Tennessee Makes Statement Win in SCRC
Tennessee Makes Statement Win in SCRC
Tennessee has made a significant statement Saturday with a 31-17 defeat of well-regarded Clemson.
For the Vols this was a key game in a tough SCRC East.
“We were very pleased,” said Head Coach Scott Tungay. “I think the boys were more nervous going into [last week’s game against] South Carolina. Once we got all those nerves out in that game I think the boys were hungry to do more and practice was locked in.”
The Vols remember losing to Clemson last year and that pain was a bit of a motivator.
“We had a very specific game plan,” said Tungay. “When we followed it we looked good. Clemson is a good team but a lot of what they were able to do was capitlize on our mistakes.
It was a weird start for Tennessee as September Gamebreaker Roman Funkhouser was a late scratch due to injury. The Vols needed someone to replace him as a go-forward initiator and that man was hooker Nate Rawls. The sophomore was a No. 8 with the Charlotte Cardinals and he took on the task, scoring two tries.
With Captain Michael McGettigan out also Tungay moved Niko Zaharas from flanker to center to shore that up.
He helped set up a couple of tries.
“We learned a lot from last year and this is basically the same group of guys but the difference was that we are mostly healthy this year,” said Tungay. “This time last year we had 15 guys out.”
Photos Will Fagan
Kentucky remains the leader in the West and they won two games in one weekend in September. This week they took on Cincinnati in a cross-conference matchup and won 57-19. This was a follow-up from a 24-20 loss to Indiana. This week Head Coach Sam Enari rested some starters while also providing more players with a challenge.
“We had a shot against Indiana,” said Enari, who added that several game metrics were good for the Wildcats. “We shot ourselves in the foot and wouldn’t close it out.”
Kentucky has also played Marian and Queens, all games designed to prepare the Wildcats for a difficult October and November.
In SCRC Conference play, LSU shut out Auburn 69-0 and that puts them at 2-0 with Kennesaw State and Kentucky left on the slate.
The Tigers are in good shape to secure a semifinal spot. In the East, Clemson’s game with South Carolina on October 11 carries a ton of weight.
