Williamsburg, KY – The University of the Cumberlands scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game leading to the Patriots 58-7 season opening win over Kentucky Christian Thursday night at James H. Taylor II Stadium.  UC has now won six of their eight season-opener under Head Coach Matt Rhymer.

Cumberlands tallied 396 yards of offense, finding the endzone six times, while the defense limited KCU to 189 yards and added a touchdown of their own.  The Patriots special teams also came up big blocking a punt, converting a field goal, while averaging 42.0 yards per punt.  Ben Nixon led the way for the Patriots going 13-22 for 132 yards and three scores, while the sophomore added 18 yards on the ground.  Devin Jones led UC on the ground rushing for a career-high 84 yards, while Alonzo Russell and Brandon Stuckey notched 72 and 58 yards, respectfully.

The Patriots defense was led by Tae Hammond, who made a team-high six tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss.  Damon Byrnes-Mitchell and Walker Dunn each tallied an interception in the win as Adam Caudle recorded UC's lone sack, a nine-yard loss in the second in the first quarter.

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The game began with both teams going three and out on their opening possession, however, a penalty on Kentucky Christian backed them deep on their side of the field.  On the next play as the Knights went to punt, Jamar Nuby came untouched off the left side and blocked the punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Patriots a 7-0 lead.

Both offensives struggled to find their rhythm early in the game as the two teams traded possessions throughout the opening quarters.  Despite the offensive struggles, Cumberlands extended their lead to 14-0 as Damon Byrnes-Mitchell notched his first career interception and returned it 32-yards for the score with 3:05 remaining in the first quarter.

In the second quarter the UC offense began to come alive as the Patriots threw for three scores.  On their first drive of the period, Gavin Wilkinson drove Cumberlands on a 14-play, 72 yard drive, which was capped off by a 15 yard touchdown pass to Russell in the left corner of the endzone.  Cumberlands added another touchdown on their next possession as Nixon connected with Stuckey for a 22-yard score.  That score was Stuckey's ninth receiving touchdown of his career.  UC took advantage of a Walker Dunn pick on KCU's next possession as Nixon connected with AP Parham for his first collegiate touchdown, an 18-yard strike, to extend UC's lead to 34-0.

The two teams traded possessions to open the second half with neither of them able to convert into scores.  Cumberlands extended their lead at the 5:09 mark as Tripp Holloway capped off a nine-play drive with a 28-yard field goal to make it 37-0 in favor of the Pats.  Holloway also converted 7-8 on PATS in the game to finish with 10 points.  The Patriots defense continued to come up big keeping KCU off the board by forcing a failed fourth-down conversion and a punt which kept UC's advantage at 37-0 heading into the fourth quarter.

On the opening drive of the fourth quarter, Nixon completed passes of 17 and 18 yards to Tucker Brown and Ethan Cox, respectfully, before Nuby capped off the drive with a two-yard score to extend the lead to 44-0.  Cumberlands added scores on each of its next two possessions as Nixon connected with Chase Overstreet for his career-high third touchdown of the game, while Traveon Scott converted an 11-yard rush just inside the right pylon making it 58-0.  KCU added a touchdown on their final drive for the 58-7 final.

The Patriots will return to action Saturday, September 11, when they travel to Miami Gardens, FL to face Florida Memorial University.  It will mark the first meeting between these two schools and kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.  Live video of the game will be available here, while live stats are available here.

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