MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner kept things tight for a while but proved unable to put enough possessions together on the way to a 30-7 loss to Cumberland Saturday.
The Eagles gave up a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown to Jordan Parker on the first play of the game to fall behind 7-0. After being unable to do anything with its first possession, Faulkner's defense limited the Phoenix to -2 yards and forced a punt. The Eagles followed with one of their best drives of the season.
A swing pass to
Robin Harris for seven yards got it started.
Jordan Moultrie then patiently waited for the hole to open and broke the run back the other direction for a 27-yard gain.
Kamden Wellington went over the top to
Tomon Felton, who made a one-handed catch for a 29-yard gain and the Eagles were in business. Moultrie then took the handoff four yards around the right side to tie the game. The drive lasted four plays and covered 67 yards.
Cumberland followed with a momentum-draining possession that changed the tenor of the game. The Phoenix covered 75 yards in 12 plays and drained 6:32 off the game clock before quarterback Jake Parker ran it in from 10 yards out to give his team the lead.
The defense kept Faulkner in it on consecutive possessions but the game turned when a misconnection on a snap resulted in a safety and put the Eagles behind 16-7. An injury chased Wellington before the end of the second quarter and Faulkner found itself working uphill the rest of the day.
The defense frustrated Cumberland's opportunities until Parker executed a flawless play-action fake and went over the top for a 72-yard touchdown pass to Jarrius Rogers to move it to 23-7 with 4:38 left in the game. Parker pulled the same sequence again with 1:56 remaining in the contest, this time hitting Rogers for a 31-yard strike to seal it at 30-7.
Cumberland ran 63 plays for 353 yards while Faulkner had 64 snaps for 210 yards. Both teams struggled with penalty flags in the contest as the Eagles incurred 10 infractions for 95 yards while the Phoenix had 15 penalties for 154 yards.
Faulkner (6-4) finishes its season at 3-1 in home games.
