Campbellsville shocks No. 3 Faulkner 59-50 in wild shootout
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In a game where the teams combined for more than 100 points, Campbellsville’s Jarrod Harrington was the difference maker. And he didn’t score a single one of them.
The senior receiver and returner had 12 catches for 131 yards and added 221 more of all-purpose yardage as the Tigers fought back from a two-touchdown, first-quarter deficit to shock third-ranked Faulkner 59-50 here on a misty Saturday afternoon at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium. Campbellsville (3-2, 1-0 MSC) also took advantage of five Faulkner turnovers to hand head coach Charlie Boren‘s Eagles (3-1, 0-1 MSC) their first loss of the season. The matchup was a Mid-South Conference West Division battle, leaving Faulkner with an uphill fight from here.
“We knew they were going to get the ball to him every way possible and they did that today,” Boren said. “He ‘s a tremendous player and he hardly ever went down on the first hit. He played with guts today, and you have to give him credit. The bottom line is, however, you’re never going to beat a quality team turning the ball over like we did today. Now our backs are already against the wall, and we’re about to find out what we’re made of and how much heart we have.”
Harrington had plenty of help from quarterback Jake Russell land fellow wideout Tyus Alcorn. Russell tossed six touchdown passes, three of which went to Alcorn, who caught seven passes for 98 yards on the day. Russell finished with 379 yards through the air, completing 30-of-53 attempts with one interception. Faulkner quarterback Clayton Nicholas, who tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the first five minutes of the game to give the Eagles an early lead, had four scores and 380 yards in a 28-of-59 effort. He too had an interception, which was returned for a touchdown that flipped the momentum late in a wild first quarter. Eagle receiver Rob Lockhart had another big game, catching nine passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough. Tailback Joe Jones added 123 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries for the Eagles in the loss.
“It’s hard to score 50 points and lose a game,” Boren added. “We just had way too many mistakes. And, to be honest, I’m really surprised by it. How we respond to this, however, will make or break us. I still have confidence in this team. I think we will respond in a positive way.”
Faulkner sprinted out of the gate, marching 71 yards with the opening kickoff on nine plays – the final one coming on a 25-yard Nicholas-to-Lockhart hookup for a touchdown. After the Tigers failed to move it, Nicholas and the Eagles wasted little time adding to their lead. Nicholas found Lockhart for 58 yards to the Campbellsville 1-yard line, then hit Shante Rogers for the score. Kennamer’s second extra point made it 14-0 with 10:42 still on the first-quarter clock.
Russell and the Tigers then came to life, taking 10 plays to crack the ice. His 36-yard pass to Keanu Young resulted in the touchdown, and Will Ward’s point-after cut the margin in half. Faulkner freshman Reagan Amos answered right back, however, taking the ensuing kickoff at the 13 and weaving his way through the Tiger coverage 87 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. Kennamer’s kick made it 21-7.
The Eagles held again and appeared in total control, but Jonathan McNair fumbled the Tiger punt and Campbellsville grabbed both the football and the momentum. Russell took advantage of the short field, taking the Tigers 27 yards in five plays for the score. He found Alcorn for the touchdown from the 3, and the extra point brought it to 21-14. The Eagles drove back into Campbellsville territory and appeared primed to regain control, but Marquis Cain stepped in front of a Nicholas pass at the Tiger 30 and raced 70 yards for the game-tying touchdown in the closing minutes of the crazy opening 15 minutes.
Early in the second frame Campbellsville grabbed the lead, with Russell connecting with Alcorn again from nine yards out to make it 28-21. After another long Amos kick return, Nicholas hit Lockhart with a short scoring pass that evened the game at 28. Faulkner jumped back on top with 10 minutes to go in the half on Kennamer’s 26-yard field goal.
Harrington got into the big kickoff return game for Campbellsville, putting the Tigers in position to regain the lead after taking the ensuing kick 70 yards deep into Faulkner territory. Russell’s 21-yard toss to Trent Holbrook and subsequent extra point put the Tigers back in front 35-31. Faulkner answered again, with Nicholas finding Lockhart from 59 yards out on third-and-27 as the Eagles retook the advantage 37-35. Kennamer’s extra-point try was wide at the 9:07 mark.
The Russell-to-Alcorn combo struck again at the 4:57 mark, this time from 45 yards out and the see-saw affair continued with Campbellsville now on top 42-37. Ward’s field goal with 2:16 left in the half mercifully ended the first-half scoring, and the Tigers took an eight-point lead to the locker room at the break.
The Eagles scored midway through the third quarter to cut into the margin. The two-point try failed, and Campbellsville stayed in front 45-43. The two teams swapped touchdowns later in the third quarter – Campbellsville’s coming on Russell’s final scoring pass of the day, this one to Chantz Goodman, and Faulkner’s on Jones’ short run – but the Tigers put it away early in the fourth. A.J. Strong culminated a nine-play drive by powering it into the end zone from the 1 early in the period, and the Campbellsville defense did just enough to keep the Eagles at bay the rest of the way.
Faulkner ended the day with 594 yards to the Tigers’ 478, but the handful of turnovers were too much to overcome.
The Eagles travel to Waleska, Ga., next Saturday to battle 14th-ranked Reinhardt in another MSC West Division showdown. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. central time.
