FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Since announcing the start of the program 454 days ago, anticipation has been building and on Saturday (Sept. 17) that anticipation reached a crescendo when the Midway University sprint football team took the field for the first time in program history.
In front of a packed house of well over 1,000 fans at Benny Watkins Field, the Eagles battled the Bellarmine (Ky.) Knights in the 'Battle for the Bourbon Barrel'.
A Connor Cook (Aynor, S.C.) 31-yard field goal with 2:43 left in the third quarter gave the Eagles a 15-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The lead held intact until Bellarmine's Ben Valle kicked the eventual game-winning 33-yard field goal with 44 seconds remaining to help his team claim the 'Bourbon Barrel'.
"I was very proud of how hard our young men played last night," said head coach, Dan Davis. "Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes, including a costly one on our punt team which put Bellarmine in a position to kick the game winning field goal."
The untimely mistake occurred when the Knights forced the Eagles to punt with just over four minutes left in regulation. Bellarmine rushed punt and got through for the block as they took over on the Midway 28-yard line with 4:05 left.
A six-play drive that took 3:21 off the clock ended in a 33-yard field goal that sailed through the uprights giving Bellarmine the 17-15 victory.
Coach Davis added, "Despite the loss, there were a lot of positives to take away from last night and we look forward to improving as a team."
Midway was successful in moving the ball early in the game, but the drives stalled after reaching the redzone. The Eagles reached the redzone on each of their first four possession, but all four resulted in a turnover on downs.
After neither team found the endzone in the opening 20 minutes, the Knights orchestrated a 12-play, 90-yard drive that ended when Dylan Gough tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brock Snead as the visitors took a 7-0 lead with just over four minutes left until halftime.
Now trailing for the first time, the Eagles immediately dialed up an answer. DJ Palmer (Pelham, Ga.) kickstarted a seven-play drive with an 18-yard scramble as the drive moved into Bellarmine territory. Palmer then found Preston Moore (Allensville, Ky.) for a 13-yard gain.
Following a sack and a false start penalty, Palmer dropped back and lofted a pass to Ja'shawn Lee (Picayune, Miss.). Lee made a nice adjustment and came down with the catch as he avoided a defender before finding the endzone for the first touchdown in program history.
After seeing their lead get cut to 7-6, the Knights responded with a long touchdown right before intermission. A Brenden Reid 53-yard touchdown run gave Bellarmine a 14-6 lead heading into the locker room.
Midway was forced to punt on their opening drive of the third quarter, but the Knights muffed the punt, and the Eagles took over on the Bellarmine 31-yard line. Palmer was unable to connect with Penther Alphonse (Lauderhill, Fla.) on the opening play of the drive, but the second play was a different story.
Palmer dropped back looking for Alphonse, the freshman made a terrific play making the catch over the defender before falling into the endzone for another Midway touchdown that cut the deficit to 14-12 less than three minutes into the third quarter.
The Midway defense then stopped the Knights on three consecutive possessions with the third resulting in a fumble. Tarice McKinney Jr. (Knoxville, Tenn.) forced a fumble on the Bellarmine 20-yard line that Gavin Lay (Bellevue, Ky.) recovered.
The turnover would lead to the Connor Cook 31-yard field goal that gave Midway the 15-14 lead late in the third quarter. That lead would hold until Valle's 33-yard game-winning field goal lifted the Knights to the 17-15 victory.
DJ Palmer led the way offensively for the Eagles. The freshman tossed for 178 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Dwayne Depp (Versailles, Ky.), meanwhile, led the way on the ground with 27 yards on 15 carries.
Penther Alphonse made a pair of catches for 80 yards along with his touchdown reception, while Ja'shawn Lee made three catches for 56 yards to go with his touchdown catch.
Defensively, Keston Dupin (Miami, Texas) had an interception to go with five total tackles, while Kam Miller (Columbus, Ohio) also hauled in an interception.
Tristian Berrios (Clarksville, Tenn.) led the way with 10 total tackles including four tackles for loss and a sack. Jonah Kile (Sweetwater, Tenn.) forced three fumbles, had 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
For the game, the Knights outgained the Eagles 293-222 in total offense. Midway had 178 passing yards compared to 165 for Bellarmine, while the visitors held a 128-44 edge in rushing yards. Midway also forced eight fumbles and came up with seven turnovers in the loss.
The Eagles will look to bounce back on Saturday (Sept. 24) when they hit the road for the first time in program history. They'll travel to Whiting, Ind. to battle Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) at Ray P. Gallivan Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
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