LAURINBURG — The St. Andrews University football team fell non-division foe Faulkner University, 38-20 on Saturday in their second home game in school history.
St. Andrews got off to a rough start as Faulkner’s Michael Watkins ran the opening kick back 52 yards for a touchdown. The kick return right out of the gate gave the Eagles an early 7-0 lead.
Faulkner extended their lead to 17-0 with a touchdown and a field goal before the end of the first quarter. The Eagles added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 31-0 lead into halftime.
The Knights managed to drive deep into Faulkner territory twice in the first half, but each time turned the ball over on downs. Despite a less scoreless first half, Faulkner only out gained the Knights by 10 yards in the ground game, 170-160. The difference maker was the passing game, Faulker ended the game with over 300 yards in the air and held St. Andrews to just 80 passing yards.
The Eagles also forced three St.Andrews turnovers ultimately out gaining the Knights 478-240 with double the number of offensive plays, 86-48.
The third quarter saw the Knights finally get on the board as freshman safety Nathan Belch picked of Faulkner quarterback Mason Blocker’s pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. It was the second interception return for a touchdown this season by the Knights. Freshman defensive end Bernard Brown had the other defensive score back in week one.
Faulkner added another touchdown to make it a 38-7 Eagles lead in the fourth quarter before St. Andrews scored 13 unanswered points with two big-play touchdowns. The first Knights touchdown came on a 55-yard run by freshman running back Samuel Wright.
Wright and freshman quarterback Kacey Otto led the Knights ground game with 55 yards apiece. Otto is averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
The second touchdown came on a 65-yard pass from quarterback Keyshawn Brown to freshman wide receiver Kashard Cohens — it was the receiving touchdown in St. Andrews history.
Cohens’ touchdown catch led the Knights receivers for the game. Fellow freshman wide receiver Tyler Carr had two catches for 15 yards and Brown finished the day three passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.
On the opposite side of the ball, freshman linebacker Andrew Austin led the Knights with nine tackles — one for loss and five solo. Freshman defensive end Darius West had eight tackles, two for loss, and six solo.
Freshman defensive end Josh Jones led with two sacks and three tackles while freshman LB Jimmy Edwards had five solo tackles and 1.5 sacks.
St. Andrews falls to 1-3 with the defeat while Faulkner improves to 2-2.
St. Andrews will next remain at home and host Appalachian Division foe Pikeville University (Ky.) (2-2) on Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m. at Knights Stadium.
