MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner utilized a methodical 10-play drive to travel 72 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds left in regulation Saturday night for a 21-15 win over Point. Nine of those plays were on the ground and seven of the rushes, including the score, came from Hunter Gibson, the Eagles' leading rusher with 68 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. The defense then held one last time to defeat the Skyhawks in a historic event for Faulkner, due to it being the home-opener of a spring season for COVID-19 reasons.

The come-from-behind win was Faulkner's first since a 51-20 romp at Warner in October 2019, 491 days prior. The victory was also Faulkner's first at home since September 2019 and its first one-score victory since a 16-10 win at Campbellsville in 2018.

"We have lost several really close games in my brief tenure at Faulkner. When we won, we won pretty lopsided," Coach Tommy Wasden said. "We were in a position where we had an opportunity to win a close game. And I went down the sideline and talked to our team, and said, it's time for us to win a close one. And the offensive line and Hunter Gibson took it upon themselves. It was hard-nosed, aggressive football that we can build off of."

Kade Young, the former Troy Trojan, led the home team by going 9-of-17 passing with 119 yards, a touchdown and a pick. He arrived late to the contest after attending his brother's wedding, a pre-planned tardy for which the coaching staff had a plan in place. That start went to Brock Snyder, who threw for 47 yards and rushed for 38 in addition to engineering an 85-yard drive for Faulkner's first touchdown of the game.

Jalen Browder collected 57 yards on five receptions. Point's Keenan Wise went 13-of-28 for 242 yards. The leading Point rusher, Tyrique Robinson, only tallied 42 yards. Timothy Gary led the visitors' receiving corps with six catches for 96 yards. Malik Meadows spearheaded Faulkner's defense, which held Point to 91 rushing yards, with 10 total tackles, one for loss, and two pass breakups. Antonio Gurley who was just behind with nine tackles, was responsible for 7.5 lost yards for Point, and came up with a fumble recovery. Devonte' Agee had eight tackles, and Shae Taylor tallied his team's lone solo sack. Treyvon Pope led his team with 11 total tackles, and Parker Clemons claimed eight.

Trailing 3-0, Alex Dawson halted a Point drive with an interception off Brenton White with eight minutes left in the opening quarter. The play set up a 10-play, 85-yard drive that got Faulkner on the board. Snyder, in his first career start, had a 34-yard keeper to get across midfield. A Point pass interference penalty on third down resulted in a 1st-and-goal, on which Gibson punched it in for the score.

Leading 7-6 coming out of halftime, on Faulkner's second drive of the third quarter, Young led the offense by going 3-of-5 for 64 yards. The drive ended with his 24-yard touchdown toss to Browder, the first in a Faulkner jersey for the Delta State transfer. On Faulkner's next drive, Chase Turner picked off Young and returned it 68 yards inside the Eagle 10-yard line. Wise capped off the short-field opportunity with a sneak from the one, the Skyhawks' lone touchdown of the day. Point's two-point attempt failed, leaving Faulkner up 14-12 with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

On the next Skyhawk drive, Tucker Marsh's 46-yard reception and Robinson's 13-yard carry put their team on Faulkner's 4 as the quarter ended. However, a bobbled pitch on third down allowed Meadows and Gurley to bring down C.J. Henderson for a loss of 11. Logan Flesher then hooked a 36-yard attempt wide left. Flesher would later redeem himself with a 34-yard kick that capped a 14-play, 70-yard drive and put his team up 15-14 with 5:15 left in the game.

Faulkner received the ensuing kickoff, and thus began the game-winning drive, on which it never faced a third down. Browder's 23-yard catch, the drive's only play through the air, placed his team in Point territory. On 2nd-and-goal, Young had his facemask grabbed on a scramble, resulting in an automatic first down, and Gibson carried the rock into the endzone on the next play. Emery Bryant returned the ensuing kickoff to his own 45, and followed it with a 25-yard reception with three seconds to play. The pass on the final play was batted away by Dawson, but the Eagles were called for roughing the passer and Point was awarded the untimed down. Now 15 yards away from the win, Wise's final pass was broken up at the goal-line by Deshuan Love, his third of the day.

"Confidence is something that cannot necessarily be taught; it has to come with success," Wasden said when asked about the effect the win will have on his team. "And so, that drive was really big in that regard. Now, if the defense had not played like they did all night long, then that drive would have never occurred. We played really well on that side of the ball. Only exception probably was the last few plays. That will be corrected."

Faulkner improves to 1-1 while Point falls to 0-2. The Eagles go on the road next week to Barbourville, Ky., to take on Union. Faulkner will make the return trip to Valley, Ala., on March 27, where Faulkner won its only previous meeting with Point 65-17 in 2012.