The Tigers collected 453 yards of offense in the game on 100 plays, but did not put points on the board until the third quarter.

"We moved the ball well most of the game, but the fact that we couldn't get it in (the end zone) was the issue," CU head coach Perry Thomas said. "But the bottom line is, we got beat by a better team today."

North Greenville took an early lead with some trickery on its first play from scrimmage after a CU punt. Isaiah Johnson took a pitch from quarterback Willy Korn and found Freddie Martino on a 46-yard touchdown pass.

Campbellsville looked to answer right away, but the 10-play drive came to an end when Tyran Melvin picked off a Robert Hill pass at midfield for the Crusaders. The Tiger defense stood strong though and did allow another point in the first quarter.

In the first half, the Tiger defense worked to shut down NGU, allowing only 55 yards on the ground and around 150 yards by the Crusader offense. Campbellsville on the other hand, had 15 first-half first downs and nearly 300 yards of offense early.

NGU orchestrated an 80-yard drive late in the first half for its second score of the game, as I. Anderson scored on a short run.

The Tigers made their first trip to the red zone in the final five minutes of the first half. Choosing to go for it, facing fourth-and-goal at the 2, Gerwan Brewer was dropped for a yard loss to turn the ball over on downs. Campbellsville held the Crusaders in response and looked for a quick scoring strike before the end of the first half. Robert Hill found Harold Small on a 29-yard pass to the NGU 17, but he was stopped the ball was knocked loose and out of bounds as time expired in the half.

CU entered the half down, 14-0.

North Greenville came out of halftime with a strong attack on the ground to score three rushing touchdowns and distance itself for its second Victory Bowl win in the past five years.

Trailing 21-0, David Hon hit a 30-yard field goal to put Campbellsville on the board to answer NGU's opening touchdown of the half.

Korn had the ball knocked loose on the following possession, which was eventually recovered by CU senior Calvin Bini at the NGU 38. The Tigers' chance to build momentum was silenced though when Hon's second field goal attempt was blocked at the line of scrimmage by NGU lineman Mark Smith.

The Tigers' next drive was only one play, as Hill was intercepted for the second time in the game, this time by Raheem Hughes, setting up the Crusaders' third TD of the quarter.

Campbellsville's offense didn't give up though, driving down and scoring its first touchdown on a 7-yard pass to Dexter McAtee with 7:57 left in the game. A 2-point try fell short. Both teams traded touchdowns late, with Harold Small catching a pass from Will Warf to tie the school record for most touchdown catches in a season (11).

It was just one of many records in the game, as Robert Hill set the record for most pass attempts in a game (55) and Stan Warrenhuffman passed the mark of most catches in a season. As a team, CU set records for most points in a season and yards in a season

"With our style of offense, I think you'll continue to see records get broken," Thomas said.

Campbellsville finishes the year with a record of 7-5. The Tigers' 2011 schedule will be announced mid-December.

Photo Gallery to be added Sunday

STATS

NOTES:
- Robert Hill set the record for single-game pass attempts (55), breaking Ross Deaton's record of 54 attempts in a 48-38 loss to Cumberland University in 2008.
-David Hon set the record for most PATs in a season (55)
- Harold Small tied single-season touchdown reception record (11), set by Shane Riley in 2002.
- This is Campbellsville's second 12-plus game season in program history
- Perry Thomas finishes his third season with a 17-17 career record, becoming the first CU head coach to be .500 or better after their third season.
- Campbellsville is now 1-3 in postseason games.

QUOTES
CU Head Coach Perry Thomas
Overall thoughts on the game
"I thought we got beat by a better team. In the first half, had we been able to score and come away 14-3 or 14-7, then maybe it would have been a little different, but with us not being able to get in it was going to be a battle from there. They kind of wore us down, and that's what you're going to get sometimes when you play larger programs. I thought our guys competed well, we just didn't finish."

On any momentum shifts in the game…
"The fact that we couldn't get it in was the momentum shift. We ran 56 plays first half and moved the ball well most of the game, but the fact that we couldn't get it in was the issue. Defensively, we had a little stall in the third quarter where they were getting a lot of shots, and of course they're going to break some. I think they just played a complete game. We played hard, but started to get worn out."

On the Victory Bowl experience
"We're excited about the postseason. This is going to do miles for our program as far as continuing to advance to where we want it to be. We're not happy with a loss, but 17 teams in the NAIA were playing football today, and we were one of them. That's a step in the right direction. I do want to say we're very appreciative of all of the donors and sponsors that helped make this trip available to us, and to our university administration for helping us out. Also to the the NCCAA for putting us in this game. We put on a good effort and put on a good show for a while, we just got beat by a better team."


CU senior defensive back Calvin Bini - defensive game captain
On the defense's performance…
"We played solid D coming out. That first play of the game was a good play call. It was actually my fault, and I take the blame for that. The first half we played real solid D. The second half, like the whole season goes, we pretty much gave up big plays that hurt us. I was proud of the defense. North Greenville's a good team, but nothing we couldn't handle defensively. I felt like we held our own for a majority of the game."

On being in the Victory Bowl…
"It's always a blessing to be able to play the game of football, especially at the collegiate level. There are thousands of people out there that want to be in your shoes that aren't. It's a blessing to be able to be in a championship game. I played in a championship game in 2001, freshman year of high school, so nine years ago. You don't really get a chance to play in a championship game a lot. I think God for the opportunity, and I'm sure everyone else on the field feels the same way."

On his time at Campbellsville…
"I'm proud to be a Campbellsville Tiger. These coaches really showed me a lot on how to grow and mature as an individual and a young man. The team really bonded as a family, and it was nice to be a part of that relationship with my brothers. I'm just proud to be a Tiger."

CU senior offensive lineman A.J. Brown - offensive game captain
On his time at CU
"From where I started, and most of the other seniors started, it's a major improvement. I knew coming in when I came here that we had a chance to do something special. The past two years we lost conference by one game, and this year we were able to make it to the Victory Bowl, so going from 0-10 to where we are today I think is a major stepping stone for the university.'

On the offense's performance
"Finishing drives (was our major problem). At halftime they told us we had 15 first downs and almost 300 yards of offense. For any team, that's great, but when you don't have any points it's not good. We were only down 14 at that point and if I had to guess our offense played better than theirs in the first half. They had a good game plan for us."