Box Score Tuskegee Golden Tigers scratch out win over Marauders
TUSKEGEE, Alabama – In a battle of the SIAC's top two defense, the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee University clawed their way to a hard fought 19-7 victory over the Marauders from Central State University on Saturday afternoon.
Coming in having won their previous four road games, CSU opened the scoring after reigning SIAC Player of the Week Deonate Gary punched the ball out of TU's Tyree Brooks to give the Marauders the ball at the Tigers' 28 yard line. CSU took advantage of the short field as quarterback Terrence Wafford capped off the drive with 1 yard touchdown run to give CSU the early 7-0 lead.
"It was a great start for us," CSU head coach Cedric Pearl said. "We knew our defense would have to play great for us to have a shot and they came ready to play right from the start of kickoff."
CSU managed to keep the top ranked TU offense off the scoreboard for most of the second half. CSU linebacker Nehemiah Coward halted a TU drive at the goal line with an interception early in the 2nd quarter to deny the Tigers a score. On TU's next drive, the Marauder defense forced a three and out. The Tigers finally found the end zone late in the first half thanks to a methodical 12 play – 85 yard drive ending with a 1 yard run from Josh Matthews with 1:35 left in the second quarter. A missed extra point would allow CSU to take a slim 7-6 lead into the locker room.
"We were in the game against one of the top teams in D-2 football. With a great second half, we would have had a chance to come away with a victory," Pearl said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to overcome our mistakes and it costed us."
The crucial turning point in the game came on just the third play of the second half when the TU linebacker Jewell Ratliff picked off Wafford for a 20 yard interception return for a touchdown. Riding the momentum shift, the Tuskegee offense made a big play to extend the lead when Kevin Lacey connected with a streaking Leo Gilbert for a 45 yard touchdown, putting TU up 19-7 at the 1:21 mark of the third quarter.
Suddenly down by double digits, Central State desparately needed to find the end zone. The Marauders mounted a 63 yard drive and marched down to the Tuskegee 4 yard line. After three unsuccessful attempts, CSU was denied the touchdown on fourth down as Tuskegee came up with a sack and the possession with 5:46 remaining in the ball game.
"After a great drive, we just came up short," Pearl said. "At that point, we were down to just five offensive lineman and a miscommunication led to the sack and the turnover. Unable to score, we knew it would be difficult to comeback."
TU managed to run off the remainder of the time left on the clock, improving to 8-1 overall with a perfect 4-0 ledger in the SIAC West Division standings. Running back Dennis Norfleet racked up a career-high 106 yards on the ground. In addition to his interception, Ratliff led the Tigers with 19 tackles with two tackles for a loss.
CSU, which fell to 4-5 on the year and 2-3 in the division, managed just 133 total yards of offense. Jihad Rasheed led CSU with 42 yards on the ground but recorded just 2.3 yard per carry. CSU threw the ball 16 times, completing just 7 passes for 49 yards.
Despite the loss, CSU's defense continues to impress as linebacker Deonate Gary and Gervell Morgan combined for 17 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. The defense forced 3 turnovers and continue to lead the SIAC with 27 forced turnovers this season.
Reflecting on the loss, Coach Pearl discussed the challenges the team faces heading into the final week of the season.
"We are a bit shorthanded in a few key positions on the offensive line and in the passing game," Pearl says. "We are successful when we are able to dictate the running game. We just could not get any of our backs going today. I thought our guys gave an incredible effort but we just didn't have all our key personnel in place to do what we wanted to do in order to come out on top."
An unexpected loss to the lineup was Lawrence Dailey, who started the last 7 games on the offensive line before being ruled out on Friday night due to a medical issue. Losing his helmet before the CSU's key fourth down attempt near the end of the game, lineman Aliou Diouf had to sit out on the crucial play which resulted in a sack.
"We have really had to piece things together as we go," Pearl explained. "Our guys have worked hard to prepare themselves despite some of our setbacks. While we are limited in what we can do, I applaud our guys for coming to practice prepared to work hard every week. We are going to continue to find creative ways of utilizing the players we do have so we can end the season on a high note next weekend."
The Marauders host Concordia (AL) College in McPherson Memorial Stadium at 1 pm next Saturday. The team will honor 16 of its graduating seniors prior to kickoff. Fans can listen to the game on Gem City Sport Network and watch the action of the new Marauder Sports Streaming Channel.
