Darius Neal, Defense carry Tigers to road win

Cumberland entered Saturday's game with Georgetown as the 4th best rushing team in the NAIA, averaging nearly 260 yards per game. The Tigers D brought its best, holding the Phoenix to just 100 yards on the ground. Combined with 2 rushing scores from Darius Neal, it was enough to give Georgetown a 14-9 win to improve to 2-0 in the MSC.

The Phoenix took the opening possession after Georgetown won the coin toss and deferred. The drive approached midfield but a Jacob Harmon sack stopped the momentum and led to a punt. Dillon Warren's 25-yard return gave GC the ball on its own 38 to start. The Tigers crossed midfield and got an important 3rd down conversion as Gehrig Slunaker found Warren for a pickup of 14 to the Cumberland 33. On 1st down, Slunaker was sacked back at the 40. Darius Neal took the 2nd down run 12 yards to the Cumberland 28 to set up a 3rd & 5. Neal's number was called again. This time, the All-American busted through the right side and sprinted to the end zone for his 30th career rushing touchdown. In doing so, Neal became just the 6th Tiger in program history to surpass that number. Drew Rader's extra point gave Georgetown the early 7-0 lead. After an exchange of punts, Cumberland got the ball back with 2:37 to go in the first. On a 3rd & 5, Phoenix QB, Luke Holloway scrambled right but before reaching the line to gain, Lawson Vaughn punched the ball loose and Trevaun Allen recovered the fumble. Cumberland challenged the play and lost to bring an end to the first quarter.

The Tiger offense quickly punted back to Cumberland. The Phoenix proceeded to slowly march downfield. Tyler Snell and Chad Holleran combined for a sack on Holloway to force a 3rd & 15 from the Georgetown 41. Holloway found Tim Freel down the right side for a gain of 29 and a 1st down to the 12. 6 more yards were added after Georgetown was flagged for roughing the passer. With 1st and goal, Cumberland ran the ball 3 straight times but only gained 1 yard. It led to a 21-yard field goal to get the Phoenix on the board with 6:42 to go in the 1st half.

Georgetown's next drive started with passes to Maison Hibbard and Clayton Davis totaling 14 yards to the Tigers' 41. 2 plays later, Gehrig Slunaker threw a dart to Dillon Warren on a deep route for a gain of 22 yards to the Cumberland 37. Jahmir Ackerson came on and ran the ball 4 straight times for 23 yards to the 14. On 4th & 1 from the 14, Ackerson gave way to Darius Neal, who slipped through a tackle off left guard and took it to the end zone for his 2nd TD of the day and a 14-3 Georgetown lead at halftime.

To start the 3rd quarter, Georgetown started with a 14-yard swing pass to Neal to approach midfield. Back-to-back throws from Slunaker to Chandler Godby moved the ball to the CU 43. The drive stalled at the 34, where the Tigers chose to go on a 4th & 1, but the Phoenix defensive front stopped Jahmir Ackerson short of the line to gain. Cumberland's ensuing drive swallowed most of the 3rd quarter clock. A key play on the drive was a 4th & 6 from the Georgetown 34. Holloway found Jarrius Rogers for a gain of 8 to the GC 26. The drive reached the Georgetown 9 but no further. Cumberland's 27-yard field goal try was blocked by Justin Richardson, recovered by Javyn Martin and returned to the 36. Cumberland was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play, putting the Georgetown drive on the Cumberland 49 to start. The Tigers found little to work with as Drew Rader was forced to punt on the 1st play of the 4th quarter.

On 3rd down from the Phoenix 41, Holloway looked for Isaiah O'Neal down the seam. The pass fell incomplete but the Tigers were flagged for pass interference. The drive moved to the Georgetown 19, where Cumberland was flagged for consecutive false starts. On 4th & 16 from the Georgetown 27, Cumberland went for the end zone. Holloway through a jump ball to Jarrius Rogers who came down with the pass at the 1 and powered in for a touchdown. The extra point was missed, making it a 14-9 Georgetown lead with just over 10 minutes to go.

The Tigers' ensuing drive started with 3 straight Darius Neal runs for 30 yards. On the final run of 19 that would've put the ball at midfield, Georgetown was flagged for a personal foul to move the ball back to the 35. On the next play, Gehrig Slunaker took a deep shot to Matt Miller, who brought down a high lob in double coverage for a gain of 35 to the Phoenix 24. On 3rd down, Slunaker hit Matthew Hinz for a would-be first down but a holding penalty set the Tigers back to the 31. Georgetown lost 6 more yards on the next play, resulting in a punt to the Cumberland 8 with 5:28 to go in the game. On 2nd down, Luke Holloway scrambled for a gain of 1, but another Georgetown penalty moved the ball to the 25. The Tiger D tightened up and Cumberland punted with 2:51 left in the game. Looking to close it out, Georgetown turned to its All-American running back. Neal gained 8 yards on the 1st 2 plays to set up a 3rd & 2 from the GC 29, which Georgetown could not convert on.

Cumberland got the ball back on its own 34 with 1:48 left and a chance to win the game. On the 1st play, Georgetown's secondary provided enough coverage to let Romarion Warner and Jamell Smith bring down Holloway for a quick sack. Holloway scrambled for 6 yards on the next play and Cumberland called a timeout with 1:12 to go ahead of a 3rd & 8. Holloway looked for a receiver on the CU sideline but Trevaun Allen broke the pass up to bring 4th down. On the play, Holloway's throw for William Spence bounced 2 yards short to give Georgetown the ball back. The Tigers kneeled out the clock to seal the win.

Cumberland QB, Luke Holloway, came into the game as the reigning NAIA Offensive Player of the Week after his efforts to knock off then-4th ranked Bethel. On this day, Holloway was 16-26 for 184 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Holloway mustered just 49 yards on 19 carries. Cumberland had run for at least 190 yards in all of its first 6 games. Georgetown held the Phoenix to 100 yards on just 2.6 yards per carry. On the other side, Darius Neal ran for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. It is the 3rd straight game Neal crossed the century mark. Gehrig Slunaker proved an effective game manager on a day with limited possessions. He threw 15 times with 12 completions for 109 yards and 0 turnovers.

Chad Holleran led a strong defense with 11 tackles and a half sack. Brycen Huddleston and Romarion Warner each tallied 9 tackles. Tyler Snell had 7 stops, 1.5 TFL and a half sack. After no sacks in the 1st 4 games of the season, the defense has tallied 6 in the last 2 weeks.

The Tigers had a special teams advantage all day. Drew Rader punted 5 times, putting 3 inside the Cumberland 20 with a 41.7 yard average. Nate Craft averaged nearly 62 yards on kickoffs with another touchback. The Tigers also averaged 22 yards on kick returns to go with Dillon Warren's 25-yard punt return.

With Campbellsville's loss to Lindsey Wilson, Georgetown is the only remaining unbeaten in MSC play (2-0). The Tigers return home next Saturday to take on 11th-ranked Bethel. Kickoff from Toyota Stadium is set for 1:30pm.