Central State loses offensive battle to Tuskegee, 49-34

 
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The Central State Marauders fell in a high scoring battle to Tuskegee, 49-34, on Saturday night.
 
 
Tuskegee (5-2, 4-0 SIAC) relyied heavily on its rushing attack throughout the game while CSU (2-5, 1-3 SIAC) focused on attacking the Tigers through the air.

 
TU opened the scoring on their second drive of the game with a 12-yard rush from Donte Edwards.

 
Central State responded on the next possession with a nine-play, 75-yard drive of their own to tie the ball game at 7-7 after a short passing touchdown from Kendall Boney to Brandon Brock.

 
Tuskegee reclaimed the lead at the 7:36 mark of the second quarter with a three-yard run from Bryson Williams. TU upped its lead to 14 with a dive of 92 yards and scored on a goal line run from Taurean Taylor.

 
TU appeared in full control after a 80-yard touchdown drive ended with a 17-yard Edwards run to extend the lead to 28-7 with 10:38 to play in the third quarter.


The Marauder shifted the momentum as the offense ignited for three straight touchdown drives. Boney connected with Micah Lowe for a 23-yard score. CSU found the endzone again three minutes later as backup signal caller Brandon Kyles came into the game and found Twon Hines for a 37 yard score through the air to cap off an 89-yard touchdown drive. CSU scored its third touchdown of the third quarter on a Kyles pass to Brandon Brock for a 40-yard touchdown. After a failed extra point attempt, CSU trailed TU by one, 28-27, entering the fourth quarter.

 
Tuskegee started the fourth quarter on their own 22-yard line and initially went three-and-out, however a fumble by CSU on the ensuring punt was recovered by the Golden Tigers. Five plays later, Taurean Taylor punched it in from ten yards out for his second score of the night.

 
CSU pulled back within one early in the fourth quarter as Kyles led the Marauders on a seven-play, 79 yard drive. Kyles ended the drive with a score with his legs from three-yards out with 12:22 remaining.

 
Tuskegee managed to pull away late in the ball game thanks to two more scores from Taylor, one from 29-yards out, followed by a season-long 93-yard rush to seal the game.
 

 
TOP PERFORMERS

 
Brandon Kyles (CSU) – 17-28, 352 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 68 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Brandon Brock (CSU) – 11 receptions, 162 yards, 2 touchdowns
Micah Lowe (CSU) – 8 receptions, 185 yards, 1 touchdown
Mike White (CSU) – 15 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
 
Taurean Taylor (TU) – 232 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns
Donte Edwards (TU) – 142 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns
Jordan Fletcher (TU) – 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble

 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
CSU and TU combined for over 1200 yards of total offense. CSU had 712 total yards with 501 coming through the air. TU totaled 540 yards with 434 picked up on the ground.
 
Central State quarterbacks combined for 501 passing yards on the day, with Brandon Kyles finishing 17-for-28 for 352 yards, while Kendall Boney was 14-for-22 for 149 yards.
 
Lowe's 185 receiving yards is the most recorded by any CSU receiver this season.
 
Brock's 11 receptions on Saturday is the most by any CSU receiver this season.
 
The Marauders' 712 total yards of offense is the most by any CSU offense since 2009.
 
CSU is now 3-9 in the all-time series against TU – which dates back to the 1947 season.
 
Saturday's game was played in the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.
 
CSU was featured on ESPN+ on Saturday. The Marauders have been shown on a national broadcast three times this season.
 

 
NEXT GAME
 
The Marauders return home to host Edward Waters on Saturday at 1 pm.