Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots rounded out their 2023 football season with a tough loss to the Georgetown College Tigers on Senior Day. UC put up a valiant effort but came up short 31-17. UC's 17 was the most points the Tigers had given up since the first weekend of October.
 
The Patriots could not get in a rhythm on the ground, being held to just 40 yards rushing in the contest. Darius James had 53 himself, the only Patriot to finish positive on the day. James put together a solid season and came just seven yards short of 1,000 rushing yards on the year. Jay Roberts finished the game with two touchdowns and 152 yards passing. Eli Evans caught one TD pass on his senior day and finished with 78 yard while Jakobie Hughes recorded the other TD reception and 43 rec yards.
 
Defensively, UC sacked Georgetown's QB five times for 30 yards. Dylan Preston had a season-high two sacks on his own, while Adam Caudle, Jaquez Johnson, and Michael West each added on one. Caudle led all defenders with 16 total tackles and was the leading tackler for the Patriots for the second straight season. Kendall Adams-Young also put together a good performance on his senior day with nine tackles including one for a loss.
 
The Tigers received the opening kick-off but failed a 4^th and 3 on UC's 23 yard-line to give UC the ball. Roberts threw his first interception on their opening offensive drive to give GC the ball with great field position. The Tigers took advantage and scored the only points of the quarter.
 
A pair of UC sacks from Michael West and Adam Caudle forced a Georgetown punt early in the second. UC could not muster up anything offensively and were forced to punt. Matossian booted it 62 yards all the way down to the opposing 24 yard-line. A sack from Dylan Preston on second down followed by a nice pass breakup from Malik Thronton forced another GC punt. Both teams went three-and-out before Roberts connected with Hughes for a 40-yard TD to tie things up at 7-7 with 3:41 left in the half. UC's defense gave up a big 60-yard run the next possession and gave up a TD the next play to go down 14-7 to end the first half.
 
 The Pats got the ball to open up the second half and looked to James for a 15-yard run to start the drive. However, they couldn't find any other success and were forced to punt. The Tigers marched down the field and scored their third TD of the day to take a 21-7 lead. After another quick possession from UC, GC tacked on a FG to increase their lead to 17 with 7:56 left in the third.
 
Cumberlands responded with another big play as Roberts found Evans who broke a tackle and took it 61-yards to the house. This gave UC some momentum and cut the Tiger lead to 10. The Patriot defense forced a punt and started their drive with a minute left in the third quarter. UC moved the ball down field and had a first and goal from the 2 yardline after Romeo McKnight drew a pass interference call in the endzone. UC had five attempts from two yards out, after a GC unsportsmanlike penalty, but could not cross the goal line. They were forced to kick a 20-yard FG which Matossian nailed to make it 24-17.
 
The Tigers responded once again with a 12-play TD drive, sucking 6:48 off the clock. The Patriots got the ball back with just under four minutes to play, but were picked off once again, giving the Tigers back the ball. They picked up a first down and were able to kneel the game out to take the win over Cumberlands 31-17.
 
This rounds out UC's season. Cumberlands improved in their second season under Head Coach Shan Housekeeper going 6-4, which is one more win than the 2022 season. UC will look to continue to improve over the off-season and get back to action next Fall.
 
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