Cumberland opened its home schedule in strong fashion last Saturday night, knocking off former Mid-South Conference rival Reinhardt 30-18 at Nokes-Lasater Field.
A week after Cumberland took it on the chin 65-0 at FCS nationally-ranked Tennessee Tech, the Phoenix used a balanced attack and several big defensive plays to hand the Eagles a loss in a marquee NAIA matchup featuring two teams who have been receiving votes in the NAIA poll.
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“That was apples and oranges,” Cumberland coach Tim Mathis said. “When we play an NAIA team we’re a pretty good football team. Thing about it is we can get a lot better. There are a lot of things we can improve on.”
One of those things is penalties. Cumberland was hit by flags 12 times for 126 yards. The Phoenix had several big plays erased as a result.
“There were some weird things that happened,” Mathis said. “Some calls, whether or not they were right or wrong or indifferent. That’s part of the game. What I loved about tonight was when the defense needed a pick-me-up, the offense did it. When the offense needed a pick-me-up, the offense did it.
“It was a great team effort. We played for each other so hard and that’s what I’m so proud about for our team.”
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Both teams were nearly even statistically, but Cumberland found ways to finish drives while Reinhardt struggled to capitalize on opportunities. The Phoenix offense finished with 250 total yards, including 151 on the ground, while Reinhardt managed 268 yards.
Jacob Cornejo anchored Cumberland’s rushing attack with 115 yards on 21 carries. Quarterback Zach Holtzclaw contributed 99 yards through the air and added a short rushing score that put the Phoenix ahead in the third quarter. Kaiden Hatchett led the receiving corps with four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Cannon Johnson was all over the field leading the team in tackles with 10 including 3.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, two pass break ups and scooped up a fumble and scored in the fourth. Daniel Smith sealed the win with a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Shakyi Hannah added eight tackles, Boston Follis had five and Will Harris had a strip-sack to take the football away from the Eagles.
Reinhardt quarterback Taylor Jackson threw for 178 yards and a touchdown, but he was pressured throughout, taking four sacks and tossing a costly interception. Running back Jah Colbert paced the ground game with 43 yards while Jakorrian Paulk hauled in the Eagles’ lone passing touchdown. The Eagles hurt themselves with two lost fumbles and just 1-of-2 success in the red zone, leaving points off the board.
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Reinhardt struck first on the opening drive of the game, marching 69 yards in nine plays. Jackson completed a 15-yard strike to Paulk for a touchdown, and Alex Hanson’s extra point made it 7-0 at the 10:03 mark of the first quarter. Cumberland answered immediately, going 75 yards in eight plays. Holtzclaw found Hatchett for a 10-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:43 left in the first.
Early in the second quarter, Cumberland pieced together a 15-play, 84-yard drive capped by Jack Kantner’s 23-yard field goal to put the Phoenix up 10-7. Reinhardt cut into the margin when the Eagles’ defense forced a safety as Emmanuel Olaitan and Nathaniel Sanford sacked Holtzclaw in the end zone at the 3:33 mark, trimming the deficit to 10-9. After an interception gave Reinhardt another chance before halftime, Hanson connected on a 26-yard field goal with five seconds left, sending the Eagles to the locker room ahead 12-10.
Cumberland regained the lead midway through the third quarter. A 10-play, 65-yard march ended with Holtzclaw plunging in from a yard out to push the Phoenix lead to 17-12 with 10:35 left in the third.
The Phoenix defense then sparked back-to-back scores in the fourth. On a big special teams play, Nolan Gottlied booted a punt inside the 10 that Reinhardt muffed. Johnson scooped up the loose ball in the end zone to extend the lead to 24-12 with 13:43 left.
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“We hadn’t had a great special-teams play in probably two or three years,” Mathis said. “All three phases, we did something good tonight.
“Our operations were better. We didn’t have very good snaps last week. We had better snaps. We had better mechanics and Nolan did a great job punting the football.”
Reinhardt responded with its final scoring drive, covering 66 yards in 11 plays, capped by Jackson’s 7-yard touchdown run, but the two-point try failed, leaving the Eagles behind 24-18.
Cumberland sealed the victory in the final minutes. After a defensive stand from Reinhardt, Smith jumped a pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown with 1:30 remaining, putting the game out of reach and setting the final score at 30-18.
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The win evened Cumberland’s record at 1-1 while Reinhardt also fell to 1-1 on the season. The Phoenix will look to carry momentum into this week’s action as they play host to Ave Maria at 6 p.m. Saturday at Nokes-Lasater.
Cumberland 30, Reinhardt 18
Reinhardt|7|5|0|6—18
Cumberland|7|3|7|13 —30
First quarter
Reinhardt—Jakorrian Paulk 15 pass from Taylor Jackson (Alex Hanson kick), 10:03.
Cumberland—Kaiden Hatchett 10 pass from Zach Holtzclaw (Jack Kantner kick), 6:43.
Second quarter
Cumberland—Kantner 23 FG, 11:37.
Reinhardt—Safety: Emmanuel Olaitan and Nathaniel Sanford tackle runner in end zone, 3:33.
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Reinhardt—Hanson 26 FG, :05.
Third quarter
Cumberland—Holtzclaw 1 run (Kantner kick), 10:35.
Fourth quarter
Cumberland—Cannon Johnson fumble recovery in end zone (Kantner kick), 13:43.
Reinhardt—Jackson 7 run (pass failed), 10:36.
Cumberland—Daniel Smith 39 interception return (kick failed), 1:30.
Team statistics
|Rein|Cumb
First downs|22|19
-Rush|8|12
-Pass|9|5
-Penalty|5|2
Rushes-yards|36-90|42-151
Passing yards|178|99
-Comp.-Att.-Int.|18-42-1|8-18-1
Fumbles-lost|2-2|0-0
Penalties-yards|7-50|12-126
Punts-avg.|5-38.8|6-40.2
Individual statistics
RUSHING—Reinhardt: Jah Colbert 11-43, Jamarion Walker 7-27, Harlem Diamond 2-19, Ethan Rice 3-4, Tyress McKey 1-4, Team 1-(-3), Taylor Jackson 11-(-4). Cumberland: Jacob Cornejo 21-115, Kaiden Hatchett 4-35, Jaylen Abston 5-22, Rod Payne 1-2, Jarrius Rogers 1-0, Zach Holtzclaw 7-(-3), Team 3-(-20).
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PASSING—Reinhardt: Taylor Jackson: 18-42-1—178. Cumberland: Zach Holtzclaw 8-17-1—99, Jaylen Abston 0-1-0—0.
RECEIVING—Reinhardt: Cam Curtis 3-49, Jordan Ghant 4-41, Tyress McKey 3-34, Jakorrian Paulk 3-33, Jah Colbert 2-6, Austin Davis 1-6, C.J. McGee 1-5, Xavier Brandley 1-4. Cumberland: Kaiden Hatchett 4-42, Carson Posch 1-25, Jacob Cornejo 1-18, Isaac Finch 1-9, William Spence 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Reinhardt: Alex Hanson 38 (wide right).
