WISE, Va. – The University of Virginia’s College at Wise entered the weekend with playoff aspirations. However, a familiar problem cost them any chance at the postseason.
“We haven’t really been consistent all season,” said UVa.-Wise senior wide receiver Brad Ricker.
The University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) controlled the ball and took advantage of several UVa.-Wise miscues to collect a 38-21 Mid-South Conference victory over the Highland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon at Carl Smith Stadium.
UVa.-Wise (5-5, 4-2) was denied the MSC East Division title, while Cumberlands (9-1, 5-1) claimed the crown and clinched a NAIA playoff bid.
Cumberlands racked up 333 rushing yards with its option attack. The Patriots did not complete a pass until the third quarter and were content with piling up the yards on the ground and eating up the clock.
“They’ve got a real good offense and they had good adjustments to our D,” UVa.-Wise linebacker Amondre Johnson said. “The first half, we did a real good job stopping them, but they made some adjustments that made it real tough on us.”
Cumberlands running back Frederick Bayer Jr. gave the UVa.-Wise defense headaches all day. The 6-foot, 193-pound redshirt freshman racked up 195 yards on 27 carries and scored four touchdowns.
“I just trusted my linemen,” Bayer said. “They’re going to block; I trust their blocking and I’m going to get some yards every time.”
The problems for UVa.-Wise weren’t limited to Bayer. The Cavs coughed up two fumbles, threw two interceptions and had several shortcomings on special teams.
“We knew coming in, we had a chance,” UVa.-Wise defensive lineman Danny Hinkle said. “We thought it was set up for us to pull it out this week. We had the homefield advantage. We just had a few mistakes that really hurt us. They got up and we just couldn’t respond.”
UVa.-Wise actually led 14-7 with 14:46 left in the first half, before things fell apart.
First, Cumberlands recovered a muffed punt by Marcus Bratton and scored three plays later to tie things up with 4:47 remaining in the first half.
Then a few minutes later, Jordan Allen intercepted a pass by UVa.-Wise quarterback Brad Robbins, which led to a field goal.
“That’s the mark of a good team,” Johnson said. “They never get down.”
The field goal gave Cumberlands a 17-14 halftime lead and the Patriots would pile on in the second half, scoring touchdowns on their first two second-half possessions to take control.
“If we would have held onto the ball and everything, it would have been all right,” Ricker said. “I think what really killed us, was their first possession of the second half. They just came out and drove it down the field. It seemed like we were dead.”
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