MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After struggling through a lackluster opening half, seventh-ranked Faulkner exploded in the second and raced past No. 11 Cumberland 34-16 here Saturday afternoon in a key Mid-South Conference West Division showdown at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.

The Eagles (6-1 overall, 2-0 MSC West) allowed 16 straight Cumberland points in the first half and found themselves on the short end of a 16-7 count at the break. The last 30 minutes, however, were controlled by Faulkner senior quarterback Terrell Robinson and a rejuvenated defensive effort that completely dominated the Bulldogs. Robinson ended the day with four touchdown passes and another on the  ground, and Faulkner defenders knocked out a pair of Cumberland quarterbacks, allowing just 28 yards of total offense in the final two quarters.

"It seemed that none of us were into the game in the first half, and we need to do a better job of holding each other accountable and being ready to play from the start," said Robinson, who passed for 246 yards and ran for 86 more. "We woke up at halftime, and I thought our energy level really improved in the second half. It's a big win because it's a division win, and we know to reach all of our goals we have to win those."

Head coach Charlie Boren was pleased with his team's resurgence in the second half, which perhaps resulted from a little halftime encouragement.

"We thought we lost the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in the first half, and that's what we needed to get turned around if we were going to win the game," Boren said. "We got better as a football team today. We faced adversity again, and did the things we needed to do to come back. We've been behind by more than two scores before. This team has proven to be very resilient."

The Bulldogs (5-2 overall, 1-1 MSC West) lost both of their senior quarterbacks to injury, with Reed Gurchiek going out late in the first half and Broc Loveless early in the second. Sophomore Justin Snyder was forced into action for Cumberland and was ineffective, completing only two passes in six attempts and tossing an interception. While the Eagles' defenders were taking care of their end, Robinson and the offense were doing the same. Faulkner racked up 253 second-half yards, with the senior quarterback's rushing score and three of his touchdown passes providing the spark for the decisive turnaround.

"I'm proud of our team for how it responded," said Boren, whose Eagles were playing their third consecutive Top 25 opponent. "Terrell made great decisions today, and our effort on defense in the second half was excellent."

Faulkner got off to solid start, marching 66 yards on seven plays midway through the opening quarter to take an early lead. Robinson found Rob Lockhart from 23 yards out for the score, and Cameron Golob's extra point made it 7-0. Cumberland answered right back, impressively moving 73 yards on nine plays for the tying score. Facing only one third down on the drive, the Bulldogs got into the end zone on Gurchiek's 9-yard toss to Anthony Woodward. Mike Self's extra point deadlocked it at 7 at the 3:45 mark of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs grabbed control in the second quarter, with the Gurchiek-to-Woodward connection paying off again, this time from 20 yards out to give Cumberland the lead. Self's point-after made it 14-7, and it appeared the visitors were headed for another touchdown late in the half, moving to a first-and-goal at the Faulkner 3-yard line with less than three minutes to play. The Eagles, however, refused to break, stopping the Bulldogs on four straight plays. On fourth down from the 1, Broc Loveless was chased out of the pocket and stopped short of the goal line by defensive lineman Eric Thompson. On the first play following the stand, however, Eagle running back Raquis Hale was tackled in the end zone for a safety, pushing the Cumberland advantage to 16-7 with 1:49 left in the quarter.

It stood that way at the half, setting the stage for Faulkner's dominant performance in the third and fourth quarters. After forcing a three-and-out on the second half's first possession, the Eagles cut into the margin with a 74-yard scoring drive – the exclamation point coming on Robinson's 40-yard touchdown scamper. The extra point was blocked, leaving the Bulldogs in front 16-13. On the second play after the kickoff, Cumberland's Brandon Mallory caught a swing pass from Loveless, only to have Faulkner's Mitchell Hoskins strip the ball away. Jay Minor recovered it for the Eagles at the Bulldogs' 8-yard line. It took only one play for Faulkner to grab the lead for good, with Robinson hooking up with Keithon Redding for the touchdown. Golob's extra point was good, and the hosts were on top 20-16 with 10:31 still to play in the third quarter.

The Eagles added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game away. Robinson's 16-yard scoring pass to Rashad Pargo and the subsequent extra point made it 27-16, and another Robinson strike to Redding from 30 yards out on a wide receiver screen slammed the door shut on the Bulldogs' hopes. Golob's extra point closed out the scoring and culminated Faulkner's 97-yard message-sending drive. Redding's two touchdowns paced the Eagles' receiving corps efforts, finishing the night with five catches for 82 yards. Gabe Chambers had 52 yards on six receptions, while Lockhart added 51 receiving yards and Pargo 40 more. Running back Joe Jones produced 40 yards on 13 carries for Faulkner.

Caleb Taylor had 10 total tackles and Thompson nine for the Eagles' defense, which got seven each from Mitchell Hoskins and Tony Threatt.

The Eagles travel to McKenzie, Tenn., next weekend to face MSC West foe Bethel. The game kicks off at 1:30 central Saturday afternoon.