Box Score JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven football team knew they had their work cut out for them heading into Saturday night's showdown with 8th ranked University of Cumblerlands (KY). Unfortunately, the Patriots proved to be too much, handing the Blazers a 41-17 loss at H.T. Newell Field. Belhaven, ranked 21st in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll, fell behind early and could never catch up in the first Mid-South Conference cross divisional game of the season.

Belhaven (1-2) started the night with the football and were shut down by the Patriots on the opening series in three plays. A short punt setup Cumberlands (3-0) in great field position at the Blazers 37 yard line. The Patriots didn't waste any time putting points on the board, marching to the end zone in two plays for the game's first touchdown. Running back Terrance Cobb reeled off a six yard run and then running back D'Angelo Jordan broke loose for a 31 yard touchdown run with 11:42 left in the first quarter.

Belhaven bottled up Cobb for the majority of the game, but the Patriots had plenty of other options in their double wing offense. Late in the first quarter Randy Maynard put Cumberlands in the end zone for the second time on a two yard touchdown run to make it 14-0. All of a sudden, the Blazers found themselves in an uphill battle.

Belhaven kept the door open in the second quarter when the defense buckled down to halt the Patriots offense. The Blazers forced a fumble and stopped the Patriots on fourth down, both inside Belhaven territory.

After Jordan came up short of a first down with 12:52 to play in the half, the Blazers took over on their own 33 yard line and put together one of their best drives of the season. Running back Aaron Spikes had 10 carries on the 16 play drive that culminated in a Darrell Williams three yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to 14-7. The Patriots also committed a key unsportsmanlike conduct penalty allowing the 67 yard drive to continue.

Neither team scored for the remainder of the first half although Cumberlands had another potential score brought back due to an illegal block. Despite being outgained 277 yards to 102 in the first half, Belhaven still had a shot down just 14-7 at the break.

However, hopes for a comeback took a hit in the third quarter when Cumberlands scored the first 14 points of the second half. Quarterback Adam Craig scrambled for a 17 yard touchdown run with 11:49 on the clock followed by a halfback pass from Iquan Deed to wide receiver Jerry Neylon for another score to make it 28-7 with 4:40 to play in the third.

Freshman kicker Alonso Acosta drilled a 25 yard field for the Blazers at the 1:13 mark of the third period to make it 28-10, but the Patriots answered with another touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Craig cruised into the end zone from five yards out to cap a three play 25 yard drive. The Cumberlands defense set the table for the offense by forcing an Aaron Spikes fumble at the Blazers 25 yard line.

Spikes was able to bounce back and score Belhaven's second touchdown of the game with 9:30 to play on a two yard run. Earlier in the drive he ripped off a 27 yard run and Williams completed a 29 yard pass to wide receiver Justin Kenyon leading to the TD.

In an effort to get the ball back quickly, Belhaven setup for an onside kick that Cumberlands turned into a touchdown return. Acosta's kick hopped off the turf right into linebacker Weston Hazlehurst's hands, who in turn raced 43 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring and a 41-17 Patriots win.

"Each week the goal is to improve and we saw signs of that tonight against a very good football team," Belhaven Head Coach Joe Thrasher said. "I'm proud of these young men and the effort they gave tonight and believe we are headed in the right direction."

Spikes led the offense with his first 100 yard game as a Blazer. Spikes carried the ball 24 times for 119 yards and one touchdown. He averaged five yards per carry. Kenyon had a solid night catching the football, reeling in four passes for 61 yards. Lamiquell Roberts came up with three catches totaling 28 yards. Williams completed 10 throws for 110 yards in his first start of the season. Belhaven ended the night with 266 yards of total offense.

Defensively, Alvin Vaughn and Chris Smith led the way with nine tackles each followed by Darrius Wren with eight. Smith had one tackle for a loss and Wren stopped two runners behind the line of scrimmage. Brennan Dunklin had five tackles and forced the only Cumberlands fumble of the night in the first half.

Although the Blazers limited Cobb to 19 yards on eight carries, Jordan shouldered the load with 121 yards and one touchdown. Deed recorded 88 yards and Craig rushed for 54 yards and two touchdowns from the quarterback position. Craig was efficient in the passing game, completing 7 of 10 attempts for 121 yards. Willie Gibson had 71 yards on three receptions and Jerry Neylon caught two passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.

The Patriots were averaging over 500 yards of offense in their first two games coming in and they certainly didn't hurt that average Saturday. Cumberlands finished the night with 546 yards with 363 coming on the ground. They were also 5 of 10 on third down conversions.

Hazlehurst reached 10 tackles followed by Faquan Calhoun and Jeremy Gardner with eight apiece for the Patriots defense. Calhoun also had 2.5 tackles for a loss and a pass break-up.

The Blazers will look to regroup at home against Cumberland University (TN) on Saturday afternoon. It will be the Mid-South Conference West Division opener for the Blazers. The kickoff is slated for 1:30 PM.