CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – There's no place like Homecoming ... Campbellsville University Fighting Tiger football bought into this year's Homecoming theme, putting on an offensive show for its fans in a 23-6 win over Kentucky Christian University to improve to 2-0 at home on the season Saturday.

Despite scoring only two offensive touchdowns, the Fighting Tiger offense tallied the most yards of the season against the KCU defense, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA. Campbellsville collected 422 total yards on offense, including 246 on the ground, to control the game.

"It was a great win for our guys. We're continuing to get better every week," CU head coach Perry Thomas said. "Offensively today, we had the ball 38 minutes. The points weren't dominate, but that's a dominate game. I thought our guys did a really good job on stepping up and getting things done against a top-ranked defense.

"We knew we would have to be patient on offense and continue to grind away. The big thing is we secured the ball, and because of our defense and kicking game, it gave us a chance to win. At halftime we had 187 yards, so it wasn't like they were shutting us down; it was just hard to score, because they are legit on defense."

Campbellsville tallied 53 yards on its first drive, including runs of 13 and 22 yards by quarterback Bryan Parnes. The drive stalled though at the KCU 28, turning the ball over on downs. It wasn't until the first KCU drive of the second quarter before the Tigers found the end zone.

Sophomore monster Travon Montgomery picked off KCU's Isaac Brabson and returned the interception 33 yards for a touchdown. Will Ward's extra point gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead. It's the second pick-six in three weeks by the CU defense.

"Everybody on my team did their job. When I saw the play was man-to-man, I just jumped the route. It's good to help my team out," Montgomery said.

"That was big for us. Anytime you can get a defensive score, it kind of sets the tone for the team. He was in the right place and got the pick and walked it in. It got our emotions going even more, especially on defense." Thomas said. "We played a stellar game on defense again. Other than the Murray game and the last 15 minutes against Lindsey, we've played great defense all year."

Campbellsville's passing game started to find life late in the opening half, as the Tiger offense pushed the ball to midfield with a pass interference call. Two plays later, Parnes found Demytrius Gipson on a 44-yard foot race to the end zone, extending the lead to 13-0. KCU's Daryl Jones blocked the PAT.

The Tigers had another drive stall at the KCU 24 prior to halftime, keeping it 13-0 at the break.

Redshirt freshman Tajh Milliken took over at quarterback in the second half for the Tigers and also took control of the CU offense. Milliken completed 6-of-9 passes for 113 yards and rushed for 73 more in the second half to lead CU with 186 all-purpose yards.

"I just did whatever they (the coaches) asked and played calm and relaxed, and took what the defense gave me," Milliken said. "I had to take it with confidence. I went out there to play hard and not let my team down – just do what I do."

On his first drive under center, Milliken rushed for 45 yards on five consecutive plays to set up a 20-yard field goal by Ward. Two drives later, KCU cut into CU's 16-0 lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Brabson to Jalen Simmons. Brabson's 2-point conversion failed, keeping it 16-6 CU at the end of the third quarter.

Ward had a 35-yard field goal try miss wide early in the fourth quarter after a 71-yard drive, but CU struck again on its next possession. CU collected 64 yards on the ground with runs by Milliken, Larry Walls, Seth McFerrin, Ben Axon and AJ Strong to set up a 22-yard touchdown pass from Milliken to Jarrod Harrington with 2:21 to play. The TD strike and extra point capped the scoring, 23-6.

Campbellsville (3-2, 2-0 Mid-South Conference West) will hit the road Saturday, Oct. 12 to play Homecoming guest at No. 5 Georgetown College. Kickoff at iHigh Field and Toyota Stadium is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT.

The game will be broadcast live on WLCU 88.7 FM and by Georgetown on iHigh.com/GeorgetownCollege.

BOX SCORE

NOTES
- Campbellsville is now on a three-game win streak - the 19th 3-plus game win streak in program history.
- CU is 4-0 all-time against KCU, 2-0 at home.
- Campbellsville is now 13-13 on Homecoming
- KCU's defense entered the game allowing only 248.8 yards per game.
- Campbellsville's 422 yards of total offense is the most allowed by KCU this season.
- CU's 246 yards rushing is the most since 255 yards vs. West Virgina Tech on Nov. 12, 2011.
- Tajh Milliken's 73 yards rushing is the most by a CU quarterback since Josh Dye (current CU defensive coordinator) rushed for 100 yards against Lambuth University on Nov. 5, 2005.
- Travon Montgomery is the 21st Fighting Tiger to return an interception for a touchdown in program history.
- CU has had two pick-six plays this season, tied for third-most in a single season in program history.
- Campbellsville's 23 first downs are the most by a Rick Gehres called offense.
- Dr. Ken Winters, CU president from 1988-1999 and former Kentucky State Senator (District 1) tossed the coin during pregame.
- The 2013 Homecoming Queen is Mary Kate Young, a junior worship arts major from Paris, Ky.
- 30 Fighting Tiger football alums, former coaches and supporters played in a 12th Man Club Golf Scramble earlier in the day. Winners were Zach Massingile, JP Montgomery, Nick Thurmond and Max Chaney. More than $1,000 was raised for CU's football endowed scholarships.
- The game was played on the fourth anniversary of the death of CU's first head coach, Ron Finley.
(More notes to be added later)