Game Stats

Wise, Va. - For the third time in the last three years, UVa-Wise made enough mistakes to allow 12^th-ranked University of the Cumberlands to prevail on the gridiron and capture the Mid-South East title on Saturday afternoon.

Leading 14-7, the Highland Cavaliers (5-5/4-2 M-S East) muffed a punt and the Patriots (9-1/5-1 M-S E) took over at the home 21-yardline. Three plays later, Frederick Bayer ran in from eight yards to tie the game, 14-14, at 4:47 in the second. On the ensuing possession, UVa-Wise quarterback Brad Robbins (Big Stone Gap, Va.) was picked off on the second play at the home 41-yardline. UCumberlands moved the ball 35 yards on seven plays to see Justin Dryer boot a 23-yard field to take the lead, 17-14, with 36 seconds in the first half and would never trail the rest of the way.

Robbins completed 24 of 45 passes for 267 yards but was picked off two times for the Cavs. Jason Lovett (Spotsylvania, Va.) pulled in six balls for 65 yards and rushed for 15 yards on four carries. Brad Ricker (Bristol, Va.) pulled down six passes for 38 yards while both Matt Barbour (Naruna, Va.) and Aric Evans (Cincinnati, Ohio) added four catches apiece for 77 and 54 yards.

Amondre Johnson (Roanoke, Va.) led the UVa-Wise defense with 12 tackles, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Marcus Bratton chipped in nine stops with seven tackles from Danny Hinkle. Josh Weaver (Alexandria, Va.) had a good game with six tackles, a sack and forced a fumble that he recovered.

The Patriots Bayer ran 27 times for 195 yards and four scores. Quarterback Jay Bright scampered for 97 yards on 14 rushes. UCumberlands outgained UVa-Wise 348-275 on the day with 333 of its yards on the ground.

On the first Patriots possession, Bright was picked off by the Cavs' Jamal Potter who returned the interception 56 yards for the game's first points, 7-0, at 11:32 in the first quarter.

After a Patriots fumble forced by the Cavs' Weaver, the home team took over on the UVa-Wise 40 yardline. On the second play, Robbins hit Barbour for 33 yards over the middle to the visitor 25-yardline. Five plays later, Johnson plunged in from a yard out to take a 14-7 advantage at 14:26 in the second quarter.

The UCumberlands came out of the half and scored on its first two drives of the third quarter to open a 31-14 lead. Barclay ran in from a yard for UVa-Wise with 11:46 left in the game to cap a 73-yard drive to make it 31-21. The Cavs intercepted Bright for the second time on the second play of the next drive at the midfield stripe. 

The home team could not capitalize as Robbins was picked off in the endzone and did not score again until the eventual 38-21 final score for the UCumberlands.

UVa-Wise will travel to Montgomery, Alabama to complete its 2009 season for a 2:30 p.m. kick-off at Faulkner University next Saturday, November 14^th.