JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne Football Team captured the outright South Atlantic Conference Championship with a 40-21 victory at Carson-Newman on Saturday afternoon. The Bears scored the game's final 33 points after falling behind 21-7 and forced seven turnovers in the process.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 40, Carson-Newman 21
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (9-1, 6-0 SAC), Carson-Newman (6-4, 4-3)
Location: Jefferson City, Tenn. | Burke-Tarr Stadium
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STATS OF THE GAME:
•   It was a dominating performance by the LR defense. On top of the seven takeaways, the Bears held the nation's leading rushing offense to just 113 yards. The Eagles entered play averaging 363.7 yards per game on the ground but were held 250 yards shy of that total by the Bears.  
•    Additionally, Eagles RB Antonio Wimbush was the national leader in yards per rush at 8.7 yards/carry but was held to just 9 carries for 33 yards and 3.7 yards/carry.
 •   After being named SAC Defensive Player of the Week last week, LB Sherrod Williams followed that up with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble in today's game. Jaquan Artis and Dan Louba each finished with seven tackles and a tackle for loss and Kyle Dugger intercepted a pass.
•    T.J. Smith registered his fourth game of 100 yards receiving as the senior totaled five catches for 109 yards and his ninth touchdown of the season.  
•    With his two TD passes today, sophomore Grayson Willingham ties the single-season record with 18 touchdowns on the year. Willingham finished the day with 206 yards passing on 13 completions and connected with six different receivers.  
•    13 different players recorded at least one rush on the day as the Bears ran 63 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns. LR was led by Darnell Jackson who ran for 70 yards on eight carries and found the end zone twice.  
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
•    The Eagles jumped out to a 21-7 lead after a 15-yard TD by Derrick Evans with 8:16 left in the second quarter. From that point on, the Bears shut out the Eagles for the final 38:16 of the game.
•    Prior to today's game, the Eagles season-low for rushing yards in a game was 162 and they had averaged 433 over the last five games.
•    The Bears have scored 30 or more points in every game this season and have rushed for multiple touchdowns in every contest this year.  
•    This is the eighth SAC Championship in program history and the first since 2014.

UP NEXT:
LR will close out the regular season on Saturday when they host Catawba for Senior Day at 2 p.m. at Moretz Stadium.