LEBANON, Tenn. -- Cumberland scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters on its way to a 21-0 shutout win over the University of Pikeville on Saturday in a non-divisional Mid-South Conference showdown at Nokes-Lasater Field.

The Bears (2-4) -- shut out for just the sixth time in program history -- accounted for 73 yards of total offense, while the Phoenix tallied 440 yards, including 271 on the ground and 169 through the air. UPIKE's totals took a hit as it was sacked a season-high seven times, taking away 48 yards of offense.

UPIKE's defense gave it a chance to compete early, but its first drive was a three-and-out, then after recovering a Cumberland fumble, the Bears were stopped on downs at the Phoenix 36-yard line. Cumberland put the first points on the board at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter and UPIKE was forced to punt on its next eight possessions.

While it didn't lead to a ton of points, Cumberland (2-3) quarterback Dezmon Huntley's performance was the star of the day. He rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and threw for 169 more and another score on 13-of-19 passing. His top target through the air was Lorel Morton with five catches for 54 yards.

Bowen Smith completed 7-of-17 passes for 43 yards before handing the game over to Shannon Patrick in the fourth quarter. Patrick went 4-of-8 for 36 yards and took two of the five sacks. Jamar Kirksey took the bulk of the carries, gaining 18 yards on 13 attempts, while Braxton Whitemore led the receivers with three catches, but gained just three yards.

Defensively, Jack Hopkins once again led the troops, collecting 12 stops, including a career-high 10 solo tackles. He also forced a fumble and had one quarterback hurry. Taeron Brown backed him up with 10 tackles and Tanner Fiser tallied a sack.

Justus Dauscha led the way for the Cumberland defense, finishing with four sacks, which were his only tackles in the game.   

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• After Cumberland fumbled on its own 23-yard line on its first drive, UPIKE failed to move the ball and turned it over on downs. The Phoenix took advantage, going 64 yards on four plays, ending with Huntley's 14-yard scoring strike to Zack Dover with 8:40 on the clock (0-7).
• The teams combined for seven empty drives after the first touchdown before a costly penalty helped Cumberland go from near midfield on its punt return, all the way up to the 26-yard line. From there it took just four plays and a five-yard rush from Marcus Bryson to take a 14-point lead with 2:28 left until halftime (0-14).
• Huntley put his finishing touches on the win in the opening drive of the second half as he took off on second down at the UPIKE 48 and scrambled all the way to the end zone less than a minute into the quarter (0-21).
• UPIKE nearly broke up the shut out early in the fourth quarter after recovering a fumble at the CU 43. The Bears used nine plays to travel all the way down to the five yard line, but came up short on fourth down with a one-yard pass when it needed two.   

QUOTABLE

"If I heard we only gave up 21 points today, I'd think we won the ball game. But when you punt 10 times, you're not giving yourself a chance to win. We have to have some consistency on offense, the defense responded well after last week's loss, so we have to be able to keep them off the field." - UPIKE head coach Allan Holland Jr.

BEAR FACTS

Damir Karapandzic's 10 punts against the Phoenix were the most booted by the Bears this season…Tanner Fiser's two tackles for a loss matched a season high for UPIKE defenders…UPIKE's two fumble recoveries matched a season high.

UP NEXT

UPIKE has a bye week coming up, then returns to action at 1:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 15 for homecoming against MSC East-Division foe Cincinnati Christian.

-UPIKE-