The University of the Cumberlands football Patriots (6-1, 3-0, 14th) wrapped up a huge win, 35-20, over the visiting Georgetown Tigers (2-4, 0-3) on Saturday, October 18, 2008. The last time the Patriots were able to defeat the Tigers was in 1996 when they called themselves the Indians. Honoring the 20th anniversary of the undefeated 1988 Indian Football squad, Cumberlands put to rest any rumors of their authenticity as they defended the Patriot “I Will” Pride.

The Tigers began the game with a very strong drive which ended up in an A.J. Brooks touchdown from 3 yards out. The fans had seen this before out of Georgetown’s offense and just clinched their hands in anticipation to see how the Patriots first drive would turn out. Without disappointment, Cumberlands fought back with a 34 yard run from Justin Pritchett (Dayton, TN) to set up a 1 yard punch in from Ricky Walker (Thomasville, GA) to tie the game up. A 75 yard kickoff return from Nik Blair brought the Tigers right back into the red zone. Alex Wright (Quitman, GA) controlled the dump pass to Kyle Howe as he brought Howe down in the back field. Upon fourth down and goal from the 13 yard line, Georgetown completed the field goal to go up 10-7.

After stopping the Patriots, Georgetown ran the clock out in the first quarter and began the second with another field goal to go up 13-7. A 22 yard return from Maurice Berryhill (Indianapolis, IN), with a 15 yard penalty, set the Cumberlands in great field position for their next drive. It was Justin Pritchett again coming up big for the Patriots with a 56 yard pass completion, but was dragged down at the one yard line. Once again, Ricky Walker was shoved up the middle for the go ahead score of 14-13. A.J. Brooks attempted to make the big run, but the ball was forced out of his grasp by Brian Abshire (St. Cloud, FL) and recovered by Brad Lawson (Williamsburg, KY). This turnover gave way to a Ricky Walker 45 yard rush and a pitch out to Maurice Berryhill for a 2 yard touchdown. As Mike Lewis attempted the first down pass, Shovon Patton (Dublin, OH) came up with the Patriots 18th interception of the season. Later in the quarter, Brad Lawson would get the Cumberlands 19th interception which led to another strong drive from the Patriots. This drive would allow the Cumberlands offense to run the same pitch out play to Berryhill for another touchdown and the Patriots were up 28-13 with only 35 seconds left in the half. A couple of first down passes gave the Tigers an opportunity to kick another field goal before the half, but PJ Hughes (Montezuma, GA) got a hand on the hard kick for a his first blocked kick of his career.

Penalties started out the third quarter, but each defense was able to hold the opposing offense off as no scoring was allowed. Nearing the end of the quarter however, Georgetown ate up five and a half minutes driving the ball down the field, but with pressure rising on QB Lewis, Travis Thurmond (Statham, GA) picked off another pass. This change of possession carried into the fourth quarter. After 11 plays and 58 yards, Freddy West (Mulberry, FL) completed his assignment of driving into the end zone and the Patriots went up 35-13. Described by many raters as a tough team, Georgetown would never hang their head. Although taking seven precious minutes off the clock, the Tigers put together a stunning drive, capped off by a bullet pass to John Keene from 4 yards out to gain another touchdown. With 4:11 left on the clock, the Patriots failed to get a first down and were forced to punt. As Lewis went back for another pass, Travis Thurmond once again pulled out the pick recording the Patriots defense their 21st interception of the year. A couple of hard runs from the Cumberlands acquired a first down, but the last play decision was the class act kneel down.

Although a big game from many players on the field, the standout athlete of the competition was PJ Hughes. Hughes finished with 24 total tackles, 1 tackle for a loss of 3 yards and a blocked field goal. He came within 2 tackles of the Cumberlands’ single game total tackles mark of 26, set by Mark Barrett in the 1988 playoff game against Bluffton College. Ironically, Barrett was in attendance to watch this prestigious effort. Travis Thurmond followed Hughes with 11 tackles, including 1 for a loss of 3 yards, and 2 interceptions. Also for the defense, saving two possible touchdowns, was Shovon Patton with 2 pass breakups and 1 interception.

On the offensive side, Ricky Walker led the ground attack with 19 carries for 97 total yards and 2 touchdowns. Walker is just 2 touchdowns away from becoming the 3rd all-time leader in career rushing touchdowns for the Patriots. Justin Pritchett followed Walker with 10 carries for 60 total yards and also led the receiving unit with 1 reception for 56 yards. Kyle King passed 11 times for 4 completions and 89 total yards. Sean Mounts (Norris, TN) was a huge asset for the Patriots, being forced to punt 5 times and putting 3 of the punts within the opponent’s 20 yard line.

Hand shakes were given and smiles were exchanged as Coach Bland was awarded one of the biggest wins of his career. “Coach Michael Collins and his defensive coaching staff are doing a super job this season,” said Coach Bland. “They continue to get better every game and Kyle King could have had more completions, but the connection with the receivers just was not there today. Ricky Walker led the rushing by running hard and using his vision and he is simply an all-around great person, athlete, and example of character. It was just a great day today from the program’s history being reunited up until the Gatorade bath at the end. Even though West Virginia Tech has yet to win a game, we will prepare for them just as hard as we have for Union, Georgetown, or any other rivalry opponent. They will be looking for the big win to jumpstart their program and will be sitting at home waiting for us to get off the bus.”

The University of the Cumberlands Patriots will push on as they compete against West Virginia Tech Saturday, October 25th in Montgomery, WV at 1:30 PM. Nearing the end of the season, every win is going to be a big win for the Patriots as they look ahead toward the playoffs. There are only three more games left, including West Virginia Tech, Campbellsville, and UVA-Wise. The Patriots next and last home game will be against UVA-Wise on November 8th.