Aug. 28, 2007

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The 13th-ranked Carson-Newman Eagles (1-0) will make a rare trip down I-75 Thursday night to face the football championship subdivision's (FCS) Chattanooga Mocs at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

It will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1920. Chattanooga won that meeting 83-0, but C-N head coach Ken Sparks is excited to see the teams meet again, because of the opportunity that comes with playing in Chattanooga.

"We're excited to play someone in-state," Sparks said. "Chattanooga is a large alumni base for this institution, and I think there will be a large number of people there to see us that don't make it to many games."

The Eagles enter the game fresh off a 52-21 win over Virginia State in their season opener. C-N shook off a slow start to roll up 510 yards of total offense in the win. The Eagles outscored the Trojans 49-7 down the stretch, after falling behind 14-3 in the second quarter.

"We were good enough to win in our first game," Sparks said. "We will still have to make that improvement before our second game if we want to win Thursday night."

The game is the season opener for Chattanooga. The Mocs were 3-8 in 2006.

Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) will telecast the game. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m.