GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Charlie Guinade hauled in three touchdown catches in the first half to lead the Mars Hill football team to a 28-7 South Atlantic Conference win at Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
The Lions (4-5, 2-5 SAC) snap a four-game losing streak while also recording its first win in Greeneville since 2015. Tusculum (1-7, 0-7 SAC) suffers its seventh straight loss.
MHU quarterback JR Martin went 13-of-24 for 259 yards and four touchdowns.
The Tusculum offense rushed for 218 yards on the afternoon, led by Lex Dinwiddie‘s 87 yards on 14 carries. Freshman Teryntino Brown-Freeman tallied 69 yards on his 10 attempts including a four-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the game to avoid the shutout on Homecoming for Tusculum.
Mars Hill finished the game with 409 total offensive yards including 150 rushing yards as Jon Gullette accounted for 108 yards on 19 carries. Gullette also posted 26 yards on his five receptions as the posted 142 all-purpose yards on the day.
Tusculum linebacker Rashad Watson recorded his fourth consecutive game with double-digits tackles as he posted 11 stops including one for loss and a QB hurry. Cameron Garnett and Xavier Gunn each had seven tackles, while Dylan Horne tallied 2.5 tackles for loss including a pair of sacks.
Mars Hill was led by Keenan Pierce with nine tackles including 3.5 for loss, 2.0 sacks and recovered a fumble. The MHU quartet of Amari Brown, Will Marzolf, Sakarri Morrison and Steven Reid accounted for eight tackles apiece.
Tusculum fumbled the football twice in the first half, both which were turned into MHU touchdowns as the Lions took a 21-0 at the intermission.
The first TU miscue came on the second play from scrimmage as Morrison came up with the recovery for the Lions at the TU 7. Two plays later, Martin connected with Guinade on an eight-yard TD pass. Lon Teachey’s extra point made it a 7-0 Mars Hill lead 73 seconds into the contest.
Tusculum would get into Mars Hill territory thanks to a 30-yard run by Dinwiddie to the MHU 42. Quarterback Lavante Adams rushed for 7 and 6 yards to move to the MHU 29. But Adams would be sacked by Pierce for a four-yard loss and a three-yard loss on third down put the Pioneers out of field goal range. Punter Quinton Brandon pinned the Lions at the MHU 1 with his 32-yard punt.
But on the first play of the drive, Tusculum was penalized for pass interference as Mars Hill got some breathing room out to the MHU 16. MHU got out to midfield as Martin completed a short pass across the middle to Guinade and he would sprint 54 yards to the end zone for his second touchdown as the Lions extended the lead to 14-0 with 6:13 left in the quarter. The pass capped a six-play, 99-yard drive.
Tusculum would possess the ball for the remainder of the first quarter, thanks to a roughing the punter penalty on the Lions and some timely runs by Dinwiddle and Adams as the Pioneers moved to the MHU 30. But on fourth-down and five to start the second quarter, John Celestin was tackled fo Sammuel Riwibuka for a one-yard loss as Tusculum would turn the ball over on downs.
Mars Hill would pin the Pioneers at the TU 1 thanks to a Teachey 34-yard punt. Tusculum would go three-and-out and MHU got an 8-yard punt return by Gullette as the Lions started at the TU 34.
Mars Hill converted a first down on Gullette’s 13-yard run to the TU21. But the Lions would only go two more yards and on fourth-down and eight, Martin would be stopped short of the line to gain by Watson as Tusculum got the ball at the TU 14.
The Pioneers went three-and-out and a shanked punt set up the Lions in great field position again at the TU 27.
But the Tusculum defense stood on its head again. Gullette was tackled for a loss by Horne and Solomon Maosa. Two plays later and facing fourth-down and eight again, Martin would be sacked by TU’s Greg Williams, forcing another turnover on downs as TU took over at the 29 with 4:20 left in the half.
Tusculum mounted a drive as Dinwiddie rushed for gains of five and 12 yards. Brown-Freeman posted carries of 5 and 4 yards. The Lions were flagged for offsides on third-down and short to give TU a first down at the MHU 40.
After the two-minute timeout, Adams ran for six yards to MHU 34. But after an incomplete pass, Adams fumbled and Pierce came up with the recovery at the MH 36 with 1:26 on the clock.
On the first play, Martin completed a pass to Guinade on the near sideline as he navigated traffic and sprinted in for a 64-yard score with 1:14 on the scoreboard. It was his third TD of the half and seventh of the season.
Tusculum converted a pair of first downs and got to midfield before time ran out.
In a scoreless third quarter, both teams would turn the ball over on downs. MHU faced fourth-and nine at the TU 30 but Martin was sacked by Horne to stop the Lions drive. Tusculum would maneuver the ball to the MHU 24, but on fourth-and-six, Isaac Weaver stopped Adams for a one-yard loss.
Early in the fourth quarter with Mars Hill driving to the TU 13, Martin would be sacked by Horne again at the 20. Teachey would come on to attempt a 37-yard field goal, but it would be blocked by Maosa as the Pioneers recovered at the TU 23.
Mars Hill would put the game out of reach later in the quarter when Martin completed a 54-yard touchdown pass to Javonte Sherman with 5:12 remaining to extend the lead to 28-0.
Tusculum avoid the shutout with a nine-play, 80-yard drive which took 4:44 off the clock. Brown-Freeman was rushed for 61 of those 80 yards including runs of 21 and 25 yards. He would score his first collegiate TD with his four-yard run up the middle. Max Turan‘s extra point would close out the scoring for the game.
Mars Hill finished the game with 18 first downs and went 2-of-9 on third-down and 0-for-3 on fourth down. TU had 16 first downs, going 2-of-12 on third down and 0-of-2 on its fourth-down tries. MHU was penalized 11 times for 85 yards while Tusculum was flagged five times for 52 yards.
Tusculum held the advantage in time of possession at 33:47 to Mars Hill’s 26:13.
The Pioneers return to action next week when they host Wingate for Senior Day. Kick-off is set for 2 p.m.
