MONTGOMERY, Ala. –
Jaiveyon Tucker led the Faulkner receiving corps for the third week in a row with five catches for 104 yards and put his team on the board first on a 32-yard touchdown throw from
Ben Anderson. Unfortunately, few notables occurred beyond this performance, as that was the only drive that ended in points for the Faulkner offense and Thomas More had an answer for everything the Eagles threw their way. The hosts dropped a 24-7 result to the Saints in a conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.
The lopsided result was not indicative of the overall offensive production by the Eagles, as they were only outgained by 20 total yards, collected two more first downs than the visitors and gained 231 yards through the air to Thomas More's 175. Faulkner also ran 18 more plays and only committed five penalties to the Saints' 12, having several drives extended without converting the first down. However, the Eagles were unable to capitalize off turnovers and the defense could not get off the field at crucial times. The home team surrendered 156 rushing yards to their own 80 and only generated one sack to four by the Saints.
Anderson finished the day eight-of-19 for 84 yards and a score with two interceptions before being pulled in favor of
Raequan Beal, who took the final four drives of the game and went 10-of-26 for 147 yards. The offense greatly missed the injured
Styles Hughes, as Anderson led the team with nine carries and
Timothy Cody led in yards with 30 on his five touches.
Satyler Wilson made four receptions for 72 yards, as he and Tucker were responsible for more than 75% of the team's production through the air.
Blaine Espinosa was 13-of-17 for 150 yards, three touchdowns and a pick for Thomas More. Maleek Jarrett steadily paced his squad's ground game with 15 carries for 67 yards and Espinosa racked up 59 yards on his seven carries and was not sacked once. Craig Wills led the Saints with five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Preston Agee hauled in three passes for 50 yards with a score, and Mike Kirch added four receptions for 46 yards and another score for good measure.
After forcing a punt on the opening drive, Thomas More found a chunk play on their first offensive snap as Espinosa found a wide-open Kirch down the seam for a gain of 32. Four plays later, the visitors attempted to keep the momentum by leaving the offense on the field for 4th-and-one at the Faulkner 39. Espinosa hit Kirch in the flat, but
Chris Thompson stuffed the tight end for a loss of two and a turnover on downs.
Six plays after the possession change, Faulkner also decided to try to extend a drive on a 4th-and-two at the Thomas More 38.
John Bolton's carry came up short, but the Saints were called offside on the play. On the ensuing snap after being awarded the first down, Anderson evaded pressure in the pocket, rolled out to his left and found Tucker on the run. The reigning Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Week came back on the route to make the catch at the 18-yard line along the sideline, cut to the middle of the field and outran the secondary for the 32-yard score that put Faulkner on the board first with 5:22 left in the opening quarter.
Thomas More was undaunted and wasted no time in responding. Starting off on his own 21, Espinosa hit a wide-open Wills near midfield that resulted in a 53-yard gain and proceeded to find Agee down the middle for 26 yards and a touchdown on a play that very much resembled the one to Wills. The Saints had tied the game on a two-play drive that took all of 25 seconds. After forcing a punt, the visitors embarked on another scoring drive that was almost a polar opposite of the first. The drive lasted 13 plays and covered 50 yards, and Thomas More might have gotten more if not for committing four penalties out of six combined in the span. Luke Iden kicked a 43-yard field goal to put his team up for good.
After an exchange of punts, life seemed to reenter the home stands as
Caden Davis punted again on 4th-and-16 deep in his own territory. Freddie Johnson muffed the fair catch at midfield and
Josh Taylor came up with it. However, on the next snap, Anderson put the ball in harm's way himself by throwing into double coverage. Kolton Reeves came away with the ball intended for
Shaun Vincent. He shook off tacklers in front of the sideline, reversed field and would have had the endzone if not for Vincent turning on the jets from his position to chase and bring him down at the two. Wills was sure to finish what Reeves started, however, taking the shuttle pass around the edge and walking in for the touchdown to put his team up 17-7 with 2:29 left until halftime.
A holding on Faulkner negated a first down on the next drive and Anderson couldn't connect with Tucker on fourth down at the Saint 44, giving the visitors another scoring chance with 29 seconds remaining in the half. On the final play, Espinosa threw an ill-advised pass that
Kordell King picked off at his own 14, but the latter had to go to his knees to secure the catch, taking away a chance for a return.
The second half held no better fortune for the Eagles, as Thomas More stretched the lead after a trade of punts via an 11-play, 72-yard drive. The Saints did damage between the tackles, running it on eight of the plays before Kirch hauled in an eight-yard pass from Espinosa in the back corner of the endzone to close the scoring with 6:13 left in the third quarter. Anderson's day ended when he threw an interception to Christian Rice two plays later.
The teams traded punts once again until Beal put together a 52-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter for the Eagles that ultimately ended in a missed field goal. Espinosa ensured that Faulkner would have as little time as possible when he gained 26 yards on a 3rd-and-12 to cause the hosts to use all three of their timeouts to slow the game on the following set of downs. Faulkner's last effort ended when, after a back-shoulder grab by Tucker gained 42 on a 3rd-and-10, three of four Beal passes failed to meet the mark.
Faulkner falls to 3-3 and 2-2 against Mid-South competition. The Saints have now avenged their 27-20 loss to the Eagles from Week 2 of last season as they prepare to move up to NCAA Division II status next year, and improve to 3-3 and 2-1 in conference play. It gets no easier for the Eagles, as they travel back to Kentucky to play No. 3 Lindsey Wilson, the 2020 national champions, off a bye week. Faulkner has only beaten the latter twice in seven meetings, its last win in the series coming in 2014.
