Box Score Fort Valley State beats Central State with late touchdown
FORT VALLEY, Georgia - In a back-and-forth contest, Fort Valley State managed a game winning touchdown in the final seconds to top Central State, 30-28, on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats of FVSU opened the scoring at the 10:23 mark of the first quarter when Otis Brown completed a pass for 43 yards to Christopher Weems for a 7-0 lead. The Wildcats took a 13-0 lead when Aaron Dore blocked an
Isaiah Smith punt attempt. Karo Donaldson corralled the loose ball and ran 40 yards to the end zone. FVSU built their lead to 20-0 thanks to a 3 play - 40 yard drive capped off by 1 yard touchdown run by Brown.
Central State made up for its lackluster start with a 9 play - 80 yard drive to start the third quarter. Meeks finished the drive with a 19 yard touchdown pass to
Kalon Grover to bring CSU to within 13. SIAC Special Team Player of the Week
Nehemiah Coward forced a FVSU fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Coward recoved the ball and returned it down to the FVSU 17 yard line. The Marauder offense took advantage as
De'Michael Jackson scored his third touchdown of the season to cut the deficit to 7 with 4:27 left in the third quarter.Â
Coward came up big again, blocking a Juan Serna punt on FVSU's next drive.
Martell Clark recovered the loose ball and ran 7 yards for the score to give CSU a 21-20 lead. The Marauder defense forced a quick three and out from Fort Valley State. CSU once again took advantage of excellent field position from midfield. CSU ran five straight times and marched down to the 4 yard line. Fullback
Darius Meadors caught the defense by surprise with a touchdown reception to put the Marauders up 28-20 with 13:22 remaining.Â
Fort Valley State finally answered with a field goal at the 10:22 mark to pull within 5 points. After forcing a quick three and out from the Marauders, FVSU regained position at their own 35 yard line with 7:48 left on the clock. FVSU marched down to the CSU 35 yard line. Facing 4th down with 5 yards to go, FVSU kept the drive alive when Brown found Travis Richmond for a gain of 6 yards. Chauncey Jackson rushed for 14 yards down to the 15 yard line on the next play. CSU forced another 4th down and long situation with 34 seconds left. Needing 7 yards, Brown scrambled for 8 and the 1st down. After an offsides call against CSU, the ball was placed on the 2 yard line. Brown used his legs again for the score with just 2 seconds left on the clock to give FVSU a dramatic 30-28 victory.
Brown finished the day with 128 yards and a touchdown through the air and 2 touchdowns and 36 yards on the ground. Bodarius Johnson finished with a game-high 74 receiving yards. Demonta Prather led the Wilcat defense with 14 tackles. With the win, Fort Valley State improved to 2-6 overall.
Central State's offense was led by 116 rushing yards from
De'Michael Jackson. Meeks ran for 51 yards and threw for 2 touchdowns. Linebacker
Deonate Gary led CSU with 10 tackles and a sack. Coward recorded his fourth blocked punt of the year to go along with 5 tackles.Â
With a 1-7 overall mark, the Marauders return home to face Tuskegee University next Saturday at 1 pm. Tuskegee enters Saturday coming off their first loss of the season to Kentucky State.
For tickets to Saturday's, go to -Â
http://centralstate.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event.asp?id=326&cid=25
Fans can follow the game via theÂ
Gem City Sports Network (
http://www.gemcitysports.com/radio-1/), theÂ
CSU Sports Streaming Channel (http://maraudersports.com/watch/?Live=41) and theÂ
Marauder Live Stats site (
http://www.sidearmstats.com/centralstate/football/).
NOTES:
- The Marauders currently own a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series against Fort Valley State. Saturday was the first meeting between the two programs since 1992.
- Central State will be hosting Military Appreciation Day next Saturday against Tuskegee. The athletic department has teamed up with the ROTC program on campus and will be providing a variety of giveaway items and information throughout the afternoon. ROTC will also hold a special ceremony at halftime recognizing new members of the program.
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