JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—Todd McComb insists that one game won’t take away the swagger of Catawba’s defense.

If that’s the case, then what took place Saturday at Burke-Tarr Stadium only tainted a season’s worth of stellar statistics.

Catawba, which allowed a total of 34 points and 246 rushing yards through its first seven games, was brought crashing back down to earth by Carson-Newman.

The Eagles put 40 points on the scoreboard thanks to an offense that cranked out 319 rushing yards on 55 carries.

“This is a one-time deal,” McComb said. “Our goal was to go undefeated, but I’d rather lose now than in the playoffs.”

Even if Catawba goes back to its dominating defensive ways, Saturday’s performance will be tough to forget.

Carson-Newman running back Randy Bell rushed 21 times for 144 yards. He scored on a 1-yard run to tie the game in the third quarter, then put forth an amazing display of grit and strength in the first period of overtime.

On the Eagles first play, Bell took a handoff around left end, broke a tackle at the 10, spun out of another one at the 5 and danced in for a 25-yard score.

“I’ve never seen anything like Randy Bell in my life,” Carson-Newman coach Ken Sparks said. “We’ve had such great, great backs around here and had some unbelievable performances on this field, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone run through people like Randy Bell did today.”

The Indians haven’t seen a back like him at any point this season.

Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula said he wouldn’t know why the Indian defense couldn’t stop Bell and the Eagles until he looked at the game film. But he didn’t fault Catawba’s preparation or strategy.

“Curtis Walker is a tremendous defensive coordinator, I thought his game plan was beautiful,”Tomsula said. ‘Everyone wants to point a finger I guess, and if you’re going to point one, you point it to the defensive line coach. You point it at me.”

The defense did have a few bright spots, but they only temporarily stopped a determined Eagle squad.

With the game tied at 20-20 in the fourth quarter, Carson-Newman looked poised to take the lead. The Eagles drove down to the Indian 7-yard line, and Antwon Oliver appeared to score on a first-down play. The Carson-Newman sideline celebrated, but the officials ruled Oliver down at the 1.

Quarterback Shane Kelley went for a sneak on the next play, but Catawba’s James McDowell ripped the ball out of his hands to give the Catawba offense the ball back.

The Indians rushed on three plays and punted, but Alvin Sanders and Mikkal Jenkins both tried to catch the ball and fumbled it at the Catawba 47.

Darris Morris recovered with 12:09 left, and the Indians marched down the field and scored on Tony Hawkins’
7-yard burst around left end on fourth-and-inches to put Catawba ahead.

“That changed the whole game right there,”Khanis Hubbard said.“If they would have scored, it would have been a backbreaker.”

Instead, Carson-Newman fought back and made it a heartbreaker.

The Eagles went 78 yards on four plays — thanks largely to a 65-yard reception by Sanders — to tie the game with 1:43 left.

Carson-Newman didn’t slow down in overtime, scoring two times in what was a rare offensive duel between the two teams.

Before Saturday, neither squad had scored more than 30 points since the Eagles gave up 41 in a 20-point win in 1995.

“It’s nothing we are going to dwell on, we still have two games to go,” Hubbard said. “Come back Saturday and be 8-1, come to the Saturday after that and be 9-1. Try to make it to the playoffs and win a national championship.”

Sounds like a defense that hasn’t lost its confidence.

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Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-2458 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com .