‘Bottomed-out’ Knights looking to take small steps forward in matchup against Phoenix

LAURINBURG — The St. Andrews Knights football team is at its lowest point.

After falling 18-15 this past Saturday to formerly winless Kentucky Christian — a team that had only scored two touchdowns all season prior — St. Andrews (0-8) and head coach Bob Curtin want to see small gains with three games remaining.

Their next opponent won’t be from the Appalachian Athletic Conference, though. It’ll instead be from the Mid-South Conference, as the Cumberland (Tenn.) Phoenix visits Knights Field for St. Andrews’ Homecoming and last nonconference contest on Saturday.

“We’ve literally and figuratively bottomed out now; we can’t get any lower,” Curtin said. “We all understand we’re on this climb together, and we’re going to climb this mountain one small step at a time. And then, as we gain momentum, those steps become bigger and bigger. The young men that love football (and) the university, they’ve really bought in. So, with that perspective in mind, the kids are fired up. They’re excited. They understand that the Cumberland Phoenix come in with some ups and downs.”

Cumberland (3-4) has played a schedule that’s included ranked MSC teams No. 9 Georgetown and No. 10 Bethel (Tenn.), both of which the Phoenix have lost to, as their last two opponents. In the game before those, they won 21-17 over the University of the Cumberlands, ranked No. 23 at the time, but have had some questionable losses, including a 27-0 season-opening defeat to the AAC’s Union and a 34-16 result to Campbellsville. The Phoenix’s other two wins came in a 19-13 overtime victory over Webber International and a 50-6 final against AAC school Kentucky Christian — both teams the Knights have lost to this year.

“They played a great game against Bethel,” Curtin said on Cumberland. “(Bethel’s) the superior team, but the Cumberland Phoenix have the ability to play well. I don’t think they’re going to look at us as a trap game because they have a very outside shot to win their conference. They’ve got to have a lot of things happen. And I think they’re in fourth place in that conference. You’ve got Lindsey Wilson, Georgetown, Bethel, and then Cumberland. But there’s also the Campbellsville Patriots in there. That’s a wicked tough conference.”

While Cumberland has some marquee wins, they haven’t always come in the prettiest fashion. The Phoenix have particularly struggled in an area the Knights have, too: discipline.

On the season, Cumberland has had eight passes intercepted, four fumbles lost, and accumulated 42 penalties for 383 yards.

“They have shown to be quite an exceptional team, and then they’ve shown to have made mistakes,” Curtin said. “And so, we’re going to look to continue to grow and capitalize on their mistakes.”

Quarterback Luke Holloway has thrown seven interceptions with just 594 passing yards and one TD for the Phoenix. In the run game, though, he’s rushed for 457 yards and seven TDs.

Running back Treylon Sheppard has been the catalyst of Cumberland’s rushing attack with 122 carries for 690 yards and four TDs, while RB Nick Burge has chipped in 307 yards and two scores on 68 attempts, and RB Tim Pannell has added 125 yards and two TDs on 25 rushes.

“They’re a good run team,” Curtin said. “Our defense sees the run game more than anything else, and they see it in various formations. I think our defensive front is now really coming into its maturity. Our first (team) D-line has big Erv (Ervin Gardner) there at nose (tackle), and he holds it down pretty well. And then our (second team) D-line gets almost 40% of the reps; that freshman D-line. They have grown into something with O’Neal (Anderson), Martez (Smith), and the other guys. They’re growing up, they’re maturing, and it’s really coming to fruition.”

Only one of Cumberland’s wide receivers — Nate Stephens — has over 100 yards on the year, serving as an example of how much they run the football. Stephens has caught nine passes for 141 yards, while WR Elijah Gaskin has seven grabs for 86 yards and the team’s only receiving TD.

“(We) won’t abandon the passing game because it’d be nice if we get an interception or two like we had last week,” Curtin said. “That really was huge. The competition is becoming more competitive, so (our defensive backs are) able to grow and develop more. And now, we just need the offense to do the same.”

The Phoenix have 49 tackles for loss and 15 sacks on defense as a team. Defensive linemen Joey Samples and Jalen Brown each have 8 1/2 tackles for loss to lead the team — Brown also has a team-high 5 1/2 sacks — and DB Derek Taylor has the most tackles with 36 (18 solo) and interceptions with three.

After last weekend’s game for St. Andrews, Curtin admitted his team didn’t do the small things right to win. During practice this week, his goal has been to preach about those mistakes so they don’t happen as often.

“I’ll talk about discipline till I’m blue in the face,” Curtin said. “I’m a huge disciplinarian. When I played ball and was a wrestler in high school and college, I understood that to overcome any physical attributes, I had to be more disciplined. I had to work harder. I had to study harder (and) study my craft. And so, I’m constantly telling the guys we need to be more disciplined than anyone in the country. We’re unsized in some instances. We’re not as quick or not as fast. We have to be more disciplined, and we have to study our craft and love our craft — the craft of football — more than anyone else.”

Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m. for Saturday’s game.