Faulkner battles from behind to capture first NAIA victory
October 26
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Trailing Kentucky Christian by 11 points after three quarters, the Faulkner football team did something it had never done before – come from behind to win a game. Two touchdowns in the fourth quarter – the last a 7-yard pass from quarterback Philip Moore to wideout Luther Burton with 1:01 to play – lifted the youthful Eagles to a pulsating 23-21 victory over the Knights.
When Faulkner stopped KCU on downs in the closing seconds to preserve the victory, head coach Jim Nichols was doused with a large water cooler. It was the type "shower’’ he’d welcome on a regular basis.
"I felt great for these young men and these coaches who have worked so hard," Nichols said. "Winning is always great any way you accomplish it, but coming back like we did in the fourth quarter made it extra special.’’
Faulkner beat Kentucky Christian last season too, but the victory was not recognized by the NAIA as an official game because the Knights were still considered a "club’’ team. Saturday’s win counts, and the Eagles earned it, bringing home the Stone-Campbell Cup for at least another year. The Cup goes to the game’s winner each year.
"Our guys were excited about keeping the Cup,’’ Nichols said. "They were passing it around after the game getting pictures made with it. It was a lot of fun for everyone.’’
After a scoreless first quarter, Faulkner grabbed the lead early in the second, driving 35 yards on eight plays following a short Knight punt. The key play of the drive came when Moore found Burton for 18 yards on third-and-10 from KCU 21, setting up a first-and-goal at the Knight 3. Two plays later Mike Timmons powered in from the 1 for the touchdown. Paul Cink added the point-after and Faulkner led 7-0 with 10:30 left in the first half.
KCU came right back on its next possession to tie it, with Jake Hughes scoring from one yard out. Matt Prewitt’s extra point deadlocked the game 7-7, and that score stood at the half.
The Knights drove 70 yards for the go-ahead touchdown early in the third quarter, with tailback Ronnie Smith darting into the end zone from 12 yards out. Prewitt’s extra point gave KCU a 14-7 lead at the 11:08 mark. The Eagles cut the lead to 14-10 on a Cink 27-yard field goal with 2:15 left in the third quarter, but it didn’t take long for the Knights to increase the margin. On the third play following the Faulkner kickoff, Hughes raced 51 yards for a touchdown and, after Prewitt’s point-after, the KCU lead was 21-10 with only 53 seconds left in the third quarter.
Facing the two-score deficit, the Eagles refused to wilt in the final 15 minutes. A 34-yard pass from Moore to Timmons early in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles a first down at the Knight 13-yard line. A 10-yard strike from Moore to Frankie Padula two plays later set up a first-and-goal at the 2, from where Moore scored himself on third down. Cink’s extra point brought Faulkner to within 21-17 with 11:55 to play.
Facing a punting situation from it’s own 26-yard line with just over five minutes left, Faulkner got it’s biggest special teams play of the season, with punter Jared Corder blasting a 69-yard punt that was downed at the KCU 6-yard line. After a couple of first downs, the Eagle defense flexed its muscles, stopping the Knights on three straight downs to force a punt with only 2:19 showing on the clock.
The Eagles’ Colton Terry fair caught the kick at the Faulkner 39, setting the stage for the winning scoring drive. A Moore pass to Padula moved the ball into KCU territory, then the two hooked up again for 27 more yards, moving the ball to the Knight 21-yard line. After Moore found Burton for seven yards, he looked for Padula in the end zone. The pass was incomplete, but KCU was called for defensive holding, giving the Eagles a first-and-goal at the 7. On second down, Moore found Burton in the end zone for the touchdown that gave the Eagles the lead. The extra point was missed, but the Eagles were on top 23-21.
KCU returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 47. With great field position and needing only a field goal to win, the Knights seemed poised to steal a victory, but the Eagle defense would have nothing of it. On third down from Faulkner’s 47, Ryan Nixon and Jason Evans sacked KCU quarterback Beau Dailey for a nine-yard loss back to the Knight 44. And when Dailey’s fourth-down pass fell harmlessly incomplete, the ball – and the game – belonged to Faulkner.
"We had to make so many plays throughout the game to win it, and these guys really stepped up,’’ Nichols said. "We’ll look back at this one and remember how important it was in the building of this program.’’