West Palm Beach, FL – The RV University of the Cumberlands football team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, falling 58-21 to No. 1 Keiser in West Palm Beach. The Patriots move to 4-1 on the year after the Seahawks used several explosive plays and a 21-point third quarter to pull away. UC finished with 353 yards of offense, including 251 through the air.
Drew Gregg completed 12-of-23 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns.
Skylar Adams led UC with 67 receiving yards, followed by
Maddux McKinney with 66 and
Michael Petty with 63.
Cade Lamb,
Juan Bullard Jr. and
Carter Stewart each hauled in touchdown passes from Gregg.
Jayden Clayton led the ground game with 75 yards on seven carries, highlighted by a 67-yard run.
Defensively, JD DeRoche and
Zander Curry led Cumberlands with seven tackles apiece, with Curry adding 1.5 tackles for loss.
Brandon Burke finished with six stops, while
Jaquon Hall recorded 1.5 tackles for loss and UC's lone sack.
The Patriot defense opened the game by forcing consecutive Keiser punts. On the Seahawks' opening possession, Hall and Curry combined to drop a runner for a three-yard loss and force the first punt. UC then moved into Keiser territory on its opening drive before a sack and penalty stalled the possession.
Cumberlands broke through late in the opening quarter. Petty helped move the chains with receptions of 22 and 23 yards before Gregg connected with Lamb for a 17-yard touchdown.
Khalil Arman's extra point gave the Patriots a 7-0 advantage with 1:11 remaining in the first.
Keiser needed just one play to answer as a 75-yard touchdown run evened the score at 7-7 with 44 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Seahawks took their first lead early in the second quarter, marching 90 yards for a touchdown to move ahead 14-7. Keiser added another score midway through the period on a 49-yard touchdown pass, extending the margin to 20-7.
Cumberlands struggled to regain its offensive rhythm as Keiser's defensive front created several negative plays. A holding penalty erased a third-down completion on UC's next possession before the Seahawks recorded a sack to force a punt. Keiser then added a 33-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the half to take a 23-7 advantage into the locker room.
The Patriots came out of halftime with an answer. Gregg connected with Lamb for 12 yards before finding Petty for 18 and Adams for 40 to move UC inside the Keiser 10. Gregg finished the six-play, 75-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Bullard, cutting the deficit to 23-14 with 11:34 remaining in the third quarter.
After the Cumberlands defense forced a punt, the Patriots got the ball back with an opportunity to make it a one-score game. Keiser came away with an interception, however, giving the Seahawks possession at the UC 28. Keiser converted the short field into a touchdown to extend its advantage to 30-14.
The Seahawks then used another explosive play to create separation, connecting on a 76-yard touchdown pass to make it 37-14. Another UC interception gave Keiser possession at the Cumberlands 30, and the Seahawks capitalized with a three-play touchdown drive to take a 44-14 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Cumberlands put together a 51-yard drive that carried into the fourth quarter, with Adams hauling in a 27-yard reception to move into Keiser territory. The Patriots advanced to the Seahawks' 24 before Keiser came up with a fourth-down stop.
Keiser responded with a 76-yard touchdown drive to extend the margin to 51-14. A UC fumble on the next play gave the Seahawks possession at the Patriot 18, and Keiser converted the short field into another touchdown to make it 58-14.
The Patriots continued to battle and answered with a 75-yard scoring drive. Clayton broke free for 67 yards to move UC to the Keiser 11. After the Patriots worked their way inside the five, Gregg connected with Stewart for a six-yard touchdown to bring the final score to 58-21.
Keiser finished with 642 yards of total offense, including 355 through the air and 287 on the ground, while averaging 10.9 yards per play. Cumberlands converted all three of its red-zone opportunities into touchdowns but committed three turnovers, all of which Keiser turned into touchdowns.
UC will have a bye week before starting MSC play at home the following week where they will host a ranked Campbellsville Tigers squad. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 PM ET on October 10
th.
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