Lebanon, TN – The University of the Cumberlands football team staged an incredible fourth-quarter rally, scoring 21 unanswered points to force overtime, but came up just short in a 40-37 road loss to RV Cumberland University on Saturday afternoon. The Patriots drop to 4-5 on the season, while the Phoenix improve to 6-3.
Trailing 34-13 entering the fourth, Cumberlands flipped the momentum with three straight scoring drives and a string of defensive stands. Quarterback
Drew Gregg finished 32-of-50 for 307 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball to seven different receivers.
Ronye Watson led the way with a career high 10 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, while D.K. Edwards added four receptions for 50 yards and two scores.
Michael Petty caught six passes for 69 yards, and
Juan Bullard Jr. contributed 49 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 24 receiving yards.
UC's defense forced three fumbles and held the Phoenix scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Jaylin Berrian led the unit with eight tackles and a fumble recovery, while
Hunter Zirkle added two tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry, and his NAIA-leading fifth forced fumble of the season, a critical strip inside the 5-yard line that gave UC the ball in the redzone.
Kantrel Smith recorded the team's lone sack, and
Zander Curry,
Jeremy Hamilton,
Major Newman, and
Jonathan Heralus all added stops behind the line.
After falling behind 14-0 in the first, the Patriots answered early in the second. A short punt set up the offense at the Phoenix 41-yard line, and on the first play,
Jayden Clayton ripped off a 17-yard run. Gregg then found Watson for a 19-yard gain to the 3-yard line, and three plays later, Bullard punched it in from two yards out to make it 14-7.
Later in the half, UC pieced together a 10-play, 51-yard drive sparked by a 19-yard connection to Petty and an 8-yard pass to
Jalavis Wilson. The drive stalled inside the 10, but
Job Matossian drilled a 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-10 before halftime. Cumberland U responded with a field goal on the final play of the half to take a 24-10 lead into the break.
Cumberland pushed its lead to 34-13 late in the third, but Cumberlands' comeback began with a takeaway. After the defense forced a punt, Zirkle pressured the quarterback on third down, and a poor snap on the punt set UC up at the opposing 14-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Gregg connected with Edwards for a 14-yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 34-20 with 11:04 to go.
The UC defense immediately delivered again. Deandre William and
Jeremy Hamilton stuffed a run on first down, then Heralus and Hamilton combined for a TFL on second. On 3rd-and-8, UC pressured the quarterback, forcing an incompletion. The resulting punt gave UC the ball at its own 26.
Gregg led a 10-play, 74-yard drive that included back-to-back passes to
Ronye Watson, a sideline grab from
Jalavis Wilson, and a 17-yard third-down conversion to Bullard. On first down from the 16, Gregg found Edwards again, who broke multiple tackles for a touchdown, his second of the quarter, to make it 34-27 with 4:04 left.
After the kickoff that saw a CU miscue leave the ball downed inside their own 10, Berrian and Zirkle stuffed a run on first down, and Hamilton and Curry cleaned up a short gain on second. On third down,
Kantrel Smith brought pressure that forced a deep incompletion. A 35-yard punt gave UC possession at the CU 41 with 3:08 to play.
Gregg opened the drive with completions to Petty and Wilson, then hit Watson on a 22-yard gain down to the 7. After a pair of incompletions, Gregg delivered a third-down strike to Watson in the back of the endzone for the game-tying touchdown with 1:40 left. Matossian's extra point tied the game at 34-34.
Cumberland threatened on its final possession, but fumbled on the one yard-line. The ball was pushed through the back of the end zone for a touchback, preserving the tie and sending the game to overtime.
In the extra period, UC moved to the 16-yard line before settling for a 34-yard Matossian field goal to take a 37-34 lead. The Phoenix answered with a touchdown three plays later to escape with the 40-37 win.
Cumberlands outgained Cumberland in first downs (26-16), dominated time of possession (36:39), and finished 6-of-8 in the red zone. The Patriots went 8-for-17 on third down, forced three turnovers, and committed two of their own on a pair of interceptions. Matossian went 3-of-4 on field goals with a long of 42.
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