MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner did not trail for 58 minutes Saturday before Drew Gregg punched in a go-ahead touchdown for University of the Cumberlands. The Patriots got the ensuing stop defensively to hold on for the 26-21 Homecoming victory.
Gregg's 11-yard touchdown run came with 1:52 remaining and gave UC its first lead of the day. It followed a shot play that went for 43 yards to D.K. Edwards and put the Patriots in scoring position. The Eagles proved unable to move the ball in the final possession of the game to seal the result.
Faulkner took the lead at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter when
Elisha McNeil sacked Gregg and forced a fumble that
Jakai Stephens scooped and returned 39 yards for the 7-0 lead.
After Job Matossian hit a 23-yard field goal to narrow it to 7-3,
Duece Marshall broke a fourth down run for 26 yards to move the game to 14-3 with 10:28 left in the opening half.
Cumberlands rallied to tie the game before halftime when Gregg hit Adam Foulk for a 41-yard touchdown before Trace Thompson ran it in for the conversion to make it 14-11. Matossian added a 27-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the half to knot the game at 14.
Marshall put Faulkner back on top with a 1-yard plunge with 11:08 to play, moving the lead to 21-14.
With 2:50 remaining, Gregg hit Curtis Leflore for a 17-yard scoring strike to cut it to 21-20. The ensuing conversion attempt was cleanly in the hands of the intended target before
Caleb Williams ripped the ball out and forced the incomplete pass and preserve the lead. Williams topped the Eagle tacklers with 10 to go along with two pass breakups.
Faulkner managed 295 yards on 72 plays while the Patriots finished with 61 plays for 329 yards. UC ended the day with 12 penalties for 121 yards while Faulkner had just seven for 72 yards.
Faulkner (2-5, 0-3 MSC) travels to No. 25 Campbellsville next week for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
