Allen Gregory
MARS HILL, N.C. - The path to a South Atlantic Conference divisional title just got a lot tougher for the Emory & Henry football team.
One week after a signature win against nationally ranked Carson-Newman, the No. 23 Wasps fell 31-23 on Saturday afternoon to the Mars Hill Lions.
With two conference games remaining, C-N (8-1, 6-1) leads the SAC Mountain Division with E&H (7-2, 5-2) and Mars Hill (4-3, 4-2) next in line.
The headaches for E&H included 11 penalties, four turnovers and an ugly injury to starting quarterback Charles Mutter.
"I didn't prepare the guys to play their A game. Mars Hill came out ready and that showed in the first half," E&H head coach Quintin Hunter said.
E&H trailed 17-0 by the 6:09 mark of the second quarter, as Mars Hill scored on a pair of long interception returns.
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Mutter was forced out of the game late in the first quarter after a hard hit on the Mars Hill sideline. Following treatment, Mutter returned to the sidelines in the second half with his arm in a sling.
According to Hunter, Mutter has an issue with his collarbone.
"I don't know the diagnosis, but Charles is banged up," Hunter said.
Redshirt freshman Eli Foutz replaced Mutter for a few plays before Abingdon's Cole Lambert took over for the remainder of the day.
"Charles is a tough guy and he's taken a lot of hits. I felt bad for him when he had to go out," Lambert said.
With an aggressive game plan and powerful defensive front, Mars Hill created 11 tackles for loss and four sacks.
"Their pressure made me scramble out of the pocket and rush throws, but we will fix it," Lambert said. "We just have to believe in each other."
E&H entered the day with two regular offensive linemen out of the lineup due to injuries. Two more linemen were forced out at times Saturday.
"It was a physical game," Hunter said. "We got some things going in the second half, but we made mistakes that cost us. Mars Hill is well-coached and their kids give a lot of effort."
The star for E&H was receiver Cam Abshire. The athletic 6-4 sophomore from Roanoke caught seven passes for 163 yards and a score. Abshire leads the SAC with nine touchdown receptions and 89 yards receiving per game.
"Regardless of the injuries, we just have to move on from this loss keep doing our thing," Abshire said. "I've got confidence in all our quarterbacks.
The performance by Abshire featured a one-handed grab that drew reaction from even Mars Hill fans.
"I've done that in practice a few times, but that was my first one-handed catch in a game," Abshire said. "I can always rely on Cole to throw a good ball."
Six-foot-four E&H sophomore Jakari Mozelle added an acrobatic grab on a 27-yard scoring pass with 4:35 left in the game,
Tristan Stitt, a 6-5 freshman receiver, said the Wasps have trust in Lambert.
"We have the next man up mentality," Stitt said. "Cole is another good leader and player."
Mars Hill managed 41 yards rushing, as defensive backs Chendrick Cann, Shawn Collins and Addison Knicely combined on 16 tackles.
E&H closed within 17-14 at the 12:56 mark of the third quarter a 37-yard run from durable 215-pound junior Jordan Jackson, who finished with 119 yards on 22 carries.
The Lions answered with time-consuming scoring drives of 80 and 86 yards.
It's been a challenging season for veteran Mars Hill coach Tim Clifton, but the Lions responded to the E&H test
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"Hunter has done a great job and no other team in this conference has two receivers like Emory has," Clifton said.
"We've played some great teams this season. We opened against Delta State and should have beat Carson-Newman. I knew our guys would come out strong today."
The roadblocks for Mars Hill included the far-reaching impact of Hurricane Helene.
"We were safe because our campus is located on a hill, but everybody below us was devastated," Clifton said. "About eight of our kids went home, but the other players stayed. We worked in the community every day unloading trucks and loading vehicles with food.
"In the week before our Newberry game, we only practiced one hour per day. The rest of the time was spent volunteering."
E&H senior defensive tackle Andre Crawley Jr. noticed the energy from the Lions.
"The crowd was into it and their guys just brought it to us," Crawley said.
It was a painful day for Crawley, who dealt with injuries to his shoulder, elbow and eye.
"We all faced some adversity, but we just have to prepare harder and get the job done in big games like this," Crawley said.
Emory & Henry 0 7 7 9-23
Mars Hill 10 7 14 0-31
Scoring Summary
MH - Teachy 20 FG
MH - Vertilus 55 interception return (Teachy kick)
MH - Rankin 58 interception return (Teachy kick)
E&H - Abshire 31 pass from Lambert (Butcher kick)
E&H - Jackson 37 run (Butcher kick)
MH - Martin 1 run (Teachey kick)
MH - Martin 3 run (Teachy kick)
E&H - Butcher 43 FG
E&H - Mozelle 27 pass from Lambert (kick blocked)
Att. - 3,575
Team Stats
First Downs: E&H 21, MH 15; Rushes-Yards: E&H 33-117, MH 32-41; Passing Yards: E&H 277, MH 235; Comp.-Att.-Int.: E&H 15-29-3, MH 15-24-1; Penalties: E&H 11-129, MH 7-80; Fumbles-Lost: E&H 1-1, MH 1-0; Punts-Average: E&H 7-41, MH 8-45
Individual Stats
RUSHING - E&H: Jackson 22-119, Mutter 3-9, Snotherly 2-4, Foutz 3(-7), Lambert 3(-8); MH: Martin 12-32, Gullette 16-9, Joseph 1-2, Louis 1-2, TEAM 2(-4)
PASSING - E&H: Lambert 14-24-2-278, Foutz 0-2-0-0, Mutter 1-3-1(-1); MH: Martin 15-24-1-235
RECEIVING: E&H: Abshire 7-163, Peoples 5-35, Stitt 1-28, Mozelle 1-27, Tinnell 1-24; MH: Gullette 3-71, Jean-Baptiste 5-59, Hargro1-36, Thompson 1-33, DeBerry 3-15, Pittman 1-11, Louis 1-10
[email protected] | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544
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