned a spot on the All-SAC second team. He led the conference averaging 22.8 yards per reception. During his career in Salisbury, North Carolina, he finished with 28 receptions for 634 yards and six touchdowns.
Georgia Southern transfer and former Limestone quarterback Ivan Corbin (Warner Robins, Ga.) is slated to get the start under center once again. He has logged 18 games of experience including 16 starts at QB. He passed for 1,264 yards and 12 touchdowns in his rookie season at Limestone and followed with 1,143 yards and 10 TD passes to go along with five scoring runs in his sophomore year with the Saints.
Freshman Tre Simmons is listed as the back-up quarterback this week after playing for most of the second half last week at St. Augustine's. Simmons went 4-of-7 for 37 yards with a touchdown, while also rushing for 18 yards and a score.
Gomillion anchors the offensive backfield at running back. In his 23-game career at Tusculum, he has rushed for 785 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also accounted for 19 career catches for 244 yards and a TD. Last spring, he played in all five games where he rushed for four touchdowns as he totaled 164 yards on 41 carries. He enters this week's home opener having scored a TD in his last five outings.
Junior Cortney Jackson (Abbeville, S.C.) joins Gomillion at running back as the Coffeyville Community College transfer rushed for 255 yards and four touchdowns last spring. Jackson had eight carries for 64 yards and a TD. Also seeing action at running back last spring were Alvin Barriner (Sebastian, Fla.) and Gerard Hearst (Lincolnton, Ga.). Both recorded carries last Saturday in the season-opener.
Sophomore Andrew Theobald (Boise, Idaho) anchors the offensive front for the Pioneers. He will get the start at one of the tackle positions, a post he held down for all five games in the spring. The Garden City Junior College transfer posted an 18-4 in his two JUCO seasons which resulted in a conference title and a runner-up finish for the NJCAA national title. In his collegiate career, his teams have amassed an impressive 23-5 overall record.
Thomas Mahoney (Glen Hills, Pa.) emerged as the starting center in the spring and is slated to hold down the post this fall. He played two seasons at Lackawanna Junior College where he was a first team All-Conference standout which included a 2018 undefeated season and a victory in the El Toro Bowl.
The duo of Mike Peppin (Flagler Beach, Fla.) and Tremaine Chatman (New Orleans, La.) are slated to start at guard in the trenches, while Ben Shellenback (Melbourne, Fla.) is expected to make his first collegiate start this weekend.
Sophomore Will Shellenback (Melbourne, Fla.) saw a lot of action at tight end last spring and will be getting the start once again this week. He made five receptions for 58 yards averaging 11.6 yards per catch at tight end. Slated to see playing time at tight end is sophomore Bryce Moore. Moore has been at quarterback for his first two TU campaigns and could see playing time there if needed. But he made the move to tight end this fall and recorded a catch for 22 yards and a first down last week at St. Augustine's.
Veteran Aaron Fudge (Jacksonville, Fla.) also saw playing time last spring at tight end as he made two catches including a 64-yard touchdown. He tallied eight catches for 105 yards and a score in his 2018 rookie season at receiver.
On special teams, seasoned-veteran Andrew Cantrell (Sparta, Tenn.) will be handling the duties at punter. During his 27-game career, he has accounted for 141 punts and 5,328 punting yards, both which are ranked in the top-four in the TU record book. His 37.79 career average is ninth-best in school history, while his 40 career punts inside the 20-yardline are third-best by a Pioneer. During the spring, he posted a 39.0 punting average and led the SAC with his nine punts inside the 20. He was recognized for his efforts in the classroom where he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team.
Greeneville native Eli Shepherd will handle the extra point and field goal kicking for Tusculum once again. He has been TU's starting kicker the last two seasons where he has accounted for 71 points (8th in TU history) and has connected on 91.7 percent of his extra points (4th in TU history) and has gone 9-of-15 on field goals. Last spring, he went 24-of-25 on extra points and his 24 points had him tied for second on the team in scoring.
Eduardo Gonzalez (Cosby, Tenn.) will be Tusculum's kickoff specialist as he recorded 29 kicks last spring averaging 52.9 yards per boot with one touchback. Josh Curray (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) will be TU's long-snapper after winning the job last spring as he was solid on his 51 in-game special teams' snaps.
SCOUTING CHOWAN
The Chowan Hawks saw their first gridiron action in two years last week and came away with an impressive 30-24 overtime win at Mars Hill. Head coach Mark Hall served as the interim coach for the final four games of the 2019 campaign. He has been on the Chowan staff for the past decade.
The 2019 team went 3-7 overall, but went 2-2 with Coach Hall at the helm. Senior Bryce Witt is slated to get the start at quarterback for the Hawks. He is the program's all-time leader in passing yards (6815), passing touchdowns (70) and completions (507). He earned All-CIAA second team accolades in 2019 for the Hawks.
Last week against MHU, Witt went 17-of-28 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He was also sacked four times in the game for a loss of minus-23 yards. Witt completed passes to eight different receivers as Laurence King had six catches for 77 yards and touchdown. Imeek Watkins tallied four grabs for 81 yards and Miles Fairley contributed two catches for 50 yards.
Redshirt freshman Jaylon Boyd was the top rusher for the Hawks last week against Mars Hill as he posted 20 carries for 70 yards and scored two touchdowns, including a one-yard plunge for the game-winner in overtime.
Junior linebacker Jalen Burton leads the CU defense as he posted 10 tackles last week with a sack. Defensive end Gilberto Ortiz and linebacker Basilio Fernandez had nine tackles apiece.
Specialist Luis Orellana handles all of the kicking and punting duties for the Hawks. He averaged 37.4 yards on his five punts last weekend including two inside the 20-yardline. He was also made a 28-yard field goal and went 3-of-4 on extra points.
PATRIOTS DAY
Tusculum University will be commemorating Patriots Day as Saturday will mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our country, while also remembering those who died and those who stepped forward and demonstrated the heroism and courage of our nation.
All military personnel, veterans, law enforcement officers, firefighters and first responders will be admitted free to Saturday's game with their valid ID.
FOLLOW THE GAME
If you can't make it to Saturday's game, fans can watch the action on-line at www.TusculumPioneers.com on the Pioneer Sports Network and the SAC Digital Network. The radio call of the game will also be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive.
The "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton and Joe Byrd will describe all the action for both the radio and video broadcasts. Stayton is in his 25th season as the broadcast voice of Tusculum University Athletics.
TIME CHANGE FOR NEXT WEEK'S GAME
Tusculum has announced a time-change for next Saturday's (Sep. 18) South Atlantic Conference opener with Limestone University. The new kickoff time will be at 3 p.m. Next weekend will be TU's "Black Out" game as fans are asked to wear their Tusculum Black.
