CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – It was a heavy night for defense Saturday, as Campbellsville University kicked off the 2012 season at home, falling 14-7 to the University of Pikeville Bears at the newly dedicated Citizens Bank Field at Finley Stadium. The low-scoring affair was the lowest in the 11-game history of the series against the Bears.

All the scoring came early, as both teams were held scoreless with roughly 70 yards each in the second half. Before the first quarter monsoon hit, CU quarterback Brian Parnes found the west end zone on a 33-yard run for an early 7-0 Tiger lead with 8:07 on the clock.

The Bears answered by scoring on two of their next three drives. The first was a 6-yard touchdown run by Hunter Adams with 1:51 remaining in the first quarter, followed by a 24-yard TD pass from Trevor Hoskins to Shawn Johnson with 11:26 left in the opening half.

CU head coach Perry Thomas pointed to the Tigers three-and-outs as well as penalties being some of the key issues in the loss.

"We played 75 plays on defense, and that's a lot. Our guys understand that right now offensively, unless we get experienced, we are going to have to play defense and be solid in the kicking game. For the most part, we did. We just gave them some penalties early that got us out of position," Thomas said. "They had some plays here and there, but then we shut them out. We just had too many three-and outs."

The Tigers collected seven to UPike's 14 and was forced to punt nine times in the game after converting only three of 14 third downs.

"We have to recognize that we don't have the talent right now that we've had in the past on offense. We have some talent, but they've got to grow up. They have to continue to develop," Thomas said. "We're a little bit limited on the offensive line with injuries and guys not coming back. We just have to master what we can do and maximize our reps. We don't have to score every play, and we don't have to get first downs every time. But we have to be able to get more."

While neither team scored past the 16^th minute of the game, both had key threats. Parnes fumbled a snap exchange on the UPike 26 in the first quarter, while Tiger transfer linebacker Brendan Walker picked off Hoskins late in the second quarter at the CU 30 to kill a drive. The Tigers' other real threat came on their final drive.

With fifth-year senior Robert Hill at quarterback, the Tigers marched down to the Pikeville 34. Stuck facing fourth-and-15 with 33 seconds remaining in the game, Hill found Demetric Ray near the goal line, but Ray was knocked as the ball hit his hands, ending the Tigers' comeback try.

Campbellsville finished the night with 174 yards of total offense, one of its lowest offensive showings in the Perry Thomas era. However, the Tiger defense held the Bears' all-time passer to only 124 yards by air and a team total of 254 total yards.
Leading the charge defensively was Tiger linebacker Nick Reed, who collected a game-high eight solo tackles and 10 total stops, including six in the backfield. Safety Earl McCann followed with nine total tackles and then linebackers Blake Young and Brendan Walker with eight and seven tackles. Taylor Woods led the Bears with eight tackles.

UPike kicker Grayson Quick was 2-for-2 on the night on point after touchdown kicks, while CU freshman kicker Erik Krivitsky was 1-for-1. Casey Clarke, a former CU Tiger soccer star, had two kick offs in his American football debut. The first was a 50-yard kick to the Pikeville 15, while the second traveled into the end zone for a touchback.

The loss snapped a three-year win streak for the Tigers on opening day, dating back to a win at Cumberland University on Sept. 5, 2009.

Campbellsville (0-1) will return to Citizens Bank Field and Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 8 to host Union College at 7 p.m. EDT. Pikeville (2-0) will host Lindsey Wilson College (1-1) next Saturday for the Bears home opener at 1:30 p.m. EDT.