WISE, Va. – Sophomore safety Marcus Bratton is having a breakout season for the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and on Saturday afternoon, he shined once again.
Bratton returned a punt 80 yards for a score with 2:27 left in the third quarter of UVa.-Wise’s 27-20 loss to Cumberland (Tenn.) University at Carl Smith Stadium.
Bratton fielded Nick Sasser’s punt, made several defenders miss and used his exceptional speed to race down the sideline for the score. He also finished with five tackles and broke up a pass.
Two weeks ago, Bratton intercepted two passes, including the game-clincher, in UVa.-Wise’s 28-21 victory over Georgetown (Ky.) at Carl Smith Stadium.
He had another memorable day on Saturday, but couldn’t help the Highland Cavaliers pull out a victory this time.
Bristol boy
Former John Battle High School standout Brad Ricker had another busy day for UVa.-Wise.
The senior wide receiver finished with two receptions for 21 yards and also returned a kickoff 30 yards. Ricker needs just 107 more yards to surpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark for his career.
Soaring Eagles
Don’t let Cumberland’s 3-4 record fool you. The Eagles have lost two games by one point this season and have played a tough schedule.
Saturday’s victory was the second straight for Cumberland.
“It feels great,” Cumberland linebacker Todd Holman said. “That’s what we needed. We needed to get back on track. We’ve got three more [Mid-South Conference] games coming up that we need to win.”
Special teams star
UVa.-Wise freshman punter Dean Hogan had six punts for an average of 30.7 yards on Saturday. The Amissville, Va. native has punted 45 times this season for a 35.7 average.
Running in place
The UVa.-Wise running game continues to be a non-factor. The Highland Cavaliers finished with negative-51 rushing yards and were overwhelmed by Cumberland’s defensive front on Saturday.
Senior James Haley, who also plays in the defensive secondary, was the teams’ leading rusher with one carry for one yard.
TD machine
UVa.-Wise senior wide receiver Jason Lovett scored his 10th touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard pass from Brad Robbins. It marked the third straight season Lovett has had double-figure touchdown receptions; it brought his career total to 44 TDs.
Up next
UVa.-Wise (4-4) will host rival Pikeville, Ky. on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the lone home night game this fall. It also will not give the Cavs much time to dwell on Saturday’s loss.
“That’s going to be tough,” UVa.-Wise coach Bruce Wasem said. “We’ll come in and watch film tomorrow and we’ll get them back on their feet … We can still play for the [Mid-South Conference East Division] championship.”
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