Box Score Central State unable to keep up with high scoring Southwest Baptist offense

WILBERFORCE, Ohio – In Central State University's final football game of 2016, the Marauders scored a season-high 34 points but were unable to keep up with the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist, who put up 54 points on Saturday to defeat the Marauders on Senior Day.

Entering the day ranked No. 22 in the AFCA Div. II Coaches Poll and No. 24 in the D2Football.com Poll, the Bearcats struck first with a 7 play-64 yard touchdown drive that lasted just 1 minute and 34 seconds capped off by a 2-yard run from running back Bubba Jenkins. The Marauder offense answered with a 75 yard scoring drive sparked by a 44 yard run by junior Darian Nelson. Quarterback Lavon Meeks crossed the end zone line to even the score, 7-7, at the 8:58 mark of the first quarter.

Southwest Baptist quickly regained momentum and seized control of the game with touchdowns on their next three possessions of the first quarter to take a 27-7 lead after the first 15 minutes of play.

After a 40 yard punt return by Scottie Wilson gave SBU great field position at the Central State 20 yard line, quarterback TJ Edwards increased the lead on the next play with a 20 yard strike to receiver Kendrick Payne.

CSU managed to cut the deficit down to 34-13 right before halftime with a 8 play-80 yard drive. Nelson had carries of 10 and 16 yards while senior De'Michael Jackson broke through the defense for a 39 yard run. Jackson finished the drive by taking a short pass from Meeks in for the score.

Receiving the ball to start the second half, CSU quickly pulled within two scores when Meeks burned the Bearcat defense with his legs for a 63 yard touchdown run. SBU answered with 4:59 to go in the third quarter when Edwards found receiver Cassian Foreman down the field for a 48 yard gain and Jenkins scored from 5 yards out to put the Bearcats up, 40-20.

The Marauders refused to go away quietly. Meeks led CSU on another trip to the end zone. He found a streaking Marquis Wells for a 42 yard gain through the air and Jackson finished the drive with an 11 yard run to narrow the gap, 40-27, with 9:47 left to play.

The Bearcats put the game away for good as Edwards hooked up with Payne through the air again for a 61 yard touchdown and 40 yard touchdown to balloon the lead to 54-27 with 3:55 remaining. CSU added a late touchdown when Meeks found Wells in the end zone from 4 yards out with 1:05 to go to make the score 54-34. After an onside kick, the Marauders drove the ball down to the 4 yard line but SBU forced and recovered a fumble at the goal line. The Bearcats ran out the remaining seconds on the clock to seal the victory.

Saturday's high scoring contest featured a combined 1,072 yards of offense.

Edwards completed 21 of 34 passes for 345 yards and 5 touchdowns. Payne had 12 receptions for a game-high 196 yards and 3 scores. Running back Bubba Jenkins ran for 183 yards and found the end zone 3 times. Defensively, SBU combined for 5 sacks. Shaun Hutchinson led the team with 11 tackles as SBU finished the regular season with a program best 9-1 overall record.

The Marauders finished with a season-best 550 yards of total offense. Meeks picked up a team-high 179 yards on the ground and another 163 yards through the air. Jackson ran for 120 yards and 2 scores. Nelson finished the day with 88 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards. In his final game as a Marauder, senior linebacker Deonate Gary finished with a career best 17 tackles on the afternoon.

With the loss, the Marauders finish the 2016 season with a 1-9 record.

NOTES:

-Central State recognized 17 senior football players during a ceremony prior to Saturday's kickoff. 

-12 senior members of the Invincible Marching Marauders were honored during halftime. 

-With his 11-yard touchdown run in the early stages of the fourth quarter, senior De'Michael Jackson became the first Central State running back to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season since Derrick Moss reached the milestone in 2007. 
 
-Linebacker Deonate Gary became the first Marauder with back-to-back seasons of 100 tackles since Darius Wilson (2011 & 2012). 

-Southwest Baptist is now 3-0 in the all-time series with Central State. SBU also defeated CSU in 2011 and 2012. 
 
-Despite a 1-9 record, the Marauders have a majority of players eagerly awaiting The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association announcement of the All-Conference team next week. Likely candidates for postseason honors include seniors De'Michael Jackson, Deonate Gary, Clim Robbins, Marquis Wells and Nehemiah Coward.

-CSU head coach Cedric Pearl and the coaching staff look forward the possibilities for the team in 2017 including the growth of quarterback Lavon Meeks, running back Darian Nelson, fullback Darius Meadors, center Darius Thomas, left guard Lawrence Mosley, right guard Quentin Sales. The offense is also expecting the return of receivers Renon Lorenzo, Martell Clark and Tyrone Jones. CSU will have quite a turnover on defense with the graduation of 8 starters. Returning of the defensive line include upperclassmen Andre Pate, Adrian Harding and Christian Lassiter. Freshman Xavier Johnson, Musheer Kilgore, Devin Waldon, Devon Cunningham, Torry Johnson and Derrick Roberts are expected to return and make an impact next season.

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