MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner (2-1) led the No. 13 team in the nation in Southeastern (3-0) at halftime on Saturday afternoon at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium but couldn't hold on and lost 26-19 on a coverage bust two plays after the two-minute timeout.
The Eagles defense again did an outstanding job, holding the Fire well below their season scoring average as the latter had totaled 81 points through its first two games. The 41 points Faulkner has surrendered so far this season are the least points given up through three games in program history. Elijah Short led the effort with a career-best 10 tackles, eight of them solo.
Kamden Wellington led the offensive attack with a line of 13-of-22 for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Darian Riggs led the receiving corps with four catches for 87 yards and a score. The Eagle offense was held at bay by a Fire defense that tallied 10 tackles for loss and five sacks, led by Giovonni Harper and Tommy Ibrahim who each racked up eight tackles. Ibrahim led his squad with 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks to set Faulkner back 20 yards. Nate Mikell was 11-of-20 for 220 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Kamonte Grimes led the Fire receivers with four catches for 97 yards. While each team tallied 15 first downs, SEU outgained Faulkner by 100 yards on six less plays.
After a missed Faulkner field goal on the opening drive, SEU traveled 71 yards on eight plays on its first drive as Alex Reyes scored on a reverse from 16 yards out ahead of a missed PAT. The Eagles got within three with a field goal, and after forcing a punt, the offense traveled 80 yards on just six plays. Following a 16-yard reverse run by Duece Marshall, Riggs was the catalyst of the drive as he hauled in a 25-yard pass to get in Fire territory and then turned a slant from Wellington into a 34-yard score to give Faulkner the 9-6 lead.
Three plays later, Ar'Shaun Davis picked off a tipped pass from Mikell, and two plays later, the Eagles were back in the endzone and up by 10 as Wellington hit Davian Liddell for a 22-yard scoring strike. SEU answered right back three plays after that as Mikell hit Grimes on a bomb that went for 58 yards as the latter dragged Short all the way to the Eagle four-yard-line. Faulkner held the visitors to 4th-and-goal, but Jocquet Jiles took it in from the one to get the Fire within three at the half.
Jiles kept momentum firmly on his side as he returned the opening kickoff 50 yards into Faulkner territory, but the Eagle defense held the Fire to a tying field goal after seven plays and 40 yards gained. SEU added another field goal to take a 19-16 lead after holding the Eagles to a three-and-out. The teams traded turnovers on downs on the first two drives of the fourth period before the Eagles drove 47 yards in 10 plays to tie it up again on Jacob Huff's 35-yard field goal. The squads traded punts before the game-winning drive, as the Fire went 75 yards in five plays. Following four rushes, the Fire caught Faulkner napping as Mikell dropped back on 3rd-and-seven and found a wide-open Daithan Davis, who had beaten his defender and outran him for the 59-yard score. On the ensuing drive, Ibrahim collected a sack and a quarterback hurry, and Cole Highsmith and Berton Venter sacked Wellington on third and fourth down, respectively, to wrap this one up.
The Eagles hit the road next week for their final challenge before Mid-South play begins, as they travel to Barbourville, Ky., to take on Union Commonwealth on September 27 at 11 am CT.
