Ranked in the top twenty in the AFCA & Div. II national polls, the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee University lived up to their billing against the Marauders of Central State University with a convincing 42-14 victory.
TU opened the scoring with a 6 play - 61 yard drive capped off by a Brandon Wilson touchdown run from 11 yards out at the 7:17 mark of the 1st quarter. The Marauders managed to pull even with the Tigers, 7-7, thanks mostly to the legs of quarterback Lavon Meeks. The junior quarterback had runs of 17, 12 and 8 yards to lead his team on a 75 yard touchdown drive with 9:38 left in the first half.
Midway through the 2nd quarter, a high snap on a CSU punt attempt resulted in a 1st & goal situation for Tuskegee. The Golden Tigers took advantage as 6'4 receiver Javarius Cheatham hauled in pass in the corner of the end zone to put his team up, 14-0. On the ensuing possession, Jonah McCutcheon picked off a Meeks pass and returned it 45 yards for another TU score. A stunned Marauder team entered the break trailing 21-7.
The decision to defer until the second half paid off for the Golden Tigers, who took their first possession of the second half 61 yards for another score and a 21 point lead. Trailing 28-7, the Marauders attempted to catch TU off guard with a fake punt but the Golden Tigers quickly diagnosed the play for a loss of 7 yards. Taking over on the CSU 24 yard line, TU's Kenny Gant ran it in for the score to balloon the Tuskegee lead to 35-7. A poor punt gave TU excellent field position again as quarterback Jamarcus Ezell and the offense set up on the CSU 27 yard line. Ezell picked up 15 yards on the first play and power back Eric Bright finished the drive with a TD as TU put the game out of reach, 42-7.
The Marauders manufactured a 75 yard touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter sparked by a 30 yard screen pass to junior Darrien Nelson. Senior D'Michael Jackson capped off the drive from 2 yards out to narrow the gap, 42-14. CSU threatened on their next offensive possession but a Kali James sack backed the Marauders out of the red zone and resulted in a turnover on downs. With complete control of the game, Tuskegee managed to run down the clock on their way to their fourth straight win over the Marauders.
Tuskegee improved to 7-1 overall with a 5-1 mark in SIAC play. The also improved to 2-1 in the SIAC West Division. TU combined for 227 yards on the ground in the victory. Gant led the rushing attack with 61 yards and 1 score. TU quarterbacks only passed the ball 20 times completing 8 passes for 77 yards. Desmond Reece hauled in a game-high 6 receptions for 61 yards. The TU pass rush combined for 6 sacks for a cumulative loss of 30 yards. Tuskegee travels to Fairfield, Alabama to take on Miles College next week.
The Marauders fell to 1-7 on the season. CSU sits in fifth place in the SIAC West with a 1-6 conference mark and a 1-3 divisional record. Meeks led all players on the afternoon with 107 yards on the ground and 119 yards through the air. Jackson carried the ball 20 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. Nelson led the CSU receivers with 4 catches for 47 yards. Defensive back Nehemiah Coward led the team with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Clim Robbins and Devon Cunningham each had 1 interception.
The Marauders conclude the 2016 season against Southwest Baptist next Saturday at 1 pm.
Fans can follow the game on the following outlets:
Radio - Gem City Sports Network-
http://www.gemcitysports.com/radio-1/ Video - CSU Sports Streaming Channel -
http://maraudersports.com/watch/?Live=42) Live Stats - Marauder Live Stats site -
http://www.sidearmstats.com/centralstate/f... TICKETS
For tickets to Saturday's game, go to -
http://centralstate.universitytickets.com/... NOTES:
- All military personnel in attendance were recognized during Saturday's game. Active and retired members of the military gained free admission to the game. New cadets of the Central State ROTC program took the Loyalty Oath of Service during a ceremony at halftime. Colonel Reginald Bryant also took time to recognize all veterans in attendance.
- The Central State - Tuskegee series dates back to 1947. Tuskegee is now 5-2 in the all-time series.
- With two rushing touchdowns against Tuskegee, Central State become one of only a handful of teams to score on TU on the ground. The Golden Tigers have surrendered just 6 rushing touchdowns all season.
- Central State will honor its graduating seniors during pregame next weekend.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Monday, October 31st 2016 at 12:38PM
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