WISE, Va. — UVA Wise scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cavaliers to a 35-21 homecoming win over Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Carl Smith Stadium.
UVA Wise (1-4, 1-3 SAC) totaled 487 offensive yards on the afternoon with running back Daniel Thomas leading the charge with 167 rushing yards on 32 carries with three touchdowns. Wise quarterback Jake Corkren went 18-for-34 for 282 yards and a touchdown.
Corkren’s 63-yard TD pass to tight end Peyton McClanhan with 8:24 remaining broke open a seven-point game. The play was set up by a strip-sack by Joseph Goeller, which was recovered by teammate Raaphell Mayes at the Wise 37. It was the third fumble recovery by the Cavs’ defense on the day.
UVA Wise defense limited the Pioneers (1-4, 0-4 SAC) to 164 total offensive yards (135 rush, 29 pass) for the contest as Tusculum suffers its fourth straight loss.
The Cavs finished the game with 27 first downs and went 9-of-15 on its third-down conversions. TU had a dozen first downs and went 4-of-14 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down.
The TU defense kept the Pioneers in the game as Tusculum came up with a pair of interceptions, both returned for touchdowns.
After a one-hour-and-29-minute weather delay to start the game, UVA Wise took the opening possession and marched 65 yards in 10 plays which was capped off by a Thomas one-yard touchdown. Noah Perrin’s extra-point was good for a 7-0 lead at the 12:03 mark of the first quarter.
Later in the quarter, Brub Hines forced a fumble and was recovered by Jalen Pickens at the Wise 47. ON the next play, Corkren was intercepted by Tre Mobley who returned the pick for a 43-yard touchdown. Max Turan‘s kick was good to knot the game at 7-7 with 9:10 left in the frame.
UVA Wise would drive into Tusculum territory and would face a fourth-down and one from the TU 43. The Cavaliers would be stopped for a one-yard loss by Rashad Watson and Aidan Dark as the Pioneers took over at the TU 44.
Tusculum would record its initial first down of the afternoon and moved to the Wise 40. But on third down, Wise linebacker Jimmie Simmons came up with a strip sack of TU quarterback Richard Hunter, which was recovered by Mayes for the first of his two fumble recoveries of the game.
UVA Wise took over at its own 45 and in five plays moved to the TU 32. But like the previous turnover, Tusculum’s defense answered with one its own as Corkren was picked off for a second time as DJ Dailey came up with his third interception of the season and returned it for a 75-yard touchdown. Turan’s kick made it a 14-7 Tusculum lead with 2:37 to go in the first quarter.
Back came the Cavaliers as they would get a 23-yard run from Thomas on the first play of the series. On third-and-12, Corkren completed a 25-yard pass to DJ Powell, moving the ball to the TU 29. Thomas would get three straight carries with the last coming on his 20-yard TD run on the final play of the quarter to tie the game at 14-14.
Lavante Adams took over at quarterback for Tusculum to start the second quarter and he scrambled for a 16-yard carry on the first play. But the drive would stall and TU would punt as UVA Wise took over at its own 25.
Thomas ran up the middle for a 14-yard gain, while Corkren followed with completions of 15 and 17 yards to move to the TU 26. Thomas ran for seven yards and followed with a 19-yard TD run up the middle as the Cavs retook the lead at 21-14 with 9:52 to go in the half.
Tusculum mounted a 10-play possession as TU converted three first downs but could only get to midfield and would be forced to punt. Wise took over and would face fourth-down and four from its own 42. In punt formation, the snap went straight to Thomas but the play was snuffed out by a Jeremiah Williams as he was stopped for two-yard gain as TU took over on downs from the 44.
Adams completed an 18-yard pass to Javon Richardson to get to the Wise 15. John Celestin followed with a touchdown run from there as Tusculum tied the game at 21-21 with 27 seconds left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, the ball went out of bounds just shy of the pylon with Wise taking over at the 35. But after the play, Tusculum was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty moving the ball to midfield with no time leaving the clock.
Corkren completed a 21-yard pass to Da’Jon Barnes at the TU 29 with 14 seconds left. After a Wise timeout, went to the end zone on back-to-back plays. The second was caught in the back of the end zone for an apparent touchdown as time expired. But an offensive holding penalty negated the score setting up an untimed down from the TU 39. Corkren’s pass was broken up by TU’s Xavier Gunn.
After a scoreless third quarter, UVA Wise cashed in on an eight-play, 70-yard drive which was highlighted by completions of 10, 11 and 20 yards to get to the TU 16. Andon Rogers completed the drive with his 16-yard run up the middle for the go-ahead TD with 11:58 remaining. On the score, UVA Wise was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which would be accessed on the kickoff.
Now having to kick off from the 20, TU’s Tyson Wolcott took the kick and returned it 18 yards to the TU 48. The Pioneers were looking for the game-tying drive and moved to the Wise 25. But on second down and short, Adams rolled out to his right to pass. As he reared back, Goeller knocked the ball free and was recovered by Mayes at the 37 with 8:34 on the clock.
On the next play, McClanahan got free in the secondary at midfield and sprinted down the sideline for a 63-yard touchdown to give the home team a two-score cushion.
Adams sprinted eight yards on a quarterback keeper but was knocked out of the game by Matt Strong’s hit to the back on the tackle. Hunter came back in the game as the Pioneers were able to convert a first down. But on fourth-down and five yards to go, Hunter would be stopped for a three-yard loss as the Cavs took over on downs at the TU 39 with 6:27 left.
The defense held UVA Wise to zero yards on the next three plays and would be forced to punt as Jake Marcantel’s punt would be downed at the TU 2 with 5:02 to go.
Tusculum would come up empty on the possession and would be forced to punt as UVA Wise would run the clock out from there.
TU defensive back Da’Shawn Elder recorded a career-high 14 tackles, while linebacker Rashad Watson finished with a dozen stops including 1.5 for loss. The trio of Greg Williams, Dark and Diston all finished with eight stops, while Dailey added six tackles to go along with his 75-yard INT return, which is the fourth-longest in school history.
Tusculum total 118 interception return yardage is the third-most in a TU single-game. It also marked the first time since 2022 that the Pioneers have posted a pair of pick-sixes.
TU punter Quinton Brandon averaged 44.7 yards on his seven punts including his season-long 69-yarder, which is the ninth-longest by a Pioneer. His three punts inside the 20 are also a personal-best by the Greeneville sophomore.
For UVA Wise, Powell had a game-high nine receptions for 119 yards while Kahill Jones, Jr. had four grabs for 63 yards. McClanahan rounded out the receiving with his three catches for 77 yards.
Hunter and Adams went a combined 2-for-12 as the duo was sacked three times. Adams rushed 15 times for 54 yards, while Otasowie Dion had seven rushes for 33 yards.
The Pioneers had nine penalties for 100 yards, while UVA Wise was flagged 10 times for 66 yards.
Tusculum enters a bye week and will return to action on Oct. 11 when they host Newberry College for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Pioneer Field. TU will play three of its next four games at home which includes a bye week following the Newberry game.
