Lindsey Wilson trailed 26-7 at the half and despite a second-half shutout by the defense, the Blue Raiders were unable to overcome four turnovers and lost 26-21 on Saturday at Blue Raider Stadium in the NAIA Game of the Week.
The Tigers started the first quarter with the ball and promptly marched the ball 83 yards in 5:35. The drive resulted in a touchdown on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Jacob Russell, who completed 37-of-50 passes for 338 yards, to running back A.J Strong, who also rushed for 53 yards, to take a 7-0 lead.
The Blue Raiders tied the game with 5:51 to go in the first quarter on a hook and lateral play. Beasley, who completed 19-of-35 passes including two touchdowns, dropped back and threw the ball to Carmetrick Ross who ran a short hook route on the left sideline. Ross barely had the ball before lateraling it to running back Josh Haney who streaked down the sideline for the score. The touchdown finished off a 10 play, 81-yard drive for Lindsey Wilson.
Lindsey Wilson would not score for the rest of the first half and Campbellsville would capitalize on three Blue Raider turnovers to score 19-straight points going into halftime.
With 5:51 to go in the first quarter, Lindsey Wilson punt returner Allen Cooks fumbled a punt return when he was tackled giving Campbellsville the ball at the Blue Raider 38-yard line. The Lindsey Wilson defense was able to hold the Tigers to a 36-yard field goal by kicker Will Ward, who was 1-of-2 on field goal attempts. The field goal gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead.
The Campbellsville secondary intercepted two Beasley passes in the first half. The first interception was made with 13:01 to go in the second quarter and led to a field goal, which extended the Tiger’s lead to 13-7.
After Campbellsville’s running back Chantz Goodman rushed for a touchdown to extend the lead to 19-7 with 1:37 to go, Lindsey Wilson tried to drive the ball before the half and even made it down to the two-yard line, but Beasley was intercepted by the Tigers and the pass was returned to the Blue Raider 35-yard line. Campbellsville capitalized when Russell threw his second touchdown pass of the game with 0:19 seconds left in the first half.
Lindsey Wilson turned things around in the second half.
After stopping the Campbellsville offense on downs, the Blue Raider offense cut the Tiger’s lead to 26-14 when Lindsey Wilson found the end zone with 8:35 to go in the third quarter. Beasley dropped back and pitched the ball to running back Cory Davenport, who launched a high arching pass to Travis Elzy, who had six catches and led the Blue Raiders with 104 yards, for the touchdown.
Both defenses held strong for the rest of the third quarter, and the fourth quarter started with the Blue Raiders trailing 26-14.
The fourth quarter was scoreless until 4:45 to go in the game when Beasley completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jay Gaudlock, who caught six-passes and one touchdown on the day. With the lead trimmed to 26-21, the Blue Raiders were moving the ball on their final drive when Beasley fumbled the ball and the Tigers recovered. Campbellsville took a knee to run out the clock.
Also contributing to the Blue Raider offense were Ross, who caught six passes for 94 yards, and running back Jalen Sublett, who averaged 11.7 yards per carry on three rushes for 35 yards. The Blue Raider offense gained 390 yards on the day.
The Blue Raider defense was led by Alex Abner, who tied a career high with 13 total tackles. Kyle Curtsinger, Trey Wright, and Michael Brooks, who is Lindsey Wilson’s all time tackle leader, each garnered 10 total tackles.
Wreaking havoc in the backfield were Jerry Long II and David Nobles, who each recorded sacks, and Chris Oldham, Jared Kunkel, and Michael DeLeon, who tallied half a sack each.
The loss ends Lindsey Wilson’s two-game win streak in the Battle of Highway 55 rivalry. The past four games have all been decided by a single score. Campbellsville won 28-23 in 2012, followed by Lindsey Wilson winning 24-17 in 2013 and 44-40 in 2014.
Lindsey Wilson next takes the field at Bethel University at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 at Bethel (Tenn.)