Bluefield, VA – UC Football took to the road for the second time this season in Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division play as the faced the Rams of Bluefield College. After a first half that saw both teams struggle to move the ball, it was the Rams that would continue to slow the Patriot offense down as Bluefield would defeat UC 22-10. The loss moves the Patriots to 4-4 overall on the season and 1-3 in Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division play.
 
Penalties plagued the Rams on their first possession of the contest, but UC would also have issues moving the ball early, going three-and-out immediately to follow. A blocked punt would give the Rams short field position on their next drive, but a fourth down stop by Matthew Castner would give UC the ball back on their 32 yard line. The Pats would again go three-and-out on their next drive, giving Bluefield the ball on their 30 yard line.
 
Great defense by the Patriots would hold Bluefield to another three-and-out. A personal foul on the punt against Bluefield gave UC the ball on their 48 yard line on the next drive. The Patriots would find the end zone first in the contest on a nine play drive capped by a five yard touchdown run on the end around by Shon Jones. The point after by Joe Rose was good, giving UC a 7-0 lead with 3:05 to play in the first.
 
Bluefield would take the return all the way down to their 42 yard line. Bluefield would drive the ball down through the end of the first quarter as they got the ball into the red zone to begin the second quarter of play. The Rams would find the end zone on a one yard quarterback sneak by Cason Whitt, but the PAT by Tanner Griffith would go wide left, keeping UC ahead 7-6 with 14:15 to play in the half.
 
The ensuing kickoff was short as Hunter Miniard came up to field, but the ball would skip off his chest and into the hands of Bluefield as they would recover and start with excellent field position on the UC 32 yard line. The Rams would not pick up a first down, but Griffith would hit a season long 43 yard field goal to push Bluefield out front 9-7 with 12:33 to play.
 
UC would build a solid drive where they converted two third downs from at least nine yards, but the third time would be turned away as they would have to punt it away, giving the Rams the ball on their 23 yard line. UC would hold Bluefield to another three-and-out and would see the Rams' punt shanked out of bounds at the Patriots' 46 yard line. A first down grab by Hunter Miniard got the ball down to the Bluefield 40 yard line, but from there, UC's offense would be halted as they would punt it away into the end zone for a touchback.
 
Big plays by Brad Montgomery including a forced fumble on third down would plague the Rams' drive as UC would get the ball near midfield. The Pats would pick up a couple solid first downs on the ensuing drive, but a backwards pass from Josiah Robbins to Milton Shelton would be recovered by the Rams. Bluefield's possession would be turned away as well as Brad Montgomery would block the punt, giving UC the ball on their 45 yard line. The Patriots offense would be unable to put anything together, so McMillan would be called on to punt. This time, he would pin the Rams on their one yard line as Nate Cohen would down the ball. Bluefield would pick up a couple of first downs on the drive, but the half would be ended on a sack as the Rams led 9-7 at the break.
 
UC would begin the second half with the ball and would put together a solid drive, but would be halted at the Bluefield 17 yard line. Joe Rose would come out and drill a 34 yard field goal, setting the single season record for field goals for UC while giving the Patriots a 10-9 lead with 11:52 to play in the third. Bluefield would come up with a big third down conversion as Whitt would wiggle away from a sack to keep the drive alive. After picking up three more first downs, it was Alex Martin finding the end zone from four yards out to give Bluefield the lead 16-10 with 8:24 to play in the quarter.
 
Three big pass plays on third down kept the drive alive for UC, but would be held on the fourth attempt along with a fourth and one, turning the ball over on downs at the Bluefield 21 yard line. Bluefield would come up with a big third down conversion on a third and 11 play, keeping their drive alive entering the final quarter of play.
 
Alex Martin would cap the drive with a one yard run for another Bluefield touchdown to make it 22-10. The two point conversion was no good as the Rams extended their lead to 12 with just over 13 minutes to play. UC would stall out and have to punt it away, but Bluefield would do the same as the Patriots would get the ball at their 25 yard line with 9:12 to play. UC would go three-and-out on the drive and would punt it away to Bluefield as they would take over on at their 38 yard line. Bluefield's offense would stall as the punt would travel into the end zone, giving the Patriots the ball on the 20 yard line with 5:06 to play.
 
Both teams would trade punts as UC would get the ball with just over three minutes to play and trailing by 12. UC picked up a couple of first downs, but the Patriot offense would be stopped on a fourth and 13 to turn the ball over on down, allowing the Rams to take three kneel downs to run the clock out and defeat the Patriots 22-10. Full statistics are available online.
 
The Patriots hit the road once again on Saturday, October 28^th as they travel to take on the Knights of St. Andrews University in another MSC Appalachian Division matchup. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 pm.
 
The 2017 Patriot Football season is brought to you by Holston Gases, the official presenting corporate partner for UC Football.
 
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