MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Turnovers spelled doom for Faulkner Saturday as it fell to Lindsey Wilson 47-21 in its Mid-South Conference opener. A muffed punt in the first quarter set the Blue Raiders up with a short field just 18 yards from the end zone. David Gardner Jr. scored on an eight-yard run to put Lindsey Wilson up 7-0. Early in the second quarter, Davontaye Saunders broke a 62-yard scoring sprint off a triple-option play that left the Eagles down 14-0.
Faulkner fired back midway through the second as
Duece Marshall found
Cam Bulluck on a 41-yard scoring strike to narrow it to 14-6. One possession later, Marshall hit
Lamarie Mitchell for a five-yard touchdown pass before connecting with
Drea Shumaker on a conversion throw to tie the game.
Faulkner got the ball to start the second half but saw a promising drive snuffed out when Kameron Barnett picked off a pass and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown with 12:14 left in the third. With 8:39 to go in the quarter, Howie Gant repeated the feat with a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown that made it 27-14. Gardner later popped a fourth down run through the right side to go 43 yards and push the lead to 34-14.
Despite the deficit, Faulkner battled back in the fourth to make things interesting.
Evan Eschbach came off the bench to lead a 92-yard drive that ended with a circus catch by
La'Derrick Bell for a 30-yard touchdown strike. On the ensuing Lindsey Wilson drive, the Eagles appeared to have the Blue Raiders stopped when a pair of defensive backs converged on the ball. However, a pair of caroms and a last-moment diving catch by Boyce Smith converted the first down and extended the possession. Another athletic reception on fourth down later in the drive led to a Reid Brickey scoring run to put the game out of reach. Stevin Mack added a 33-yard scoring run with 1:36 left to cap the scoring.
Faulkner finished the game with 320 yards on 69 plays while Lindsey Wilson had 60 plays for 350 yards.
Robin Harris topped the offense with 119 yards from scrimmage including 83 receiving yards on six catches.
Jakai Stephens paced all tacklers with six total tackles.
Faulkner (2-3, 0-1 MSC) plays next when it travels to Georgetown Saturday, Oct. 12.
