GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Cole Lambert passed 168 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Emory & Henry football team to a 34-13 South Atlantic Conference over Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
The Wasps (3-1, 2-1 SAC) scored 24 unanswered points including a key blocked punt which was returned by Emmanuel Lusca for a 37-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.
Emory & Henry finished the game with 294 offensive yards while limiting the Pioneers to 175 yards on the afternoon.
E&H’s Jordan Jackson ran for 46 yards on 10 carries including his four-yard touchdown run. Jakari Mozelle hauled in four catches for 58 yards including a TD. Khyair Lundy and Gabe Karstaedt also had touchdown receptions for the visitors.
TU’s Otasowie Dion led the Pioneers with 63 rushing yards on 10 attempts, while quarterback Richard Hunter was second with his 28 rushing yards on 15 attempts including a one-yard TD plunge. Hunter also went 3-of-8 for 39 passing yards.
The Wasps opened the game with nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive which was capped off by Lambert’s 34-yard TD pass to Mozelle at the 10:12 mark of the quarter. Trace Butcher’s kick made it 7-0.
Emory & Henry would move into Tusculum territory on its second possession, but Dayquan Diston hauled in the first of two interceptions on the day as TU took over at its own eight yard-line.
Early in the second quarter, Diston came up with his second pick of the game and team-leading third of the season and returned it 26 yards to the E&H 33. Dion recorded three straight carries including a 19-yard scamper up the middle to get to the E&H 3. After a one-yard loss, Jerome Newland sprinted up the middle for a four-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 7-6 with 9:21 left in the half. A false start penalty moved the extra point back five yards as kicker Max Turan‘s kick was no good, his first miss of his young career.
Both teams would go three-and-out on their ensuing possessions. Emory & Henry responded with a nine-play, 60-yard drive which included a key fourth-down conversion as Lambert completed a 20-yard pass to Rudolph Paul to get to the TU 3. Three plays later, Jackson ran four yards to the endzone for the touchdown. Butcher’s kick was blocked by Solomon Maosa as E&H led 13-6 with 1:56 left in the quarter as the Wasps took the seven-point lead into the locker room.
Tusculum had the first possession of the second half as TU converted three first downs including twice on third down. A costly holding penalty put the Pioneers behind the chains and on third-down and long, Connor Roberts came up with a sack.
Quinton Brandon‘s punt was blocked by Trey McBride and picked up by Lusca who scooped up the ball and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown as E&H extended the lead to 20-6. Tusculum would run the ball three times and faced a fourth down and one-yard to go at the TU 32. Newland ran to right but was stopped for no gain by Tyreon Porter as the Wasps took over on downs at the TU 32 with 5:48 left in the third.
Emory & Henry converted three third down tries on its next possession, including a key pass interference call which put the ball at the TU 10. On third down and goal from the eight, Lambert rolled out to his left. His pass attempt was deflected at the line of scrimmage, but the ball went straight in the air and landed in the arms of Karstaedt for an eight-yard TD and a 27-6 lead with 2:31 left in the third.
After Tusculum went three-and-out, the Wasps put the game away early in the fourth quarter as Lambert found Lundy in the back of the end zoen for a 26-yard touchdown. Butcher’s kick made it 34-6 with 12:36 left in the game.
Tusculum posted its best scoring drive of the afternoon going 90 yards in 14 plays capped off by Hunter’s quarterback keeper from one-yard away. Turan’s kick made it 34-13 for the game’s final margin.
Diston’s two-interception performance tied a Tusculum single-game record including his teammate’s DJ Dailey two-pick effort in this year’s season-opener at Bluefield State.
E&H’s A.J. Burgess led all players with 13 tackles including a forced fumble. Porter added eight stops including 1.5 for loss, while Roberts tallied seven hits including 1.5 for loss and a sack.
Tusculum linebacker Rashad Watson finished with 10 tackles including 1.5 for loss. David Alston contributed seven while the trio of Dailey, Jayson Grahay and Malachi Jim-Lawso each had four tackles apiece.
Emory & Henry went 7-for-11 on its third conversions, while Tusculum was 8-of-15 on its tries. TU dominated the time of possession, holding onto the ball for 33:53 as both teams ran 55 plays each. TU had 10 penalties for 97 yards, while E&H had seven flags thrown for 60 yards.
The Pioneers will be on the road next Saturday as they travel to UVA Wise for a 2 p.m. SAC game.
