WILLIAMSBURG, KY – The University of the Cumberlands football team put on an offensive clinic Saturday night in their home opener, rolling past Bluefield 66-12 at James H. Taylor II Stadium. The 66 points mark the most in a game by the Patriots since their 98-0 win over Union back in 2019 as UC moves to 2-0 on the season.

The Patriots racked up 559 yards of total offense, including 416 on the ground, and found the end zone eight times with five different players recording rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Drew Gregg led the attack with 128 passing yards and three touchdowns on 12-of-19 passing, while Juan Bullard Jr. powered the ground game with 155 yards and a 60-yard score on 11 carries. Cale Cartwright, Tanner Marsh, Jayden Clayton, and Cade Lamb also tallied rushing touchdowns, with UC averaging a staggering 9.7 yards per carry.

Defensively, Cumberlands forced three turnovers and held Bluefield to just 3.8 yards per play. Chris Gooden returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and Myles Meadors and Matt Hammock also recorded takeaways. Ritt Tankersley led the team with nine total tackles, while Hunter Zirkle, Jeremy Hamilton, and D'Lante Overstreet each added tackles for loss. The defense finished with four sacks and limited Bluefield to just one third-down conversion in 13 tries.

The game opened with Bluefield driving into the red zone, but the Patriots turned them away. On fourth-and-goal, Zirkle came off the edge and blocked a 23-yard field goal attempt to keep the Rams off the board. On UC's ensuing drive, Gregg was intercepted and Bluefield returned it for a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
Cumberlands answered immediately after Jahmal Hutsell took the kickoff 36 yards back to the 50 yardline. Bullard broke off runs of 13 and 18 yards to set up Lamb's 19-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 6-6. After a fourth and two stop from Zirkle that gave UC back the ball, both teams traded punts to end the quarter. UC drove into Bluefield territory early in the second, but stalled at the 10-yard line. Job Matossian then converted a 27-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 9-6 lead early in the second quarter.
  The next UC possession was the longest of the game — a 10-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Gregg to Jalavis Wilson. The following drive, Gooden jumped a Rams pass and returned it 42 yards for a pick-six, pushing the lead to 24-6. Gregg then added another scoring strike before halftime, finding D.K. Edwards for a 17-yard touchdown after a long 36-yard catch earlier in the drive, making it 31-6 at the break, and giving UC a 25-point second quarter.
  The Patriots opened the second half the same way they ended the first. On the second play, Bullard sprinted 60 yards to the end zone for another Patriots TD. The first play of the next drive, BU fumbles and Hammock recovered it at the Bluefield 31 to set up the Pats in spectacular field position. A pair of completions to Lamb an Bullard Jr. put UC in the redzone before Clayton punched in a 7-yard touchdown to make it 45-6.
  Gregg threw his third touchdown of the night on the next drive, finding Michael Petty who jumped up and made an incredible catch over the defender for a 23-yard score. On the following defensive series, Overstreet ended the drive with an eight-yard sack on third down. Two drives later Watson returned the Bluefield punt 28 yards to midfield. Marsh then entered and immediately ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run on the first play of UC's next series, stretching the lead to 59-6.
  After a Bluefield touchdown cut the margin slightly to end the third. Cumberlands added one final score. Cartwright broke multiple tackles for a 32-yard gain to get in the redzone before Marsh found Carter Stewart down the sideline to make it first and goal. Cartwright then capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown to round out the 66-point performance. The defense closed the night with a pair of three-and-outs, including a sack by Walker and a fourth-down stop from Will Simmons and Mando Ferrell.

Cumberlands out gained Bluefield 559-228, won the turnover battle 3-1, and scored on 9 of 14 drives. The Patriots went 6-for-7 in the red zone and averaged 8.6 yards per play on the night.
 
UC will be back in action at home in two weeks after their bye week, as they host the second-ranked Keiser Seahawks. Kickoff is set for 1:30 on September 20^th.
 
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