Williamsburg, KY – Career days from Ben Nixon and Brandon Stuckey led the offensive charge as the (RV) Patriots scored the first 42 points of the game en route to a 63-14 win over Southeastern Saturday night at James H. Taylor, II Stadium.  With the win the Patriots improve to 3-0 on the season and extend win streak against the Sun Division to a perfect 9-0 all-time.

Stuckey had a career-game etching his name into the Patriot record books with three catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the game.  Stuckey ties the program record for receiving touchdowns in a game, while he also became just the fifth Patriot in program history to record over 1,000 receiving yards in his career.  Nixon went 8-10 for a career-high 240 yards and four scores, while Jakob Greer and Gavin Wilkinson each added a touchdown through the air.

Martize Smith led all Patriots rushers with 54 yards on the ground, while Jamar Nuby extended his touchdown streak going for 36 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Defensively, UC was led by Bryson Williams who made a team-high five tackles, including a sack.  Cumberlands finished with four sacks in the game and forced four Southeastern turnovers.  Ke'Shawn Catlett notched a pair of interceptions, while Jamar Roberts added an interception as well.

For the second straight home game, the Patriots got on the board first without an offensive touchdown.  On the third play of the game, Cooper Jones throw a lateral which was ultimately recovered by Tae Hammond, who returned it 22 yards for the touchdown to put the Patriots up 7-0 48 seconds into the game. 



Cumberlands stopped the Fire on their next possession giving the offense a chance to get on the field.  UC opened with a 22-yard run for Smith, which set up Nixon find Brandon Stuckey open down the middle of the field for a 52-yard hook-up and the score extending Cumberlands lead to 14-0. 

Catlett halted Southeastern's next possession prematurely with an interception. The Patriots took full advantage of the short field position as three players later Nixon found Chase Overstreet for the 31-yard strike down the right side for the score making it 21-0 with 8:58 remaining in the opening quarter.



For the second straight Fire possession, Catlett made a great break on the ball and intercepted a Jones' pass giving him his first multi-interception game of his career.  Seven plays later the Patriots capped off a drive as on 3^rd and 7 Nixon found Stuckey across the middle for a 33-yard touchdown extending the lead to 28-0, which they held onto after the first quarter.

The two teams traded possession until the 10:58 mark in the second quarter when Nixon hung in the pocket and fired a strike to Stuckey, who got behind the defense for a 58-yard touchdown extending the score to 35-0.  It marks the first time since October 26, 2019 a Patriot receiver has scored three touchdowns in a game. 



UC final score of the first half came on five plays, 62 yard drive that was capped off with a Nuby one-yard run giving the Patriots a 42-0 lead.  The key play to that drive was a 47 yard catch and run by AP Parham on a second and seven.  Cumberlands defense continued to hold strong keeping Southeastern scoreless in the first half.

Southeastern came out of the break, forced a turnover, and scored on their first offensive play of third quarter cutting the lead to 42-7.  Cumberlands was quick to respond on their next series as Gavin Wilkinson led the Patriots on a six play, 63 yard drive.  After three runs from Zalon Reynolds, Wilkinson connected with Eli Evans, who tipped the ball up before catching it in the endzone for the score. 



Cumberlands next possession saw Jakob Greer under center, however, the change didn't slow down this high-powered offensive as he engineered a six plays, 75-yard drive.  After subbing into the game, Greer completed his first two passes, including finding Elijah Howard for a 28-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter giving the Patriots a 56-7 advantage.  The two teams traded touchdowns to close out the third quarter.

The fourth quarter turned into a defensive battle as the two teams combined for six possession with neither team able to add to the scoreboard as Cumberlands took the 63-14 final.  The Patriots recorded two sacks and an interception in the final frame.

Cumberlands will return to the field Saturday, October 2, as the host Bethel to kickoff Mid-South Conference play.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at James H. Taylor, II Stadium with live video available here.

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