MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After a 1,000-plus-mile bus trip that resulted in a 27-20 victory over Thomas More last weekend, Faulkner returns to the friendly confines of Billy D. Hilyer Stadium in search of its first 3-0 start since 2015. Accomplishing that feat will mean thwarting off a hungry Florida Memorial squad that profiles as much better than its 0-3 record might indicate.
The Lions opened the season with a 24-20 loss to Edward Waters in the Big Cat Classic before succumbing to St. Thomas 38-22 in the Battle of Miami Gardens. With a pair of rivalry games in the rearview, the Lions opened their home slate with a 56-12 setback against University of the Cumberlands.

Averaging 18 points per game on the season, Florida Memorial has hung its offensive hopes squarely on the shoulders of Delray Beach, Fla. native Antoine Williams. The sophomore signal-caller has passed for more than 200 yards in each of the three Lion contests this season. Williams is also adept at weaponizing his speed to make plays. However, negative net rushing performances each of the last two weeks have effectively masked that element of his game from statistical detection.

The challenge profiles much differently for Faulkner than a week ago when the Eagles were tasked with limiting a pocket passer in Thomas More's Blaine Espinosa. While Espinosa in no way snuck up on the Faulkner defense, he still acquitted himself quite well in the eyes of Faulkner defensive coordinator Blaine Miller.

"I challenged the D-line to get to the quarterback. We knew the quarterback was going to be a really good player. He turned out to be a great player," Miller said. "He was great at throwing off his back foot. There were a couple of times there that we probably should have let off of him a little bit. I think our guys responded in the ways that they needed and, ultimately, we came up with a win."

Espinosa was key in getting his team back into the contest in the second half after Faulkner built an 11-point lead. As the Eagles watched the advantage evaporate into a single-possession game, Gray's defense was tasked with answering the bell on the road, under the lights and in front of a passionate crowd.

"I think it says a lot. In years past, we wouldn't have been able to finish a game like that. We would've started complaining at one side of the ball," Gray said. "I think those guys really rallied behind each other, especially after turnovers or when something happened. They were excited to take the field to get the ball back for the offense. That speaks volumes."
 
SCOUTING REPORT
Offensive Coordinators Payton Wasden and Jordan Cagle cite Florida Memorial's speed on defense as being capable of creating significant disruptions for the Faulkner offense.
 
"They're just really fast. They fly around. That's the best way to describe it. They're going to put you in some situations that force the quarterback and some other guys to make a decision. They kind of wreak some havoc and they're hoping that forces us into some bad situations," Wasden said. "We've got a veteran group of guys that I think is ready for that challenge, to be able to make the right reads and throws. That's kind of what they present us with."
 
"Especially on defense, they're going to be really fast. They've got probably the fastest overall team speed that we've seen so far and maybe this year. I expect them to be flying around to the football," Cagle said. "They do some 4-2 stuff with the box. They'll do some different things in the box and mix it up some. But they're going to play fairly vanilla in their calls and let their athletes run around the field. In the back end, they're going to do some man. They're going to play come Cover 3. They're going to do some two man. For the most part, they're going to let their athleticism and their speed be a big part of their game plan."
 
Defensive Coordinator Blaine Miller is calling upon his defense to remain disciplined against the myriad looks it will see from the Florida Memorial offense as busted assignments coupled with the Lions' speed can lead to chunk plays.
 
"They do a lot of different things. They're going to get a in a lot of different formations," Miller said. "It's just trying to limit the multiples and still trying to find a way to keep our game plan simple and play Faulkner defense. We want to keep it about us and not about all the different things we can do against them."
 
Head Coach Rob Gray echoed his defensive coordinator's sentiments as he surveyed the task in front of his team's resistance unit.
 
"There is a little bit of uncertainty. We really don't know what they're going to try to do. We're just preparing for everything. They do a lot of different things. They're really fast and really explosive," Gray said. "We've got to keep everything in front of us and not let anybody get behind us. They're definitely going to take their shots. They're going to try and big play us. That's expected. They look out here and see all the space we give them at DB and people think they can throw screens, but we're pretty fast and we all fly to the ball."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
5 – Total number of pass breakups by Ovurton Gates thus far this season. His team high is more than half the total number (9) of breakups by Faulkner defenders this season.
 
7 – Number of Eagles that have caught a pass this season including 320-pound offensive lineman Tyler Pritchett, who had the first reception of his career last week on the at Thomas More.
 
41.44 – Average yards per punt over nine Caden Davis kicks this season. Davis has earned Special Teams Player of the Week in Appalachian Division each of the last two weeks.
 
56 – Number of receiving yards Jalen Browder needs to reach 1,000 yards in his Faulkner career.
 
444 – Average number of yards surrendered by Florida Memorial per contest through the season's first three games.
 
2,184 -  Days since Faulkner kicked off a game with a chance to get to 30 on the season. The Eagles will try to accomplish just that this weekend.
 
NEW NAMES, BIG GAMES
Through two games, Faulkner has seen significant contributions from a number of previously unheralded players. The man that showed his impact ability last week at Thomas More was redshirt freshman slot receiver Satyler Wilson. The Luverne, Ala. native hauled in seven passes for 70 yards in his breakout performance. More importantly, he helped the Eagles keep drives alive with six receptions that resulted in first downs.

"He had two really big plays in particular. He had the screen that went for 17 or 18 yards. Just to be able to chunk one out there nickel and dime and it to turn into a big play, we got really good blocking on the outside from Browder and Hall. That was huge. Then he had one early in the game that went for about 15 plus," Wasden said. "Being able to get explosive plays early out of somebody they hadn't seen before was big. I think he's got more to come too. You can still see from time to time that he is essentially a true freshman playing in his first season. I think once he kind of gets the hang of it and picks up some more things here and there, he's going to be really good for us."

Wilson was the latest individual to convert what the Faulkner coaching staff has termed "explosive" plays. The Eagles quantify those plays as passes that result in 18 yards or more and rushes that cover at least 12 yards.

We had a lot of really, really good plays. We've had seven or eight explosive plays in each of these first two games," Wasden said. "Almost every time you look at a scoring drive, there was an explosive play somewhere in that drive. Every time we get one of those, it increases our chances. Off the top of my head, I would say that we've had at least four or five guys that have had an explosive play so far."

The number of Eagles with explosive plays is even more impressive than Wasden and his offensive peers initially realized. Faulkner has had five players with explosive plays from scrimmage thus far this season. That list includes Charles Blackmon, Brandon Rudolph, Jalen Browder, Isaiah Scott and T.J. Hall. Additionally, The Eagles have thus far scored five touchdowns over two games on drives that included explosive plays.

One individual who has not statistically produced such a play but has still found considerable ways to contribute is Garrett Orr. The former high school offensive guard shifted to the hybrid S-Back position in the Eagle offense and is looking to make fullbacks great again. Last week, he threw two blocks on one play to help spring Blackmon for a 40-yard touchdown run.

"He's a true fullback that we haven't had in several years. We've had some true tight end type bodies but not really a guy that could kind of do some of both," Wasden said of Orr, who lost approximately 35 pounds between the time he signed and when he reported to campus. "He's a true freshman. He's learning each and every week. He has really shown some flashes of being a guy that we can do a lot of things around and a lot of things with. From him playing guard in high school, just to be able to come right in and play this S-Back, tight end position has been a diamond in the rough."

 
VERSATILITY IS DEPTH
Faulkner has experienced its share of dents and dings along the offensive line through the season's first two weeks. The Eagles have seen a pair of left tackles miss significant snaps as the depth of the unit has been under fire. Fortunately, Offensive Line Coach Jordan Cagle began prepping for just such a scenario at the beginning of Fall camp. Realizing he had a veteran group of starters and relative inexperience in reserve, Cagle started mixing and matching his players each practice.

"In practice, we always call it the funky sets. I'll switch it up. I'll move Tyler Pritchett in. I'll move my guards out to tackle and just see if they can do it. It's not something that we don't practice. We do get some looks at it," Cagle said. "Towards the end of the first half in this game, Tanner had banged up his knee a little bit and needed a breather. I was able to move Tyler Pritchett into center, put Corey Dates in at tackle and we were able to carry on as normal. Having some of those guys that are versatile enough to play more than one position on the offensive line is really helping us with our depth issue right now."

"I think they enjoy playing the game. When one person goes down and they've got to shift a little bit, they're all for it, Cagle said. "They don't really skip a beat. I think, for the most part, they protect really well. (Faulkner quarterback Kade Young) will even tell you that he probably held onto the ball a few seconds too long at times and ended up getting sacked."
 
FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS
After the 2-0 start to the season, talk in many of the NAIA football circles was that the Eagles would crack the Top 25 when the latest rankings dropped. That was almost true as Faulkner just missed out, landing as the first team outside the poll and in the Receiving Votes category.

"We've still got eight games left. All of that will take care of itself," Gray said. "We probably want some kind of self-gratification right now, but there are still teams to beat on our schedule and we've just got to go out and beat them. I don't really care about the rankings. It is more so, what did we do at the end? The rankings are going to be whatever. As long as we come out conference champions or whatever, they've still got to give us that shot. From there, we can do anything we want to do."