JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- Carson-Newman quarterback Tedros Gleaton accounted for three touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 26-0 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
Gleaton rushed for a three-yard touchdown and completed long TD passes of 60 and 69 yards. He rushed for 43 yards on 11 carries and went 3-of-9 for 133 passing yards
The Eagles (7-3, 6-3 SAC) outgained the Pioneers in total yardage, 357-189. C-N rushed for 224 yards on 44 attempts, while Tusculum accounted for 142 rushing yards on its 43 carries.
Tusculum linebacker Rashad Watson led all players with his career-best 16 tackles. Watson finishes the year with 100 tackles, becoming only the 11th player in recorded school history to surpass the century mark in stops in a single-season.
TU's Solomon Maosa added eight tackles, TJ Jingozian added seven and the duo of Justin Thomas and Mason Davis had five stops apiece.
Carson-Newman's Isaac Bohleber led his team with 10 tackles, while Brady Weatherly and Terry Lemon had eight hits each.
C-N took advantage of the only turnover on the afternoon in the opening series as Storm Livesay stripped the ball from TU signal caller Richard Hunter and was recovered by Cruz Temple at the TU 30.
The Eagles converted on first down and got to the TU 12, but the TU defense held. Bennett Smith came and converted the 30-yard field goal try as C-N led 3-0 with 10:41 to go in the first quarter.
The score would remain that way until the second quarter as Gleaton completed a 60-yard touchdown to Nick Hester. Smith's kick was good as C-N extended the lead to 10-0 with 5:57 on the clock.
Tusculum (1-9, 0-9 SAC) marched into Carson-Newman territory moving the football 51 yards to set-up a 40-yard field goal try with two seconds remaining. Turan's kick into the wind was no good as the Eagles maintained the lead 10-0 at the intermission.
Carson-Newman took the opening possession of the second half and ran 10 straight plays to the right side and went 59 yards to the TU 6. The Tusculum defense bowed up and the Eagles settled for a 23-yard Smith field goal as C-N led 13-0 at the 8:57 mark of the third quarter.
Tusculum went three-and-out and took over at the C-N 44. This time, the Eagles would find pay-dirt and went 10 plays to cover 56 yards in 5:43. Gleaton capped the drive with his three-yard TD run, his fifth of the season as C-N went ahead 19-0 with 1:05 left in the quarter.
Smith's extra-point was blocked by Jingozian. For Jingozian, it was his second blocked kick of the year and third of his career, which are tied for the fourth-most in TU history. For Smith, it was his first missed PAT of the year.
The Pioneers got a 22-yard kickoff return from Mike Robinson as Tusculum started the TU 31. John Celestin ran for a 20-yard gain and Hunter scrambled for 16 yards to the C-N 33 as the third quarter ended.
Celestin ran for seven yards to start the final frame and Hunter posted back-to-back three-yard carries to advance to the C-N 20. But on second down, Hunter was stopped on a one-yard loss and threw an incomplete pass. Turan's 39-yard field goal try into the wind was long enough by bounced off the left upright.
Gleaton would later hit Galen Washington with a 69-yard heave down the near sideline for a touchdown to cap the scoring on the day.
Celestin finished the game with 51 rushing yards on seven carries for a 7.3 yards per attempt average. Hunter ran for 45 yards and went 5-of-8 passing for 47 yards.
TU punter Quinton Brandon averaged 38.8 yards on his five punts with a career-best four being inside the C-N 20.
The Eagles record its first shutout of the Pioneers since 2005. It's the first time C-N has ever blanked Tusculum at Burke-Tarr Stadium and its first clean-sheet in Jefferson City against its in-state rival since 1947.
Started in 1904, the Tusculum / Carson-Newman series is the second oldest collegiate gridiron rivalry in the State of Tennessee.
