VALLEY, Ala. – Faulkner again sent its defense onto the field with less than a minute left Saturday night to protect a one-possession lead. For the second consecutive week, the Eagles forced a takeaway to seal a victory as it downed Point 20-17 to wrap up non-conference play. With the Skyhawks looking to convert on fourth down,
Myles Boyd forced and recovered a fumble to ensure the victory in the Battle of I-85.
The Eagles started strong, building a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The first Faulkner scoring drive saw
Duece Marshall go to
La'Derrick Bell for a 55-yard pass before finding tight end
Brandon McNeal for a six-yard touchdown pass with 9:26 left in the first.
Robin Harris sprinted 17 yards to find the end zone with 4:59 left in the second quarter to move the advantage to 14-0.
From there, Mitchell Gosset engineered a pair of Point touchdown drives to tie the game with 5:54 remaining in the third. Gosset then led another march that lasted 14 plays and covered 63 yards to set up a 39-yard field goal off the foot of Logan Wandzilak that put the Skyhawks up 20-17 with 10:37 to go.
Faulkner trailed for all of 53 seconds as Marshall went over the top to Bell for a 58-yard scoring strike, marking the third consecutive game the signal-caller has tossed a go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles amassed 423 yards of total offense while holding Point to 229. Marshall completed 17 of his 29 pass attempts for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Bell hauled in four passes for 165 yards. Harris topped the ground game with 49 yards rushing.
Caleb Williams led the defense with six tackles while
Jerrell Williamson made three tackles for loss, including a sack.
The win moves the Eagles to 7-0 in the all-time series with each of the last three contests being decided by four points or less. Faulkner (2-2) heads into Mid-South Conference play next week when it welcomes No. 23 Lindsey Wilson to Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.
