Wilder’s fumble recovery secures Faulkner’s 31-28 win over Cumberland
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (faulknereagles.com) – After an intense back and forth battle Faulkner’s Austin Wilder recovered a Cumberland fumble with just under two minutes to play and carried it deep into Phoenix territory to solidify the Eagles’ 31-28 victory in this afternoon’s Mid-South Conference showdown here at Billy D. Hilyer Stadium.
Faulkner (5-4, 3-2 MSC) scored on its second drive of the ball game when quarterback Clayton Nicholas found Rob Lockhart on the end of a 16-yard touchdown pass with just over seven minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Nicholas was at it again on the first play of the second quarter when he delivered a 44-yard bomb to receiver Reagan Amos who hit the jets into the blue giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead.
The home team then capitalized on a Cumberland (5-5, 2-3 MSC) special teams blunder on the ensuing drive when punter Matthew Alter bobbled the snap allowing Keithon Redding to force the fumble deep in Phoenix territory. Cumberland did recover the ball on its own 12-yard line, but turned possession over to Faulkner on downs.
The Eagles ultimately settled for a Ryan Curran field goal in the short-field situation which extended the Faulkner lead to 17 points.
Cumberland finally illuminated the scoreboard with just over eight minutes remaining in the opening half when Kendall Johnson darted into the end zone from three yards out to cap a 10-play, 70-yard drive.
The Phoenix Shedrick Kirk came up big when he carried a Terrance Sims fumble 90 yards for the score, cutting Faulkner’s lead to 17-14 on the following drive. Cumberland’s Nathan Jernigan knocked the ball free as Sims was looking for more yards after the catch.
The Eagles widened the lead back to 10-points on their next possession, however, when Nicholas found Redding from 21-yards out.
Alter missed a 31-yard field goal attempt that would have made it a one-score affair just over three minutes into the second half, but the visitors did come out on the positive side of a wild play with just over a minute to play in the third quarter that trimmed the home lead back to three points.
Faulkner’s Chris Casher forced a big fumble on a Dezmon Huntley rush in the red zone that bounced nine yards down hill into the end zone. Cumberland’s Kris Parker bolted into a sea of blue jerseys, recovering the loose ball for a Phoenix touchdown.
The momentum shifted back in the Eagles’ favor when Nicholas rifled his fourth and longest touchdown pass of the day, a 58-yard dagger to Redding, just over a minute into the final quarter.
Not to be outdone, Cumberland’s Justin Snyder tossed a 53-yard pass to Michael Green on the subsequent drive which set the stage for a 13-yard touchdown pass from Huntley to Parker pushing the score to 31-28.
The Phoenix then began moving the ball down field inside the three minute mark when things finally took a permanent turn in Faulkner’s favor. Casher again forced a Huntley fumble near the Faulkner 33-yard line, but this time it was the Eagles who came up with the turnover. Wilder scooped the tumbling ball and carried it 47 yards to the Cumberland 25-yard line.
A 6-yard Joe Jones first-down run allowed Nicholas to kneel out the remaining clock.
“This was a great way to finish the day,” head coach Charlie Boren told his team after the game. “It got a little tighter than we wanted, but again, you see the heart and that’s what’s important. It was a great win for our seniors on senior day. This sets the table for what we wanted. This is our 10th football season. We had losing records in the first five. We’re one win away from having our fifth straight winning season and evening this thing up as a program. That’s a big deal for us. That’s what we’re going to work toward all week. We’re going to be a better football team and we’re going to get that win.”
Nicholas was 32-for-44 with 344 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in the home finale.
Redding closed out play with 118 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.
Jones led the running back corps with 52 yards on 10 carries while Trent Jones added 25 yards on as many touches.
Vandy Smith anchored the Eagle defense with 12 total tackles. Casher and Banton Price each had 10 tackles against the Phoenix and Casher forced a pair of fumbles.
Faulkner will close out the season against Union in Barbourville, Ky., next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
