Marauders score late to beat Allen, 35-32


COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Central State came back from an early 13-point deficit and scored late to secure a 35-32 road win over Allen on Saturday night.


Earning their first conference victory, CSU is now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the SIAC.


Falling behind 13-0 by the end of the first quarter, the Marauders battled back two score two touchdowns in the second quarter to claim the lead. On CSU's first touchdown drive, the Marauders took advantage of a misguided Allen punt that gave the ball to CSU at the Yellowjackets 28-yard line. Runs by Kaz Dina and Kendall Boney moved the ball down to the 10-yard line. Making his first start of the season at quarterback, Boney finished the drive with a 10-yard pass to Brandon Brock with 4:53 left in the half. AU gave the ball back to CSU at the Marauder 43-yard line after a failed fourth down conversion. After a pass from Boney to Brock, Dina broke loose and rushed for a 44-yard score as the Marauders took a 14-13 lead into halftime.


CSU looked poise to take control early in the third quarter before a Boney pass was intercepted and returned 84-yards for a score by Allen's Kevin Graham. On the next possession, Boney was taken out of the game after taking a hit while scrambling out of the pocket. With backup Brandon Kyles under center, CSU completed pass plays of 17 yards, 10 yards and 21 yards to march down the field before Kyles ran for a one-yard touchdown to give the lead back to the Marauders, 21-20.


Allen threatened to retake the lead on its next possession. With the ball on the CSU five-yard line, AU opted to go for the touchdown on fourth down. CSU linebacker Jalil Lenore ran down quarterback Michael Reese to keep AU out of the end zone and gave the ball back to CSU. With challenging field positioning, the CSU offense failed to move the ball and eventually fumbled on a Kyles rushing attempt. AU recovered the loose ball on the 28-yard line and scored four plays later to take a 26-21 lead with 12:06 remaining.


Down by five, Boney returned to the game for the Marauders and completed a 33-yard pass to Micah Lowe. Later in the drive, Boney found EJ Wash threw the air for a 19-yard touchdown as CSU went up 28-26 with 10:49 left in the game.


Having already experienced issues with long snapping throughout the first four weeks of the season, the Marauders made another miscue on the center to quarterback exchange as a bad snap went off Boney's hands and into the end zone. AU pounced on the ball in the end zone to take a 32-28 lead with 5:33 to go.


In what would end up to be their final possession of the night, the Marauders methodically moved the ball down the field. Boney completed his first three passes of the drive and scrambled for an 11-yard gain down to the AU 12-yard line. With nine seconds left to play, Boney scrambled and flicked the ball to Dina who made two defenders miss and scored with two seconds showing on the game clock to seal the victory for the Marauders.


"Our players stuck together throughout the game and did an excellent job of responding to adversity. It is great to be able to battle back and win a close game on the road," Head Coach Kevin Porter said. "We took another good step as a program tonight and look forward to getting back to work to prepare for next week's game against Fort Valley State."

Central State will host the FVSU Wildcats on Saturday at 1 pm as part of the 2022 Homecoming celebration.
 


 
TOP PERFORMERS
 
Kaz Dina (CSU) - 161 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 6 receptions, 63 receiving yards, 1 touchdown reception
Jalil Lenore (CSU) – 11 tackles, 0.5 sacks
Jumacisu Portis (CSU) - 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss


David Wright (AU) - 20-35, 224 passing yards, 35 rushing yards
Jamal Jones (AU) - 6 receptions, 71 yards
Kevin Graham (AU) - 7 tackles, 2 interceptions, 84-yard interception return for touchdown
 
 

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
Primarily a passing offense, the Marauders tallied a season-high 186 rushing yards on Saturday.
 
Both starting quarterbacks were momentarily sidelined on Saturday as Kendall Boney (CSU) and David Wright (AU) both exited the field in the third quarter. Boney eventually returned to lead his team to victory.

AU and CSU entered Saturday as the top two passing offenses in the SIAC.
 
CSU overcame four turnovers to win the game (3 interceptions, 1 fumble).

Saturday was the third time CSU has been in a game that has been decided by five points or fewer this season.
 
CSU is now 1-1 in the all-time series against AU. The first meeting took place last season in Wilberforce, Ohio.


 
 
 
NEXT GAME
 
The Marauders travel to South Carolina to play Allen University on Saturday at 6 pm.