VALLEY, Ala. – Faulkner built an early three-score lead and found the wherewithal to hang on in the second half Saturday as it downed Point University 28-14. The victory marked the ninth straight for the Eagles in the rivalry and allowed Faulkner to retain the coveted Battle of I-85 championship belt.
The Eagles forced a pair of early turnovers and capitalized on both to take control of the game.
David Alston intercepted a Point pass with 6:19 to go in the first quarter to set his team's offense up at midfield.
Kamden Wellington tucked it for a gain of eight before finding
Tyrese Keiler for a completion that moved the chains. Wellington went to the air again to end the drive as he hit
Kentrell Borden for a 21-yard touchdown strike with 3:28 on the clock.
Two plays into the ensuing Point possession,
Nigel Dowdell came up with a strip sack and recovered the fumble to put Faulkner 21 yards away from paydirt.
Jordan Moultrie cashed in the opportunity with a touchdown run from four yards out to move the lead to 14-0 with 57 seconds left in the opening period.
The score remained the until the 1:35 mark of the second quarter. The Eagles appeared poised to take advantage of a short Point punt that set them up at their own 40. A personal foul penalty on first down backed the Faulkner offense up to the 25 and set the Eagles behind the chains. Wellington needed just one snap to go over the middle to Keiler, who shook a tackler and found another gear. The Wildwood, Fla. native outran everybody for a 75-yard touchdown to move the lead to 21-0.
After Faulkner turned the ball over on its last snap of the second quarter, Point got the Eagle 37. A final Skyhawk fling toward the end zone found its way into the hands of
Jordan Summage, who returned it 70 yards before being brought down to end the half.
Through 30 minutes of play, the Eagle defense had allowed only 20 yards on the ground and 120 through the air while forcing three turnovers.
The Skyhawks wasted no time getting on the board in the second half. Makavian Allen broke off a 65-yard sprint on Point's first offensive snap of the third quarter. Two plays later, Payton Allen punched the ball in on a 12-yard run, snapping a streak of six consecutive scoreless quarter put up by the Faulkner defense.
Kenneth Johnson blocked the extra point attempt to preserve the 21-6 lead.
Despite the blocked kick, the momentum remained firmly with the Skyhawks during the ensuing possession. The Eagles snapped it only twice before Kyan Maloy came up with a strip sack that set Point up 27 yards away from cutting into the deficit. Allen got the drive moving in the right direction with a 12-yard chain-mover to Kamare Matthews. Three plays later, he rolled out and flipped it over the top to
Omarion Jackson for a 7-yard touchdown pass. Messiah Wilson then hit Samir Wylie for the conversion pass, cutting the Eagles' advantage to one possession.
When the Skyhawks blocked a Faulkner punt a few plays later, the Eagle defense found itself white-knuckle gripping the lead. Desperately in need of a break, the Faulkner defense made its own when
RJ Randolph Jr. scooped a fumble and returned it to the Eagle 26.
The Faulkner ground game then went to work as Moultrie reeled off runs of nine and 11 yards before Wellington tucked it for a 14-yard gain. The Eagle signal-caller ended the march when he found
Darian Riggs at the back of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass to push it to 28-14.
Faulkner was ready to add to the lead at the 2:38 mark of the third when Kenyon Livingston intercepted an Eagle pass in the end zone to nullify the threat.
The turnover set up a point drive that covered 71 yards in seven plays and got all the way to the Eagle 9 before an errant snap flew over the head of the Point QB for a loss of 18 yards. A pass interference penalty by Faulkner renewed the Skyhawk hope as it moved the ball to the Faulkner 12.
Kennoris Ford quickly snatched that hope away one play later when he pounced on a fumble to end the threat. The Eagles pushed the ball 68 yards on 12 plays and milked 7:49 off the game clock before the effort stalled at the Point 21.
Allen looked to make the most of the new life. He hit Wilson 12 yards on the first play and Trey Copeland for a gain of 21 on the next. A pass interference penalty against the Eagles moved the ball to the Faulkner 31 before another completion pushed it to the 23.
Cortland Warner later broke up the fourth-down pass to put the Eagle offense back on the field with 3:06 to play, effectively ending the game.
Moultrie paced the ground game with 94 yards on 18 carries as the Eagles amassed 183 rushing yards in the game. Faulkner limited Point to 88 yards on the ground and 232 through the air. Johnson paced the defense with six tackles.
Faulkner (2-1) goes on the road next week to Grayson, Ky. where it will face Kentucky Christian University in the renewal of the Stone-Campbell Cup rivalry. The game will mark the first meeting between the two programs since 2021.
