Box Score Kentucky State tops Marauders late to win 21-17 at 32nd Circle City ClassicÂ
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Kentucky State stunned Central State with two special teams touchdowns and a late score to win 21-17 at the 32
nd Circle City Classic on Saturday night.
Played in Lucas Oil Stadium, another chapter in the CSU-KSU rivalry was in written during the 66
th meeting between the two schools. Kentucky State opened the scoring with a blocked punt as special teamer Kolby Griffin blocked a CSU punt and took it in for the 15 yard score at the 10:55 mark of the 1
st quarter.
"It was a miscommunication on our part," CSU coach
Cedric Pearl said. "We have to be better in that area if we want to be successful."
CSU did answer with a special teams play of their own as CSU's Josh Howard returned a punt 49 yards to tie the game, 7-7, with 7:51 to play in the 1
st quarter. Scoring would continue with the special teams units on the field as KSU's Nathaniel Robinson struck again with another Thorobred blocked punt and 41 yard return to the end zone to put his team up 14-7.
John Adams narrowed the gap to 14-10 with a 27 yard field goal early in the second quarter. On the next KSU possession,
Clim Robbins stepped up with his 3
rd pick of the season and returned it 47 yards for the score to give CSU a slim 17-14 lead with 11:44 remaining in the first half.
With both offenses struggling to move the chains, the score remained 17-14 until KSU finally found rhythm with junior quarterback Alex Springs, who connected with Charles Johnson for a 58 yard catch and run to move the ball down to the CSU 22 yard line. After what looked to be a converted field goal to tie the game, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty extended the KSU drive with an automatic first down on the Marauder 8 yard line. Springs took advantage of the CSU miscue, hooking up with Corey Slaughter for the go ahead score and eventual game winner with 5:27 remaining.
Marquis Wells and the Marauder offense completed his first four passes on the next possession to move the ball down to the KSU 28 yard line. Unfortunately, that would be as far as CSU would get as KSU halted a Wells scramble short of the 1
st down marker to force a CSU turnover on downs. With the win, KSU improved to 1-3 overall with a 1-0 ledger in the SIAC West standings.
Penalties hurt the Marauders all game long to the tune of 12 flags for 113 yards.
"The team that won played smarter and made fewer mistakes," Pearl said. "We can't do what we did today and ever expect to win a ball game. Our defense played great all game long but we can't have mental lapses like a personal foul or a missed blocking assignment. This loss really hurts but we have to move past it and focus on being the best team we can be heading into our home opener against Kentucky Wesleyan."
CSU, which fell to 2-2 overall with a 0-1 SIAC West record, hosts KWC next Saturday in the 2015 home opener.
"It will be great to finally get in front of our home crowd and play in McPherson Stadium," Pearl said. "Despite today's loss, we know that our fans are behind us and we will continue to work hard to deliver a great performance for them next weekend."
Kickoff for next Saturday's game is scheduled for 1:30 pm.
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