The Marauders lose in an offensive shootout to Allen on Homecoming


WILBERFORCE, Ohio - It was a true Homecoming for the Marauders in every since of the word as the school celebrated its annual tradition of welcoming alumni and friends to campus for the game.. For the CSU football team, Saturday also marked the official revealing of the newly renovated McPherson Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Marauders, who were playing in their first home game since November of 2019, competed on a brand new synthetic field turf with a new digital video scoreboard.

CSU opened the afternoon on a high note, scoring four touchdowns on its first five drives. Quarterback Tyriq Henderson connected with Dalane Brown II for a 13 yard strike to open the Marauder scoring and ran it in himself for CSU's second score. Henderson later found a streak Said Sidibe for a 40-yard score through the air and freshman Demonte' Dunlap alluded Allen defenders for a 45-yard touchdown run.

While the offense was off to a hot start, Allen continued to answer the Marauders. Jermaine Alston and Montrell White scored on the ground while quarterback David Wright connected with Jamal Jones to keep the Yellow Jackets with four points of CSU. Wright threw a pair of touchdowns and ran one in during the second quarter. CSU recorded the second safety in two weeks as Jaidon Seay tackled an AU receiver in the endzone but that would be the only points of the quarter for the Marauders, who trailed 40-28 at halftime.

CSU pulled within six as Henderson led the Marauders on a 72-yard drive capped off by a 28 yard touchdown toss to Brown II with 8:57 to play in the third quarter.


AU regained momentum with a 72-yard drive of their own. Wright connected with Jamal Jones for a 15-yard score with 9:42 to play. AU took control on CSU's next offensive possession as Henderson was intercepted by Rayshawn Meiser. CSU came up empty on its next two possessions and dropped their third straight game.


While CSU scored a season-high 34 points, the Marauders were outpaced by AU's Wright and the Yellow Jacket offense. Wright threw for 455 yards and four touchdowns. Jamal Jones was Wright's primary target, hauling in 13 catches for 172 yards while the team combined for 616 yards of total offense.


CSU's Henderson threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns while Said Sidibe and Derell Williams both eclipsed 100 yards receiving. Demonte' Dunlap recorded 120 yards on the ground on 16 carries. While defenses struggled, CSU lineman Jamal Holloway stood out with six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and three pass break ups. 


The loss drops the Marauders to 1-4 on the season while AU improves to 3-2 overall.



CSU travels to Fort Valley State next Saturday.



NOTES:

• CSU celebrated its 2021 Homecoming on Saturday.
  
   
• CSU recognized its 2021 Hall of Fame Class during halftime of Saturday's game. The Hall of Fame inductees include Maurice Calhoun, Beverley Grant, Harold Hogue, Bryan Herd, Terry Morrow and Sherdon Smith.
  
   
• Former Kansas City Chief and NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier was honored during the game. Lanier, who is an HBCU graduate (Morgan State), assisted CSU with funding for its newly renovated field turf and stadium. Through his Honey Bear Project field turf initiative, Lanier provided over $900,000 to install new synthetic field turf inside McPherson Memorial Stadium.
  
   
• Saturday was CSU's first home game since November of 2019.
  
   
• CSU and Allen combined for over 1000 yards in total offense.
  
   
• CSU freshman Demonte' Dunlap eclipsed 100 yards for the second time this season.
  
   
• CSU junior Said Sidibe recorded his second game of over 100 yards receiving.