MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Trailing 9-0 on Homecoming at the end of the first quarter, Faulkner's defense had held its own but extended Cumberland's lone scoring drive with two flags, in what would become a theme for both teams. Meanwhile, the Eagles' offense had failed to score in seven quarters of play and had done so just once in 12 in the span of matchups against Thomas More, Lindsey Wilson and Incarnate Word. It was time for some change.
The units woke up, and at the end of the day, it was the Eagles rising from the ashes as Faulkner defeated the Phoenix 44-30 at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium to gain a crucial conference win.
Ben Anderson had a career day, ending the day 25-of-36 for 287 yards and three touchdowns and averaging 7.8 yards per throw. The running game churned out 257 yards on 49 carries and 5.2 yards per rush, the unit coming 10 yards shy of its season-best mark at Campbellsville in its most recent win.
Drexlan Allen led the unit with eight carries for 82 yards and the first two scores of his Faulkner career.
John Bolton was not far behind with 78 yards on his 11 carries.
Jaiveyon Tucker led the wideout corps with nine receptions, six more than the second-place receiver, for 105 yards and three touchdowns, his second hat trick of the season. All in all, the offense made 36 first downs, its most of the season.
"Offensively, I've got to give credit to the O-line, especially in the run game. Those guys paved the way in the second half, and I love seeing them wanting to run the football," Coach
Rob Gray assessed. "I think
Ben Anderson did a really good job for us, which he always does, especially escaping out of the pocket and making plays down the field, either running it or finding somebody open and throwing it to them. But again, every week is a lesson for us. We've just got to finish strong, and we've got a bright future ahead of us."
The defense put forth its best outing yet this season, holding the visitors to 205 total yards and 18 first downs. The Phoenix passing game produced just 104 yards and 3.4 yards per throw, as Luke Holloway completed just 12 of his 31 passes with a score. He was also the team's leading rusher with 44 yards on nine carries, as Cumberland gained only 104 yards on 31 carries and 3.3 yards per attempt. Jaylen Taylor was the primary target for Holloway, catching six passes for 53 yards. Faulkner forced the Phoenix to eight punts but gave up 128 yards on 11 penalties. For their part, the latter were penalized 10 times for 116 yards.
"The challenge was to just stop talking to them," Gray said of the flags. "We're not in a verbal argument, we're in a football game, and telling them to let our pads do the talking. I know that sounds cliché, but that's what I really challenge them to do. I think for the most part, they did that in the second half."
After a 52-yard return of the opening kickoff and penalties on the first two plays from scrimmage that resulted in Cumberland first downs, the Phoenix had 1st-and-10 at the Faulkner 12-yard line. Once they got to the one,
Chinconie Lewis and
Darrius Williams stuffed JJ Johnson on back-to-back plays before the running back took a pitch and pushed his way in to put his team on the board just over three minutes in. Following a trade of punts,
Caden Davis was going to have to boot another one away, but the snap went over his head and out the back of the endzone. The defense held the Phoenix to its first of five straight three-and-outs after the safety kick, but Holloway stepped back to punt on fourth down and successfully pinned Faulkner at its one. Undeterred, Anderson led the Eagles on a seven-play, 72-yard drive, going four-of-four on the drive, before getting strip-sacked by Jalen Brown and Jonathan Garner recovering the fumble for the visitors.
With the offense later reentering on its own 24, Anderson and the offense went back to work. On back-to-back 3rd-and-11 situations, he stepped up in the pocket and delivered passes to move the chains, a 27-yarder to
Sean McKinney and an 18-yarder to
Shaun Vincent. On 3rd-and-goal from the three, Anderson rolled out and found Tucker in the right corner of the endzone for the touchdown. The extra point was no good, leaving Faulkner down 9-6. After the defense forced another punt, the offense moved 47 yards on nine plays before being forced to a field goal, which Davis made from 33 yards out to tie the game. The 9-9 score would remain through halftime.
Receiving the second half kickoff, Allen returned it 46 yards to the Cumberland 42. Five plays into the drive, Anderson scrambled to the front of the pocket and deftly tossed a lateral to Bolton, who took it 21 yards to the five. Two plays later, the former found Tucker wide open in the same corner to put Faulkner ahead permanently.
After the final of the three-and-outs by the Eagle defense, the offense broke out with a six-play, 57-yard scoring drive, all of it on the ground. Bolton gained 24 on the first play, running through a gaping hole forged by the O-line. Facing 4th-and-one at the Cumberland 24,
Devon Murry checked in and got the handoff, delivering a stiff-arm at the line of scrimmage and breaking tackles down to the two-yard line. He pushed the pile on the next play to put his team up 23-9.
The Phoenix responded, however, as on 4th-and-19, the dribbling punt hit Vincent's leg, with Ismail Abdul-Qawee recovering. After a pair of Faulkner penalties extended the short drive, Johnson scored from two yards out. On the first play after the kickoff, Anderson hit
Garrett Orr in the flat, who turned upfield and earned 22 yards. Two plays later, at the Cumberland 35, it was Allen's turn to find a wide-open crease in the line, as he broke through, juked a man and didn't stop until he had crossed the goal line.
The defense then forced another punt, and no one took their foot off the gas. Anderson had another perfect passing drive on a seven-play, 71-yard sequence as the fourth quarter began, culminating in the signal-caller taking a shot off the play-action and hitting a wide-open Tucker for a 35-yard bomb and a 37-16 lead.
On another drive aided by a long kickoff return and a pair of Faulkner penalties, Holloway had his offense back in the endzone on a 17-yard toss behind the secondary to Joe Johnson. Anderson proceeded to pass to Allen down the middle, and the running back worked around two tackles to gain 22 yards. It was now Cumberland's turn to give up 30 yards in infractions, and on the fourth play of the drive at the visitors' 13, Allen took the handoff, stuck his foot in the ground and beat Phoenix defenders to the corner. Faulkner took the lead 44-23 on the effort.
"They played for each other, and what I mean by that is, there was a couple times where the defense gave up a touchdown, but then the offense went back out and scored again," Gray said. "I take a lot of joy in seeing that and seeing us play hard for each other."
Even still, Cumberland wasn't finished, embarking on an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Taylor got the ball on an end-around, wriggled out of a pile of Eagle defenders and was only tackled as he crossed the goal line on the 27-yard run. The Phoenix went for the onside kick, which
Tarik York came up with. Four plays later, though, at the Cumberland 23, Orr was met behind the line of scrimmage at the end of a reception and lost the football. Joshua Wilson recovered and returned it all the way to the Faulkner 32 before getting tripped up. After a pass interference call, the defense held the visitors to 4th-and-12, on which Williams came up with a huge six-yard sack.
It still wasn't over yet, as the Eagles were held to just three yards on four plays. Nick Burge then reached Davis's punt, blocking it and causing it to travel only five yards. All of a sudden, Cumberland was right back in the game with possession at the Faulkner 33. Holloway scrambled for 10 yards on the first play to move the chains to truly put the home crowd on edge. Just as soon as the threat began, however, it was over when Treylon Sheppard took the handoff on the next snap.
Montrez Dinkins hit him immediately in the backfield, and after Sheppard got away from him in an attempt to get to the line of scrimmage, Darien Gulley hit him and dislodged the football, which
Elliott Shorter recovered. Bolton earned just enough yards to move the chains twice, and victory formation ensued.
With the win, Faulkner improves to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in Mid-South Conference play. The Eagles can't afford to celebrate too long, however, as they head to McKenzie, Tenn., next week to take on No. 6 and 9-0 Bethel. It will be no small task, as the Wildcats took the lead in the conference standings with a road win over No. 3 Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, and already owned wins over Reinhardt, Georgetown and Thomas More squads that beat Faulkner.
"It's going to be tough game. Bethel's a really, really good program overall," Gray said. "I mean, it's going to be the same thing, a bunch of gritty guys going up there, playing hard every play. We're going to play until the final whistle blows."
