MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Playing without injured quarterback Terrell Robinson for the first time, No. 10 Faulkner relied on a stingy defense and solid play from junior backup David Cochran under center en route to a 31-14 victory over Kentucky Christian here Saturday in a Mid-South Conference cross-divisional game at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.

Win the win Charlie Boren's Eagles (9-2 overall, 4-1 MSC West) lock down a playoff spot for the second year in a row, and await Sunday afternoon's NAIA Football Championship Series Selection Show to find out the site and opponent for the first round of the 16-team post-season tournament.

Robinson went down with a torn ACL late in Faulkner's upset loss last weekend at Campbellsville, forcing Cochran and sophomore Truman Franklin into duty in the regular-season finale. Both saw action, but it was Cochran who was most impressive, throwing a pair of touchdown passes and directing all five of the Eagles' scoring drives.

On the other side of the ball, Faulkner's ball-hawking defense intercepted five passes – Aaron Thompson and Aramis Calloway both grabbing a pair in their final home game on Senior Day.

"On the bus coming home from Kentucky last weekend, we were disappointed about Terrell's injury, but I could tell our guys still had a lot of fight in them and knew there was more football to be played," Boren said. "I'm so proud of this team for fighting through the adversity. The defense played incredibly again, and David made some key passes for us. Obviously this is a big win for us, because it continues our season."

After a big kickoff return by Gabe Chambers to open the game, Faulkner marched 49 yards in 10 plays to grab an early lead. Cochran completed four passes on the drive, including a 4-yarder to Jazeric Peterson for the touchdown. Hunter Kennamer added the point-after, the Eagles were up 7-0 with 11:28 still on the first-quarter clock.

The Knights (5-6 overall, 2-4 MSC East) scored late in the quarter to trim the lead to 7-6, but a bad snap on the extra point allowed Faulkner to remain on top.  Early in the second period, on a first down play from his own 45, Cochran tossed  a wide receiver screen pass to Keithon Redding against an all-out KCU blitz and the speedy junior raced untouched 55 yards into the end zone. Kennamer added the extra point to push the lead to 14-6, a margin that stood at halftime.

A Callaway interception on KCU's first drive of the third quarter and subsequent 53-yard return set the Eagles up at the Knight 1, and tailback Joe Jones scored two plays later to extend the advantage. Kennamer was good again, and it was 21-6 just over a minute gone by in the second half.

Faulkner's most impressive drive came after the Eagle defense forced a Knight punt on the ensuing possession, taking it 80 yards in nine plays to all but put the game away. The Eagles never faced a third down on the march, with Jones scoring his second touchdown on a 2-yard run. Kennamer's kick made it 28-6 with 6:29 left in the third quarter.

Kennamer added a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to extend the advantage to 31-6, and Kentucky Christian earned a safety and a late touchdown to close out the scoring. The Eagles were efficient offensively, running the ball for 157 yards and passing for 146. The Faulkner defense held KCU to just 55 yards rushing and only 202 total yards in the game.

"We knew it was our responsibility to set the tone for the game, and we played aggressively and made some plays," Callaway said. "We need to just keep this momentum heading into the playoffs. We're excited about the opportunity."

For Cochran, his first start as the Eagles' quarterback was just part of a memorable day for the Buena Vista, Ga., native. At halftime he was named the Homecoming King, by a vote of the Faulkner student body.

"It was a special day, no doubt about that," said Cochran, who was 17-of-24 for all 146 of Faulkner's passing yards. "We all hated to see Terrell get hurt because he was such an important part of our offense, but we knew as an offense we still had a lot  of playmakers out there. We did what we needed to do today. Now everything starts over in the post-season, and we'll see what we can get done there."

Jones led the Eagles' rushing attack with 43 yards on 11 carries, including the two scoring runs. Franklin had 23 yards on zone-read keepers. On defense, Senior safety Marte Sears complimented the pair of interceptions by both Calloway and Thompson with a pick of his own. Mitchell Hoskins, another senior, led Faulkner with nine total tackles, while Caleb Taylor added six and Sears and Austin Kerr five apiece.

The Eagles will watch the selection show, which starts at 5 p.m. and will be aired on the NAIA website at www.naia.org, together in a large classroom on campus.