HUNTINGDON OUTLASTS FAULKNER IN CAPITAL CITY SHOWDOWN
Montgomery, Ala. – Quarterback Neal Posey connected with Cody Pearcy in the final 40 seconds to lead the Huntingdon Hawks to a 48-41 comeback win over Faulkner University on Saturday.
The 25-yard touchdown strike with 37 seconds left and a defensive stand in the final 31 seconds capped the closest and most competitive contest in the five-game history between the two schools.
"This was a great college football game," Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk said. "There are some things we obviously would have liked to have done better. But when it came down to it, we got it done. I'm proud of these guys for hanging tough until the end and continuing to believe."
With the series coming to a halt next season, both teams wanted what could be the final win in the series. The fifth-year Faulkner team, which had been outscored 138-41 in the first four games, came to play on Saturday. So did the Hawks.
"This was an awesome win," Pearcy said. "Our class has never lost to Faulkner and we wanted to keep it that way. If this is the final game between us, we wanted to keep the trophy where it belonged."
On a day when the Hawks (2-1) and Eagles (1-1) combined for 1,196 yards of offense and 13 touchdowns, single-game offensive records were set or tied by both teams.
Posey tied the Huntingdon record for touchdowns passes in a game with six, passed for the third most yards in a game with 439 and his 31 completions were the second most in program history.
Posey finished 31-for-43 for 439 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions and was sacked once.
"All I can tell you is it takes the whole team to make a day like that happen," Posey said. "The offensive linemen played their tails off and the receivers made some great plays. If those guys don't play well, none of it happens. You have to give the credit to the whole offense."
Huntingdon receiver Willie McDowell tied a school record with three touchdown receptions in a game. McDowell finished with five receptions for 87 yards as 12 different receivers hauled in Posey passes.
"Our offense is built to take advantage of what the other team is going to give us," Turk said. "I'm so proud of Neal for recognizing what they were giving us. He didn't try to force things. He just took what was there."
Not to be lost in the shuffle, Huntingdon running back Trevor Manuel turned in his third 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Manuel finished with 106 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries
But it was the Huntingdon defense that helped turn the game in the fourth quarter.
"It was a shootout, but our defense came up with some big stops at the end," Posey said. "In a game like this, a key stop or two is going to make the difference. The defense stopped them and then we were able to go down and score to take the lead. After that, the defense came through with one final stop to seal the game."
Faulkner scored on six of its first 12 possessions. The Eagles' final touchdown, with 2:40 left in the third quarter, gave Faulkner a 41-34 lead. Faulkner was forced to punt twice and turned the ball over on downs twice in its final four possessions of the game.
"We started slow on defense, but we picked it up when it counted," senior linebacker Kirk Johnson said. "At the end of the game, we showed what our brotherhood is all about. We've all worked too long and too hard for a game like this. We played together for 60 minutes and we fought until the end."
Johnson finished with eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss. Keith Anthony had nine tackles and D.J. Chappell added seven tackles.
The Hawks return to Samford Stadium on Sept. 24 against Hampden-Sydney at 1 p.m. The Tigers are ranked 23rd in Division III.
"The thing I'm the most proud of is how our guys bounced back and were ready to play after the overtime loss to Birmingham-Southern last week," Turk said. "This is the third week we've come out ready to play and we've got to keep it up.
"There aren't any breaks ahead. Hampden-Sydney is coming in next week and we have to be ready to reload and go again. But I believe our guys will be ready."