Faulkner University

by Wesley Lyle - Montgomery Advertiser

The Faulkner Eagles gathered around first-year head coach Gregg Baker on the Cramton Bowl turf Saturday.

Moments after snapping a nine-game losing streak with a 24-21 win over Virginia-Wise on Saturday, Baker challenged his team to embrace the feeling of success and carry it into the offseason.

"This was a different atmosphere today," Baker said. "The guys believed we could win today and that's a tribute to the coaches and players. At 1-9 and with nine straight losses, it would have been easy to roll over, go home and call it a season.

"But these guys fought until the end. The result is we've got a good taste in our mouths going into the offseason. This is something to build off of. We want winning to become a habit."

Faulkner (2-9, 1-6 Mid-South Conference) won its season opener Aug. 29, but had suffered through week-after-week of frustration since.

"This win was special on so many levels," Baker said. "It's special for the seniors because it's their last game. This season was tough, but I couldn't be any prouder of these guys.

"For our program, this was a big win against a quality opponent. And gosh, you just get to a point where it feels good to win. It's something the players and coaches needed."

In Saturday's win, the Eagles drove 88 yards in less than three minutes to complete their comeback. Quarterback Trey Martin hit Deonta Allen for a 7-yard touchdown strike with 46 seconds to play to give Faulkner the lead.

"You're just kind of holding your breath," senior linebacker Sean Thom said of watching the offense drive down the field for the go-ahead score. "Trey did a great job directing that drive and senior Frankie (Padula) made catch after catch. Deonta topped it off with the touchdown.

"The way this season has been, the way the offense put it together on that final drive, I can't express what this means. It's exciting to end with a win."

Leading by one point, Faulkner chose to go for a two-point conversion. Thom got the call.

"It was a play we worked on this week," Baker said. "We needed to get two points so a field goal couldn't win the game for them. When we sent him in, I told him, 'Don't let us down'. He didn't.

"When he got in the end zone, it was icing on the cake for him. The smile on his face said it all."

GAME NOTES:

Faulkner's sack attack: Faulkner held UVA-Wise (5-6, 4-3) to 260 yards of offense, including minus-30 yards rushing. One reason was the Eagles' dominating pass rush. Faulkner recorded 10 sacks for minus-66 yards.

"(Defensive coordinator Duane) McWhorter had a great game plan for us today," Thom said. "He was dialing up blitzes all over the place. They worked and we frustrated their offense."

Thom led the defense with 14 tackles and also had two sacks.

Matt Fleck led the team with three sacks. Thom, Emanuel Grier and Ty Hardnett each had two sacks.

"Duane and his guys put pressure on them all day," Baker said. "It seemed like each time I looked up, their quarterback was picking himself up off the ground."

Two of the Eagles' sacks came on the Cavaliers' final drive (second and third down). On fourth down, defensive back Anthony Haywood broke up a UVA-Wise pass to seal the game.

Coming back: Faulkner fell behind 21-7 early in the third quarter, but the Eagles chipped into the lead with a 25-yard Jared Corder field goal late in the third quarter. A 5-yard Trey Martin-to-Jurell Williams touchdown pass made it 21-16 early in the fourth.

DeShawn Edwards scored Faulkner's first points of the game on a 1-yard run in the secŸond quarter.

Padula's final contributions: During the Eagles' final drive, Martin found senior receiver Frankie Padula three times, including two crucial plays for first down.

Padula finished the game with nine receptions for 123 yards.

"This was his last game and Frankie wanted the ball," Baker said. "He is a fierce competitor and you could tell today was special for him.