Campbellsville, KY – The Patriots got back to their winning ways with a 41-38 victory over Campbellsville University on Saturday night. This marks their eighth straight win over the Tigers.
Cumberlands move to 6-3 on the season and 2-3 in MSC play. UC's offense tallied over 400 total yards as
Jay Roberts threw for 185 yards on 17-27 passing and two touchdowns. The QB also added a season high 48 yards rushing on the night as well.
Darius James had another outstanding performance at running back, rushing for a season high 144 yards and a touchdown. His counterpart
Devin Jones added 19 yards and a TD as well. Seven different Patriots had over 10 yards receiving in Campbellsville.
Eli Evans led the way with three catches and 44 yards while
Darius James finished the night with 39 to bring his total yards to 183. Both
Romeo McKnight and
Elijah Howard caught a TD pass while
Devin Jones and
Curtis Leflore Jr had 21 receiving yards each.
UC's defense made multiple big time plays on the night as well.
Zyan Hollis and Kantrel forced fumbles with
Kendall Adams-Young and
Zyrion Harrison recovering them. UC also added to their interception total on the season as Malik Thronton picked off his fifth of the year,
Reagan Cherry snagged his second, and
Walker Dunn earned his first and took it back to the house for a pick-six.
The game did not start the way UC wanted it, as the Tigers forced an early fumble then scored the next play to take a 7-0 lead. The Patriots responded with a pair of long receptions out of
Darius James and
Devin Jones, setting up a 7-yard touchdown catch from Roberts to
Romeo McKnight.
UC's kickoff unit did their job, forcing the start of their next drive inside the opponents ten.
Zyan Hollis came up huge on the first snap, sacking the QB and forcing a fumble, which the Pats recovered. Two plays later Jones found the endzone on a 3-yard rush to make it 14-7 UC. UC's defense came up big the following drive as well as Malik Thronton intercepted his fifth throw of the year. This led to an 11 play, 45-yard drive leading to a
Job Matossian 20-yard field goal to extend the lead.
The Patriots defense weren't finished yet, as
Walker Dunn picked off the CU QB and ran it 26-yards into the endzone to put UC on top 24-7. The Tigers would score right before the buzzer sounded, but failed a 2-point conversion, with the first quarter ending 24-13, the most points in a first quarter for the Pats this year.
The second quarter started with a UC punt and CU turnover on downs after a big 4
th and 1 stop from Cumberlands defense. UC moved the ball steadily down the field the following possession with 10+ yard gains from
Elijah Howard and McKnight. James would cap the drive off with a powerful run, breaking multiple tackles before crossing the barrier into the endzone. The Pats increased their lead to 31-13 with just over 3 minutes to play.
The Tigers didn't go down without a fight, clawing back and scoring two touchdowns in the final three minutes. The first came with 1:26 on a 14-yard pass, where CU only got six points because the Pats blocked the extra point. The second on a 16-yard throw with just one second on the game clock. The halftime horn sounded with UC leading 31-26.
Cumberlands kicked off to start the third quarter, forcing a quick three-and-out to get their offense back on the field. James started the drive with a big 19-yard rush before Roberts picked up another first-down with a run of his own.
Eli Evans got in on the action with a pair of short receptions before Roberts found Howard in the endzone for an 18-yard TD.
UC's defense intercepted their third pass of the night later into the third quarter. This time
Reagan Cherry made a good play to halt the CU drive deep into Patriot territory. Cumberlands could not take advantage and held their 38-26 lead into the final quarter of play.
Campbellsville put together a strong drive to score early in the fourth, making it a one possession game. However their kicking woes continued, as they missed their second PAT of the contest. The following possession the Pats moved into the redzone off a 39-yard pass to Evans. UC couldn't get into the endzone but called on Matossian for his second field goal of the day to make the score 41-32 with nine minutes to play.
Both teams punted the following two drives before the Tigers got the ball with five minutes left. UC's defense thought they had their fourth interception of the day, but it was called back because of a late hit on the quarterback. However, they didn't let this keep them down as
Kantrel Smith forced a fumble that Zyrion Harris grabbed the very next play.
Cumberlands were forced to punt, giving CU the ball with 3:43 on the clock. They drove down the field and scored making it 41-38 after another blocked PAT by the Pats. The Tigers tried an onside kick, but UC recovered and iced the game taking the 41-38 win.
The 6-3 Pats will be back at home for Senior Day next Saturday Nov. 4
th as they host the ninth ranked Georgetown Tigers. Kickoff is set for 1:30 PM ET.
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