LEBANON, Tenn.--Cumberland held tightly in the first half, but No. 3 Lindsey Wilson pulled away in the second half to get a 27-3 win over CU at Nokes-Lasater. 

Cumberland (3-5, 1-5 MSC) struggled to do anything offensively against the NAIA’s top defense. The Phoenix put up just 165 yards of total offense. The Phoenix had 94 rushing yards, the most any team has put up on Lindsey Wilson’s defense this season. CU added 71 passing yards. Quarterback Luke Holloway completed just 11-of-28. Jarious Johnson led the ground attack with 43 yards, Treylon Sheppard chipped in 25. Jaylen Taylor caught six passes for 51 of Cumberland 71 yards. 

Travis Woodall had a big game on defense making 14 tackles with one sack. Jalen Brown added nine tackles and Ryan Brown posted seven. 

Lindsey Wilson (7-0, 5-0 MSC) put up 386 yards of offense, most of that in the second half. The Blue Raiders posted 199 on the ground and 187 through the air. Quarterback Ethan Cash completed 19-of-29 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Kobe Belcher was the leading rusher for Lindsey posting 58 yards on 13 carries and CJ Fluker added 38 on six carries and a touchdown. 

The first half was a defensive battle with both teams jockeying for field position. Neither team was able to get the offense going in a scoreless first quarter. 

The Phoenix finally capitalized after a Lindsey Wilson mistake on a punt. Punter Ian Suater felt the pressure Cumberland brought and settled to pull and attempted to run for the first down when Ismail Abdul-Qawee pulled him down forcing a turnover on downs. The Lindsey Wilson defense stood strong and held Cumberland to a 26-yard field goal by Hunter Mathis for a 3-0 lead with 7:26 left in the half. 

Lindsey Wilson answered on the next drive with a 26-yard field goal of their own by Sauter. Cumberland held them short of a first down inside their own five-yard line and a false start on a QB sneak on fourth down pushed them back for the field goal. 

The Blue Raiders forced another quick drive for CU on their next possession. On the punt, a high snap caused a Matthew Pewitt punt to be blocked and picked up inside Cumberland’s 20-yard line. The block set up an 11-yard touchdown rush by CJ Fluker for a 10-3 score in favor of the Blue Raiders at the break. 

The first Lindsey drive of the second half ended in three more points for the Blue Raiders as Sauter converted his second 26-yard field goal. The field goal was set up by a 15-yard facemask on Cumberland to put them in plus territory.

Cumberland moved the chains twice, but Lindsey forced a punt again. The Blue Raiders took over deep in their own territory and drive the ball 84 yards for a touchdown capped by a 27 yard pass from Ethan Cash to Manny Scott to extend the lead to 20-3 in the third quarter. 

Lindsey Wilson would add one more touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 24 yard touchdown pass from Cash to Logan Collier for the 27-3 score. 

The Phoenix are on the road next week at Faulkner for their final away game of the season. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning on the Cumberland Sports Network at 1:00 p.m.