COLUMBIA, Ky. – Six hours after the opening kickoff, Campbellsville University came up short against rival Lindsey Wilson College, 24-17, in the Battle of Highway 55.

The Fighting Tigers opened the game Aug. 31 at 7:15 p.m. CST with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore Jarrod Harrington. It was the first of many momentum swings on the night. The largest though may have come around 12:20 a.m. CST after a three-hour weather delay finally came to an end and the third quarter resumed.

BOX SCORE

"It was a game of two halves in a way. We had momentum with the kickoff return. Things were hitting right for us, but we just didn't respond well," CU head coach Perry Thomas said. "I've had a couple of games in high school that had some major delays but this was pretty severe. To Lindsey Wilson's credit, they came out and seized the moment and took momentum early in the fourth quarter and pulled out the win … I thought we controlled the game but we had a lot of missed opportunities. When you play a senior-led team like Lindsey, you have to capitalize on those opportunities."

Harrington's opening kickoff return lasted 15 seconds as he weaved through blocks and out of tackles down the Fighting Tigers' sideline. Will Ward's extra point gave CU a quick 7-0 lead to open the season.

After a LWC punt, Campbellsville drove down field quickly on its second drive but Ben Axon came up a foot short of the first down at the 13 on a fourth and 10 run.

The Blue Raiders picked up four first downs on their second drive of the game, aided twice by Tiger penalties. CU's defense held Lindsey Wilson with pass break ups by Shaunski Lawrence and Travon Montgomery, but the Blue Raiders put points on the board, 7-3, with a 49-yard field goal by Mark Corbett at 3:53 remaining in the opening quarter.

Ward answered with a 40-yard field goal, 10-3, and the Tigers later added another touchdown when Parnes found a diving Trevon Chatman in the end zone to make it 17-3 in the second quarter.

Lindsey Wilson began to gain momentum late in the half though. Blue Raider quarterback Branden Crersap found Matt Powers on a 14-yard touchdown fade with just under a minute remaining in the half. Corbett's extra point was good to pull the Blue Raiders within a touchdown, 17-10, at the break.

Midway through the third quarter, momentum appeared to shift back to Campbellsville when Montgomery forced a fumble, picked up by Derek Mincy, to give the Fight Tigers the ball at their own 45. Shortly after a holding penalty though, lightning flashed and the game was halted for a three-plus hour delay with 8:51 remaining in the third quarter.

The Blue Raiders held the Tigers to start the resumed game in the wee hours of Sept. 1, bringing the LWC sideline to life.

Moments later, Chris Dobbins returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown, but the LWC score was wiped out by a block in the back behind the play. LWC took over on its own 44 with 3:50 to go in the third. Blake Young, playing at monster for the first time in his career, picked off a Cresap pass at the CU 1 to end LWC's momentum ... or so fans hoped.

Lindsey Wilson quickly resumed its pace, as Cresap found Travis Elzy on a 77-yard touchdown to even the score, 17-17, with 13:33 remaining in the game.

A chop block penalty by Alex Zimmerman and grounding call on Parnes stalled the Tigers ensuing drive, setting up third and 30 before Shane Fields picked off a Parnes pass. A few plays later, LWC's Dakota Brown punched the ball in from 15 yards out to give Lindsey Wilson its first lead of the night, 24-17, with 8:37 to play. It was the first-ever LWC lead over Campbellsville in a fourth quarter.

The Blue Raiders' Eric Shaw recovered a Tiger fumble late and had a chance to put the game out of reach with a 41-yard field goal try by Corbett. The kick went wide left, giving CU new life with 1:23 to play and no time outs at its own 24. Parnes hit Neil Wilson for a first down at the Lindsey Wilson 7 yard line as the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, but a LWC facemask penalty gave the Fighting Tigers one last shot at the end zone. Parnes' final pass fell incomplete though, giving the Blue Raiders its first season-opening win in program history and first win in the four-year series against CU.

Offensively, Campbellsville out-gained the Blue Raiders 347-334 yards, led by 105 yards rushing from Ben Axon and 62 by Larry Walls, who both averaged 6.2 a carry. Parnes was 18-of-36 passing for 124 yards and added 46 on the ground. Cotton led LWC with 91 yards on the ground, while Cresap threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-32 passing.

Defensively, Young led CU with nine tackles a sack and an interception. Lawrence was not far behind with seven stops, while Daniel DeLeon and Nick Reed each had six. A.J. Strong partially blocked two punts to give CU good field position in the first half.

Sam Wilson and Shaw had 11 and 10 tackles, respectively for the Blue Raiders.  

Campbellsville (0-1) will return to action Saturday, Sept. 7 against Murray State University (0-1) in Murray, Ky. Kickoff at Stewart Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST. The CU Sports Network will go on the air at 5:30 p.m. CST/6:30 p.m. EST on WLCU 88.7 FM. It will be the Fighting Tigers' first NCAA Division I FCS matchup since 2004.