Benedict tops Central State, 21-11

COLUMBIA, South Carolina – The Central State Marauders fell to the Benedict College Tigers, 21-11, on Saturday night.

Benedict struck first in the first quarter, capping off an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a 25-yard pass from Dominique Harris to Danye Washington with 18 seconds left in the quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, the Marauders got a 43-yard return by Terraris Saffold to give Central State the ball at midfield. The Benedict defense held Central State to a 33-yard field goal by Trevor Teel with 11:14 on the clock to cut the lead to 7-3.

Later in the quarter, Benedict drove the length of the field again, going 77 yards on 10 plays. The key play on the drive was a 44-yard pass from Harris to Okechi Nitisaqwe to give Benedict a first down at the 10-yard line. On fourth down from the 1-yard line, Benedict kept the offense on the field and Harris pushed his way into the end zone to put Benedict ahead 14-3. Benedict got the ball back with 1:34 left in the half, and facing a second-and-20, Harris sprinted for a 25-yard gain to the Central State 30 with 52 seconds left. Harris injured himself at the end of play after slidding awkwardly and did not return to the game. CSU forced BC to settle for a field goal attempt which clanked of the left goal post and the score remained 14-3 at intermission.

Behind backup quarterback Phillip Brown, the Tigers extended their lead 21-3 with 5:25 left in the third quarter when Brown threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Ntiasagwe. The touchdown was set up by a 36-yard pass from Brown to Ntiasagwe earlier on the drive.

The Marauders finally were able to find the end zone with a 14-play, 80-yard drive as Trent Mays threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Darius Ford with 4:10 left on the clock. The Marauders were successful on the two-point conversion attempt, with Mays completing a pass to Martell Clark after evading several Benedict pass rushers. Central State recovered the ensuing onside kick, but three incomplete passes and a sack gave the ball back to Benedict and the Tigers were able to run out the clock.

"We had our chances to score and put pressure on Benedict but we left a lot of points out on the field that probably would have made the difference in the outcome," CSU head coach Cedric Pearl said. "We had a few miscues that really kept us from finishing drives with points. While we are struggling right now, it is not for lack of effort from the student-athletes. We will continue to preach execution and attention to detail this week as we prepare for another conference test against Miles College."

Benedict, now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the SIAC, held Central State to a season-low 102 yards passing. While the passing attack struggled to get going, the Marauders were able to rush for a season-best 156 yards which included 165 yards from running back Terraris Saffold. The loss dropped Central State to 0-5 on the season and 0-2 in the SIAC.

"We will keep giving a one-hundred percent effort in every game," Saffold said. "I am going to continue to stay focused on improving and getting ready for next week's game against Miles."

Ntaisaqwe led all receivers with 5 receptions for 107 yards and 1 touchdown. Edwark Kirkland and Dontavis Hunt led the Benedict defense with eight tackles each. The Tigers recorded 14 tackles for a net loss of 72 yards.

Saffold's 165 rushing yards and 7.2 yards per carry were a career-high for the junior from Hayneville, Alabama. Freshman linebacker Mikey'ion Hunter led CSU in tackles for the second straight week with 11 tackles.

The Marauders will return to Wilberforce, Ohio to face Miles College on Homecoming on Saturday at 1 pm.
 
Next Game
Opponent: Miles College
Date: Saturday, October 30
Kickoff: 1 pm
Venue: McPherson Memorial Stadium
 

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