Faulkner’s 2nd half flurry buries Bluefield 28-13

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (faulknereagles.com) – After trailing 13-7 heading into halftime 19th-ranked Faulkner retaliated with 21 unanswered points in the second half to claim the 28-13 victory over Bluefield College (Va.) this afternoon here at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.

It was deep in the fourth quarter before Faulkner ignited the scoreboard in last week’s showdown against Southeastern, but Faulkner wasted little time doing so today. After the defense forced at three and out in the opening series, the home team promptly went to work on foot.

Trent Miles sparked the two-play, 30-second opening drive with a 32-yard run up the middle before Joe Jones bolted into the end zone on a 23-yard scamper.

The Rams (0-3) responded quickly with a 50-yard run from Alex Martin jamming Faulkner inside it’s own 20-yard-line on the ensuing possession, but it was the Eagle defense that dominated the series forcing a turnover on downs at the 11.

A pair of costly turnovers dampened Faulkner’s mood before halftime, however.

Bluefield’s Tracey Parker Jr. recovered quarterback Jordan Aubrey’s fumble at the Faulkner 24-yard-line setting up a three-play scoring drive for the Rams which culminated with a 14-yard rushing touchdown from Martin. Vandy Smith blocked the extra point.

Bluefield then capitalized on a Jonathan McNair fumbled punt return effort at the Faulkner 9-yard-line with just over three minutes remaining in the half. Ashton Dixon connected with Braxton Knotts on a five-yard touchdown pass two plays plays later giving the Rams their first, and only, lead of the ball game.

The momentum finally shifted in Faulkner’s favor when the visitors put themselves in a similar predicament early in the second half.

Faulkner’s special teams swarmed Bluefield punter Benjamin Brown when he attempted to make things right on foot after bobbling the long snap. The 10-yard loss gave the Eagles control at the Rams’ 23-yard-line and the home team scored 48 seconds later when Aubrey fired an eight-yard touchdown strike to Terrance Sims. Ryan Curran’s point after gave Faulkner the one-point lead and the home team never looked back.

The Eagles hung seven more points to the board just two minutes later. Aubrey’s 57-yard pass to Sims landed Faulkner at the 8-yard-line and Miles closed that gap on the ensuing handoff.

The birds capped their scoring efforts three and a half minutes later with their third consecutive scoring drive of the half when Aubrey found a wide open Keithon Redding in the end zone from 20 yards out.

Faulkner’s four scoring drives averaged just 50 seconds each.

Head coach Charlie Boren stressed that the two primary areas of concern heading into this afternoon’s game were protecting the quarterback and being productive on the ground.

Last week Faulkner gave up five quarterback sacks, today the Eagles allowed just two.

In addition, Faulkner’s 157 yards rushing this afternoon was a 158-yard improvement over week one.

The Eagles posted 316 yards of total offense against the Bluefield.

“I thought Jordan Aubrey did a great job today,” Boren said after the game. “He’s growing into the job and didn’t get down from what was going on in the first half. He had two big touchdown passes and I thought managed the team well. We did a much better job up front offensively and gave him some time to loosen up and you saw what he can do.”

Aubrey was 12-for-18 with 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Miles racked up 96 yards on 11 carries and Jones added 58 more on nine rushes.

Sims had 82 yards on four catches with Redding booking 53 on the same number of grabs.

Boren was equally please with the flip side of play which recorded six sacks for a total loss of 43 yards. Faulkner has allowed just 23 points in two games and tough defense is a trend he believes will continue throughout the season.

“Our defense has put eight quarters together so far and this is what we expect out of those guys. They’re a well-cached group and they are doing a heck of a job.”

Smith was lights out for the Eagles with 15 total tackles and had the blocked extra point on special teams. William Winters added 12 more stops which included 3.5 for a loss. He also had 1.5 sacks.

Faulkner (1-1) moved to 3-0 lifetime against Bluefield and will next host Kentucky Christian. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.