Montgomery, AL – The Patriots utilized a pair of late touchdowns to take down Faulkner University in comeback fashion. UC move to 5-2 on the season and 2-1 in MSC play after the 26-21 win over the Eagles. This marks the first win on the road against Faulkner since the 2012 season.
 
UC's defense pressured the Eagles backfield all game long, combining for 14 tackles for loss and six sacks. Adam Caudle led the charge once again, finishing with an interception, 12 tackles, five TFL, and 1.5 sacks. Walker Dunn added 3.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks while Jamin Graham notched four tackles and 1.5 sacks. Dre Raven secured the Pats second interception of the day in the secondary as well.
 
Offensively, Drew Gregg threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns, and scored once on the ground for his third of the day. Eight Patriots caught at least one pass, with Adam Foulk and Curtis Leflore Jr. catching a touchdown each. Cade Lamb finished with three catches for 54 yards while Foulk added 45 yards on two receptions. DK Edwards and Ben Taylor had one catch each for 43 and 36 yards with JB Carlisle, Trent Davis, and Elijah Howard also hauling in at least one catch, respectively. Davis added 56 yards rushing with a long of 32 while Carlisle ended with 42 yards on the ground.
 
The Pats kicked off to the Eagles to start the contest, but the defense was not on the field for long as Adam Caudle picked off the first pass of the game to give UC the ball on Faulkner's 29-yardline. A pair of rushes from Carlisle gave UC a first down and moved them into the redzone. The next play Gregg's pass was intercepted by a Faulkner defender to keep UC off the board.
 
The defense came back on the field and forced a Faulkner punt behind a big sack from Jamin Graham. Both teams traded punts the next couple of possessions before the Pats got the ball back with 8:46 to play in the first quarter. Trent Davis took the handoff on first and ten and bounced it outside for 32 yards. However, UC's momentum was stuffed the next play as Faulkner got to Gregg in the pocket and forced a fumble which the Eagles recovered and ran back for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.
 
Faulkner's defense forced a turnover on downs the next possession, holding UC on a fourth and one on the Cumberland 43. The Pats defense were called on once again, and came up big, forcing the Eagles to attempt a 38-yard field goal which sailed wide left. After another UC punt gave Faulkner the ball, UC made another stellar play on third down, this time from Dre Raven who intercepted the second pass of the day for UC, giving his offense the ball on the Faulkner 23. Carlisle moved UC into the redzone once again with a pair of runs for 15 yards as time expired in the first quarter. The Patriots could not find the endzone on third down but called on Job Matossian who hit a 23-yard FG, his tenth of the season, to put UC on the board.
 
A pair of sacks from the Patriots forced another Eagle punt the next drive. Walker Dunn and Hunter Zirkle got to the Faulkner QB on first down before Caudle wrapped him up behind the line of scrimmage on third down. The Eagles downed the punt on their own one-yardline, forcing the Pats to start their drive in the endzone. Wide receiver's Adam Foulk and DK Edwards both drew defensive pass interference penalties to move the ball downfield, but the Faulkner defense stopped UC on a third and seven forcing Matossian back on the field to punt. The junior's punt went 51 yards all the way to the other 17-yardline to force a long field for the Eagles. Both defenses continued to make plays, forcing the other to punt three times before the halftime buzzer sounded with the Eagles leading 7-3.
 
The third quarter started with another Patriot punt as Matossian boomed a 57-yard kick down the field. The Eagles took over and drove 87 yards over eight plays for the first score of the second half. Jahmal Hutsell swung some momentum back in favor of the Pats after a 47-yard kickoff return gave the Pats the ball on the UC 47. Cumberlands converted a big fourth and two behind a four-yard gain from Davis to keep the drive alive. The next play saw Gregg find Adam Foulk over the middle for a 41-yard touchdown reception to put the Pats right back in it. Trace Thompson ran on the field for the two-point conversion and took it himself into the endzone to make it 14-11with 8:34 to play in the third.
 
Adam Caudle and the patriots continued to make play on the defense, as the graduate student made three tackles the next drive, including a sack alongside Graham to force a third and long. Back-to-back incompletions forced a turnover on downs, giving the Pats offense a chance to tie or take the lead. Davis began the offensive drive with a 14-yard carry for a first down before Jayden Clayton earned a first0down of his own after a 10-yard rush. With a fresh set of downs, Gregg took a shot downfield and found Cade Lamb who made an athletic catch for a 28-yard gain. This moved UC into field goal range, where three plays later Matossian came on and nailed a 27-yard FG to tie the contest at 14-14 with less than ten seconds left in the third quarter.
 
The fourth quarter started with a Faulkner touchdown to put the Eagles ahead seven with just over 11 minutes to play. Gregg completed a 14-yard pass to Davis out of the backfield to start the possession but would not get much else as Matossian was forced to came on for his sixth punt of the afternoon. The Patriot defense saw Walker Dunn pull down pull down the Eagle running back behind the line of scrimmage on first down before Jeremy Hamilton and Caudle combine for yet another tackle for loss to force a third and long. An incompletion on the next snap brought out the Faulkner punt team, giving UC the ball with 5:44 remaining.
 
Cumberlands started their drive with a 22-yard completion from Gregg to Lamb before Gregg found Ben Taylor on the sideline for 36 more yards. A seven-yard rush from Carlisle pushed UC into the redzone where Gregg connected with Curtis Leflore Jr. for a touchdown. Down by one, UC tried to catch the Eagles defense off guard with a hurry-up two-point attempt that was unsuccessful, keeping the Patriots behind by one.
 
The Pats kicked it off with 2:50 on the clock and all three timeouts to use. Dunn and Graham stopped the Faulkner running back on first down at the line of scrimmage, with UC using their first timeout to stop the clock. A play later, Damon Byrnes-Mitchell came up to the line and made a tackle to force the Faulkner offense into a third and seven. After another Patriot timeout, Caudle got to the Eagles QB for no gain, forcing a punt while allowing just 33 seconds off the clock. UC muffed the punt but jumped on ball first to give their offense another chance.
 
Gregg did not waste any time taking a shot downfield, as he connected with DK Edwards for 43 yards to move Cumberlands all the way down to the 11-yardline. The very next play, Drew Gregg took it himself, bouncing off two tackles into the endzone to give UC their first lead of the game with 1:52 remaining.
 
UC's defense were called on for one more stop to give UC the come from behind victory, and that is what they did. Chris Gooden started the drive with a huge 10-yard sack to keep the clock rolling. Reagan Cherry tracked down the opposing QB the next play to make it third down and long. On third down, the Eagles were called for an illegal pass downfield, losing a down to make it fourth and 21. The Patriots secondary gave the Eagles no options to throw, and allowed Walker Dunn to get in the backfield and sack the opposing QB for the sixth time of the contest, sealing the victory for the Pats. The offense lined up in victory formation and kneeled to let the clock run out, taking the victory 26-21.
 
The Patriots will look to build off their two-game win streak as they return home next weekend to take on RV Cumberland University. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM ET in Williamsburg, KY.
 
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