Jefferson City, Tenn. - The Lenoir-Rhyne University Football Team (6-4, 3-3) finished with 551 yards of total offense including 466 on the ground in defeating Carson-Newman College (6-4, 4-2), 52-14, Saturday afternoon at Burke-Tarr Stadium.

Senior halfback James Pone (Wilson, N.C.) and junior quarterback Major Herron (Kingsland, Ga.) ran for 144 and 136 yards, respectively, as Lenoir-Rhyne knocked Carson-Newman out of first place in the league standings.

Pone's rushing total was a career-high to go along with three scores while Herron increased his South Atlantic Conference-leading total of rushing touchdowns to 15 with two more.

Lenoir-Rhyne also limited the No. 1 rushing offense in NCAA Division II to just 117 yards and 198 yards total for the contest.? In addition, L-R's 466 yards rushing was the most ever given up by Carson-Newman as well.

Lenoir-Rhyne also beat Carson-Newman for the first time since 1978, snapping a 31-game losing streak to the Eagles, and clinched its first winning season since 1994 when the Bears went 8-2 and captured a share of the SAC Title.

L-R used a quick-strike offense to build a 21-7 lead just 9:42 into the second quarter.? Pone scored on a 30-yard run on Lenoir-Rhyne's second play of the game while Herron (71 yards) and Pone (65 yards) scored on long runs to finish off three- and four-play drives, respectively, for the 14-point advantage.

Carson-Newman's Tyron Douglas (Clover, S.C.) scored on a three-yard run with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter to cut the margin to 21-14 but that is as close as the Eagles would get as the Bears reeled off the final 31 straight points en route to the win.

Junior placekicker Colin Corpe (Ocala, Fla.) gave L-R a 24-14 advantage heading into intermission with a 34-yard field goal before the Bears found the end zone twice in each of the third and four quarters for the 52-14 final.

Herron put the game away with his second touchdown of the game, a six-yarder, that finished off a seven-play, 67-yard drive to open the second half at the 11:15 mark of the third quarter.

Senior halfback Andrew Courman (Beaufort, N.C.), Pone, and sophomore quarterback Reuben Haynes (Commerce, Ga.) scored the final three touchdowns for the Bears, all on the ground.

Sophomore linebacker Demetrius Green (Cedartown, Ga.) led the Bears on defense with nine tackles while senior strong safety Carl Brooks (Raleigh, N.C.) added eight takedowns and an interception.

L-R returns home to face long-time rival Catawba Saturday in a league contest beginning at 2 p.m., in the regular season finale.? Carson-Newman, meanwhile, travels to Greeneville, Tenn., to face Tusculum next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.