Knights fall in home opener to University of the Cumberlands 44-6

LAURINBURG – The St. Andrews Knights football team (0-3) lost their home opener on Saturday against the University of the Cumberlands Patriots (2-0) 44-6.

In the first quarter, the Patriots would strike first, with a 58-yard touchdown run by AP Parham. The extra point was good and it was 7-0 with 11:00 left in the quarter.

On the Knights’ first drive of the game, quarterback Andrew Fowler was sacked on a blindside blitz that resulted in a fumble, recovered by the Patriots near midfield.

But, the St. Andrews defense would put up a goalline stand that would force the Patriots to kick a field goal, which was good. The Patriots led 10-0 with 4:17 to go in the first quarter.

On the next Knights drive, they would fumble the ball, yet again. The Patriots would recover and be in Knights territory, at the 14-yard line.

The Patriots would rush in for a touchdown by Philip Garner from two yards out. After the converted PAT, it was 17-0 with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Knights would fumble the ball for the third time in the first half, which resulted in a Patriots recovery. The Patriots would capitalize with another touchdown to add to their lead and make it 23-0, after the extra point was missed.

The Knights went with a quarterback change, as Fowler was subbed out for Marshall Chambers. But, the offense would continue to be halted throughout the second quarter.

In the third quarter, the Patriots would make it 30-0, after a touchdown pass from Patriots quarterback Ben Nixon to receiver Romeo McKnight for 33-yards.

The Patriots tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter before the Knights would capitalize on a score, with 26 seconds left, to deplete the Patriots’ shutout attempt. The Knights would elect to go for two, but be unsuccessful on the attempt, making the final 44-6.

Stats for the game were unavailable at press time.

Knights head coach Bob Curtin explained after the game that red zone miscues hurt his team.

“We fell short on offense. Inside the red zone, you’ve got to score,” he said. “We score those first two times in the red zone, and it’s a different ballgame.”

Curtin mentioned that the field position hurt his team, as well.

“We didn’t set our defense up for success. A couple of times, we didn’t give them the proper field position,” Curtin said.

And, with three fumbles in the first half, Curtin puts partial blame on himself, as he is the team’s running backs coach, as well.

“I have to reemphasize hold the ball high and tight. When we get into scrums, close it down with two hands and clamp it in tight. So, that’s on me,” he said.

Curtin knows, also, that despite his team being 0-3, positivity can go a long way toward improvement.

“We’re going to celebrate the things we did well. We did a lot of things well. All these things we did that were positive, we’re going to build on them. We’re going to get better,” Curtin said.

The Knights will head on the road Sep. 17, as they face NCAA D1 school Davidson College at 7 p.m. in Davidson.