Jefferson City, Tenn. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team (2-3, 2-0) prevailed in its first road game of the year, 20-17 over Carson-Newman (2-3, 1-2), Saturday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference contest at Burke-Tarr Stadium.

Lenoir-Rhyne redshirt freshman running back Nelson Brown (Salisbury, Md.) finished with 200 yards rushing on 35 carries and a touchdown while senior placekicker Hunter Haire (Longwood, Fla.) kicked the game-winning, 35-yard field goal with 59 seconds remaining to break a 17-all tie in the victory.

Brown topped 200 yards on the ground for the second time this season for the Bears, who defeated the Eagles for the fifth straight time.

Carson-Newman was able to rally to tie the contest after falling behind by a 14-0 score early in the second quarter thanks to touchdown runs by Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore running back Robbie Hooks (Franklinville, N.J.) and Nelson from two and eight yards out, respectively.

The Bears defense was also the story in the game, limiting the Eagles to just 250 yards of offense including 187 yards on the ground.  Lenoir-Rhyne also registered four quarterback sacks while redshirt freshman defensive back Sherrod Williams (Edison, Ga.) sealed the game with a 45-yard interception return on the Eagles' final drive.

Carson-Newman came into the contest averaging over 565 yards of total offense, fourth-best in the nation.  The Eagles' Antonio Wimbush (Kingsland, Ga.) finished with 99 yards rushing while Jamal Jones (Chattanooga, Tenn.) added a 27-yard touchdown run in the losing effort.

Lenoir-Rhyne is now tied with Newberry for first place in the South Atlantic Conference standings.  Williams also had a 37-yard fumble return, a forced fumble and five solo tackles in the win for the Bears.

Lenoir-Rhyne next faces UNC Pembroke, ranked No. 21 in NCAA Division II, next Saturday at home as part of Homecoming at Moretz Stadium beginning at 2:00 p.m.  Carson-Newman, meanwhile, travels to Brevard, N.C., to take on Brevard on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.