MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The setting was perfect. Billy D. Hilyer Stadium was a packed house for Coach Rob Gray's debut as Faulkner's head man. The new turf design for John Mark Stallings Field, after construction work saw last year's spring season moved to Cramton Bowl, was as beautiful as ever. After foot met pigskin for the first football game back on campus since 2019, there was only one thing missing to make the amazing day even better: a win.

Coach Gray's Eagles took care of that, delivering a huge statement over No. 22 Southeastern, taking the 31-14 victory. It might have been an even greater margin if not for two Faulkner turnovers and a couple of blocked field goal attempts. It was the Eagles' first win over the Fire since 2015, breaking a four-game skid in the series, and marking the program's first over a ranked opponent since 2018 when Faulkner beat No. 19 Campbellsville.

"It was definitely a good team win," Gray said after the game. "We played really, really hard, I thought, for four quarters. We knew it was going to be that kind of ball game. And those guys came up big."

Kade Young picked up where he left off in the spring, with a 16-for-33 outing for 317 yards and three scoring tosses. Jalen Browder accounted for more than half of those totals, with nine catches for 167 yards, and Isaiah Scott got four more of the receptions for 43 yards and two scores. Charles Blackmon Jr. led the rushing attack with 15 carries for 69 yards, while starter Hunter Gibson and Devon Murry split up the rest of the handoffs for 38 yards.

Phillip Russell led the defensive side with 13 tackles, six of them solo, and 1.5 for loss. Ovurton Gates made his presence felt in the secondary with eight tackles and four pass breakups. Faulkner's pair of super senior safeties Malik Meadows and Alex Dawson each had six tackles and an interception, with CB Aaron Reynolds doing the same while returning his pick for six. Tyrese Wells and Eddie Brown each had a sack, while JaMichael Morgan, Devin Owens and Chris Thompson each had at least two tackles and half of one for loss. Thompson, a graduate transfer from Southeastern and 2019 all-conference defensive back, also broke up a pass against his old team, starting at the Star position in his first game as an Eagle. He had two interceptions against Faulkner while a part of the Fire.

"Well, you know, it's a veteran group of guys. You know, we know football really well, they're really smart. And they were able to pick it up pretty good," Gray said of his team's adjustment to the new defensive scheme implemented during the offseason. "I mean, all we did was add an extra DB on the field, just because that's where we have the most depth at…as far as overall talent in the DB room. And those guys certainly make plays on the ball when it's in the air. I thought we tackled okay, we need to tackle a lot better on the perimeter, but that was the first one. We expected to be a little bit sloppy, but overall, we pulled it together and won when we needed to."

After forcing Southeastern to a three-and-out on the opening possession, Faulkner was also held to a punt. The Fire drove it downfield, with Bryan Bell taking a pitch and leaping for the pylon to open the scoring just past the halfway point of the first quarter. The drive was indicative of the visitors' usage of their playmakers, as Bell and Lorine Parker got the lion's share of carries on the series and for the remainder of the contest, with eight carries for 43 yards and 19 for 109, respectively. Cooper Jones was 26-for-53 with 216 yards, but threw three picks and was without a score. Davonte Bowie led his team's receiving corps with five catches for 68 yards, while Myles Henderson was next 57 yards and his six receptions.

The Eagle offense answered the bell, as Young completed all four of his passes on the eight-play, 70-yard drive, culminating in a two-yard toss to Scott in the back of the endzone to tie the game. After another three-and-out, Faulkner scored again, this time on a five-play, 60-yard drive. Young found T.J. Hall for the 31-yard score, as the redshirt freshman broke out of a tackle to sprint for his second career touchdown. Just two plays later, as the second period began, Reynolds jumped the route and had a clear path down the sideline to make it 21-7.

On the ensuing drive, at Faulkner's 20-yard line, Ke'Lontae Varner forced a fumble from Parker that Josh Taylor recovered, but Southeastern got it right back when Young fumbled in the backfield two plays later. Parker finished off the 21-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown dive over a tackle attempt to make it a one-score game. After a trade of punts, the Eagles set off on an 86-yard drive. Hall had a 33-yard catch-and-run, and Brandon Rudolph, on his first play after checking in due to an injury to Scott, made a great adjustment for a 43-yard catch on his lone touch of the day. However, the Fire defense held, forcing the Eagles to a field goal attempt by super senior kicker Alvin Renteria, which was blocked by D.Q. Bailey. Parker then threatened to equalize it with 26 seconds left before halftime via a 40-yard jaunt, but Gates batted down Jones's Hail Mary to end the half.

The teams traded three-and-outs to start the third, but Scott muffed a punt and Southeastern recovered just past midfield. Jones led his squad into the redzone, converting a 4th-and-1 at the 3-yard-line on a sneak. However, two plays later, Meadows made what may have been the biggest play of the half, as Jones rolled out to his right to find his man in the endzone, but the safety jumped in front of the throw in the corner to squelch the Fire's threat. Southeastern had an answer once again, though, as, at the end of a 21-play Faulkner series, it was Trenton Surloff's turn to block a field goal.

After forcing another three-and-out, Browder kick-started the following drive with a sensational catch on a 50-50 ball for a gain of 24 to close the quarter. A 33-yard Blackmon carry got his team inside the 10, and Young found Scott again for a four-yard score to make the score 28-14 with 12:49 left to play. On the next Faulkner drive, Browder one-upped himself with a 50-yard reception, leading to a 31-yard Renteria field goal. On each of the visitors' final two drives, they made catches to convert on fourth down, but came away empty on both, thanks to a Dawson pick and a turnover on downs at Faulkner's four. The Fire was held scoreless in the second half.

Faulkner looks to carry the momentum into next week, as Gray's Eagles head to Kentucky to face first-time opponent Thomas More. They then return home on Sept. 18 to play Florida Memorial, also for the first time on the gridiron, during Parent and Family Weekend.