LEBANON -- Cumberland’s defense led the way to an impressive win over Belhaven Saturday at Lindsey Donnell Stadium by a score of 45-7 -- giving the Bulldogs a perfect 6-0 record at home.

CU (8-2 / 4-1 Mid-South) ends its regular season Nov. 13 at the Univ. of the Cumberlands with a division title and NAIA playoff berth going to the winner. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. CT in Williamsburg, Ky.

Bulldog defenders posted four sacks, two safeties, an interception and a fumble return while the offense rushed for 321 yards and five touchdowns.

MT. JULIET & FCS ADVANCE

LEBANON -- Friendship Christian improved to 9-2 on the season with a 45-8 win over Marion County Friday night at Pirtle Field. FCS will travel to 10- Signal Mountain Nov. 12 for the second round of the Class 2A playoffs.

The No. 3 seeded Commanders opened up a 28-0 first quarter lead and never looked back -- sending Marion County back home to Jasper with a record of 5-6.

MT. JULIET -- The Golden Bears improved to 9-2 overall and defeated McGavock 56-28 Friday night. Coach Roger Perry's team advances to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

Mt. Juliet will travel to Rutherford County Nov. 12 to take on Smyrna -- a 38-16 winner over Brentwood High.

CENTRAL, MJCA FALL ON ROAD

Watertown High cranked up the offense and played solid on defense to pull off a 20-14 victory over visiting Jackson County High Oct. 30 at Robinson Stadium. The Purple Tigers closed out the season with a record of 4-6, halting a four-game losing streak.

Watertown piled up 416 yards in total offense. Brannon Hill ran 23 times for 124 yards while KeAndre Bates added 15 carries for 110 yards. Both backs scored a touchdown. Quarterback Ty Jobe completed 8-of-16 passes for 116 yards for 121 yards. He threw for one touchdown and was picked off twice.

Watertown’s first possession resulted in an 83-yard, seven-play drive, all runs, to take an early lead. Hill went in from 20 yards out to score. The conversion kick by Cody Lipski made it 7-0 Purple Tigers with 5:53 remaining in the first quarter.

Trailing 14-7 at intermission, Watertown took the lead for good midway throught the fourth on an 80-yard scroing drive. The big play was a 43-yard pass from Jobe to Hill on a third and 10 play. From there Jobe ran for 13 and then for 3, before Bates took a handoff going to his right. Finding nowhere to run, he reversed his field and circled around the left end for a 22-yard TD to clinch the win.

Linebacker T.J. Hall had a big interception for the Purple Tigers.

Wilson Central and Mt. Juliet Christian Academy closed out the 2010 football season with a pair of road losses.

The Wildcats finished the season 3-7 overall / 2-5 in District 9AAA with a 9-7 loss at Portland. Central gave up a blocked punt in the second quarter and squandered at least two scoring opportunities in the second half.

MJCA slid to 2-8 / 1-5 with a 21-10 loss at Riverside Christian in Fayetteville. Cody Butler had the only TD for the Saints.

By CHRIS LYNN
The Hendersonville Standard
SHACKLE ISLAND -- The past four years the regular season finales have had district implications for Mt. Juliet and Beech, and Friday night was no different.

It took double overtime for the game to be decided, but for the third year in a row the Golden Bears came out on the short end of a 47-44 score.

Mt. Juliet dropped to 8-2 on the season, but will host Nashville McGavock's Raiders Friday, Nov. 5 in the first round of the TSSAA Class 6A playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“We knew coming in this was going to be a game that we were going to have to play hard from start to finish,” said Mt. Juliet Coach Roger Perry.

“I thought we played well in the first half, but then we got a little complacent and lost some of our form and it ended up costing us in the end.”

DOGS DOWN UNION 29-18

LEBANON -- Fresh off a come-from-behind 29-18 win over Union Saturday at Lindsey Donnell Stadium, Cumberland moved up two spots to No. 18 in this week’s NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25.

The Bulldogs have been ranked in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 for the last six weeks.

Down 18-14, CU scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and posted the club’s fifth straight victory at home this season.

Cumberland (7-2, 3-1 Mid-South) overcame a myriad of mistakes and penalties that nearly cost the Bulldogs a victory.

“We made it a little more adventurous than we needed to,” said CU head coach Dewayne Alexander. “Union is a vert talented football team and for us to win we had to make them earn everything they got. We did a great job of flying to the football and tackling.”

The biggest play of the game may have been a 67-yard punt from CU’s Tyler Emmetts over the head of Union’s Willie McGarvey late in the third quarter.  The ball bounced toward the end zone and McGarvey made the mistake of picking it up at the two yard line.

Two plays later linebacker Ben Miller tackled Chandler Priest for a safety, setting up the drive that turned into the winning points.

Cumberland drove 41 yards in five plays before White booted a 33-yarder that put the Bulldogs ahead for good, 19-18. CU forced a punt on Union’s next possession, including Simon Moriarty’s third down sack, the only one of the game for the Bulldogs.

“Simon is an old school, blue collar guy,” said Coach Alexander. “he plays hard and tough all day long.”

CU embarked on an eight-play, 51-yard drive that ate up 4:04 of the clock, capped by Mitch Reynolds’ 28-yard catch from Curt Bureau, a site adjustment on the route by the two seniors that put the Bulldogs ahead, 29-18.

Cumberland plays its final home game of the season Saturday, Nov. 6 against Belhaven University in a 12 Noon kickoff at Lindsey Donnell Stadium-Kirk Field. Eighteen seniors will be honored before the game as part of Senior Day activities.