Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots football team got their season started on the right foot with a dominant 44-0 victory against the Kentucky Christian Knights. This marked UC's first shutout in a season opener in over two decades with the last coming in 1995 when they defeated Sue Bennett 46-0. The Pats defense shined holding KCU to -34 yards rushing and 32 total yards of offense. Cumberlands had their running game firing on all cylinders as they rushed for 240 yards, while scoring all six of the team's touchdowns.
 
"This was a great start to the season and I feel like we really came out strong," said Head Coach Shan Housekeeper.  "This was a complete team win and I'm proud of our players and our staff for putting together a great game plan and executing."
 
Darius James led UC's offense with a team-high 98 rushing yards and two TD's. Devin Jones also tallied a pair of touchdown runs on 65 yards rushing. Jay Roberts went 5-11 with 73 yards passing, finding receiver DK Edwards twice for a combined 47 yards.
 
Zyan Hollis forced a fumble, notched a team-high two tackles for loss and tied Reagan Cherry for the team leader in tackles with six. Major Newman and Walker Dunn both intercepted a pass in the secondary to help the Patriots secure their shutout. Job Matossian was great on special teams going 6-6 on PATs and had three punts downed inside the 20.
 
The Patriots started the season off with the ball and marched straight down the field on the KCU defense for an early touchdown. Darius James and Devin Jones split touches moving UC down the field before Jones took the handoff on 3^rd and 6 from KCU's 11 yard line and scurried into the endzone. UC's defense forced a punt in their first series on the field, followed by a Walker Dunn interception the next possession. This led to a one-play touchdown drive as Darius James rushed for a 16-yard TD. Zyan Hollis came up big on back-to-back plays to force a KCU punt, sacking the QB on second down, and forcing a fumble the very next play. Cumberlands got the ball back with good field position and took advantage of the opportunity. They looked to James on the ground once again, finishing the drive with a 36-yard rushing TD to take a 21-0 lead after one quarter of play.


 
The second quarter started with another good defensive possession from the Pats, giving UC the ball at their opponents 44-yardline. Stevie Orr came in under center and took advantage of a pair of 15-yard Knight penalties along with a rush of his own to get UC in the redzone. Mike Watson capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 28. A penalty from KCU put them on their own 9-yardline to start the next drive. UC's defense came up strong once again, sacking the Knights quarterback in the endzone for a safety. Roberts went to the air the following drive, completing passes to DK Edwards and Eli Evans. Sitting just outside the redzone Jones took back-to-back handoffs and found the endzone for his second score of the day, giving UC the 37-0 lead after two quarters of play.


 
UC kicked off to start the second half and remained dominant on the defensive side of the ball. They held the knights to -15 yards in the quarter, forcing three straight three-and-outs. The Pats ended the game strong, scoring on the opening possession of the fourth quarter on a 5-yard rush from Seth Huff. The defense forced their second turnover, this time from a Major Newman interception. Both teams traded drives the last 12 minutes of play with no score, solidifying UC's shutout victory 44-0 at the final horn.


This was UC's first shutout since the 2019 season, when they held Union scoreless in the Battle for the Brass Lantern.  Cumberlands will be back in action next weekend as they travel to the University of Pikeville. They are set to play the Bears in a non-conference matchup at 6 PM with live video of the game available here.
 
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