Miles overcame a 17-point second-half deficit for a 26-23 upset victory Saturday against Tuskegee, ranked 13th in Division II, which clinched the SIAC Western Division championship and spoiled the Golden Tigers homecoming. It was the first homecoming loss for Tuskegee in 25 years.
The Golden Tigers (8-2, 7-1 SIAC) had a comfortable 14-3 lead at the half. They seemingly had the game wrapped up when Leo Gilbert made a diving catch in the end zone for a four-yard touchdown pass to from quarterback Kevin Lacey at the 6:10 mark of the third period for a 20-3 advantage. It was the third touchdown pass of the game for Lacey, who had a pair of scoring tosses to Marquel Gardner in the first half.
Miles(6-4, 6-1 SIAC) rallied in the third quarter on the strength of a blocked punt that went out of the end zone for a safety and Jonathan Clark’s three-yard touchdown run that made the score 20-12. Kemuel Lawrence’s 39-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter gave Tuskegee an 11-point lead at 23-12. But Miles scored a pair of touchdowns in the final eight minutes to steal the victory. Clark scored on an 11-yard run and quarterback David Whipple scored on a six-yard run with 3:11 left in the for the winning points. The Golden Bears will play Albany State in the SIAC Championship Game Saturday in Montgomery, Ala.
Prairie View A&M 40, Alcorn State 34 – The Panthers held on for a road victory after leading by 26 points in the first half and stayed alive in the SWAC West Division race. Prairie View (6-2, 6-1 SWAC) is second in the West to Grambling State, which is unbeaten in conference play. The Panthers need Grambling to lose its two remaining SWAC games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and win their remaining games against Alabama State and Jackson State to win the division crown. Prairie View jumped out to a 19-0 on Courtney Brown’s 20-yard touchdown run and a pair of touchdowns on blocked punt returns by Frederick Anderson and Nick Brewer. Backup quarterback Lenorris Footman, who started in place of injured starter John Gibbs Jr., ran for 220 yards, scored on runs 36 and 52 for Alcorn (5-3, 4-2 SWAC) to cut the lead to 19-14. But Prairie View struck for 21 points in the second quarter for a 40-14 halftime lead. The Braves rallied again in the third quarter as Arron Baker scored a pair of touchdowns on a 14-yard pass from Footman and a 76-yard run. Alcorn inched closer to the lead on Footman’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Tollette George at 10:47 of the fourth quarter. Prairie View iced the game with a 15-play, 71-yard drive that took 6 minutes, 41 seconds off the clock and left Alcorn with time for just one play from the Braves’ seven-yard line. The loss was the second in a row at home for Alcorn, the Eastern Division leader.
Albany State 21, Fort Valley State 17 – The Golden Rams continued their hot streak with a win in the Fountain City Classic, which propelled them to the SIAC East Division title and a spot in the conference champion game next week opposite Miles. The victory was the fifth in a row for Albany State (6-3, (4-0 SIAC) and the 12th against Fort Valley in the last 15 times the teams have met in the Fountain City Classic. Albany State led for much of the early going. But Fort Valley went ahead 17-14 on Malcolm Eady’s three-yard touchdown pass to Travis Richmond with 14:08 left in the game. Albany State had an opportunity to tie the score, but Zachary Gayden-Holley missed a 38-yard field. The Golden Rams got a reprieve when their defense recovered a Fort Valley fumble midway through the final period. Two personal foul penalties against the Wildcats moved the ball to the seven-yard line, and Jarvis Small scored the winning points from there.
N.C. A&T 9, South Carolina State 6 – Third-string quarterback Kylil Carter threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khris Gardin with 1:39 to play as the Aggies escaped with a road win and held on to first place in the MEAC. The winning touchdown came after South Carolina State punter Jerome Pettiway threw an interception on a fake punt near midfield with 2:52 remaining in the game and the Aggies return the ball to the Bulldogs’ 31 North Carolina A&T (8-1, 6-0 MEAC) won despite only gaining 145 yards total offense. South Carolina State 5-4, 4-2 MEAC) drove 68 yards to the North Carolina A&T’s five-yard line in the final minute, but a bad snap from center that quarterback Caleb York left the Bulldogs with a 33-yard field goal attempt that would have sent the game into overtime. However, Tyler Scandrett’s kick was wide right. Scrandett’s field goals in the first and third quarters had given the Bulldogs a 6-0 advantage. North Carolina A&T’s scored its first points on a safety when South Carolina State was called for offensive holding on an incomplete pass that was thrown from the end zone.
Bowie State 63, Elizabeth City State 42 – The Bulldogs steamrolled their way to the CIAA Northern Division champion in record-setting style with a road victory. Running back Kendall Jefferson set a school record with 269 rushing yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns. Jefferson also had 155 yards on kickoff returns, including a 95-yard touchdown return. Freshman quarterback Nyema Washington passed for a career-high 364 yards and threw a single game school record five touchdown passes. Wide receiver Nyme Manns tied the school record with three touchdown receptions while hauling in seven catches for 157 yards. The game was delayed two and a half hours because of lightning and lasted 5 hours, 30 minutes. The Bulldogs (9-1, 7-0 CIAA) will play Winston-Salem State in the conference championship game. Winston-Salem (5-5, 5-2 CIAA) grabbed the Southern Division title with a 24-22 home victory against Fayetteville State.
Other Results
MEAC
Bethune-Cookman 38, Morgan State 14
Hampton 33, Florida A&M 0
Norfolk State 20, Savannah State 17
North Carolina Central 43, Delaware State 10
Stony Brook 14, Howard 9
SWAC
Alabama State 17, Jackson State 12
Grambling State 41, Texas Southern 15
Miss. Valley State 27, Alabama A&M 24, OT
Southern 57, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 24
CIAA
Chowan 49, Lincoln (Pa.) 3
Livingstone 35, Johnson C. Smith 12
Millersville 26, Cheyney 6
Saint Augustine’s 31, Shaw 24
Virginia Union 28, Virginia State 27
Winston-Salem State 24, Fayetteville State 22
SIAC
Central State 50, Concordia-Selma 31
Kentucky State 34, Stillman 7
Samford 33, Clark Atlanta 0
Southeastern U. 33, Benedict 20
Others
Concord 52, West Va. State 7
Edward Waters 18, Warner 13
Langston 48, Wayland Baptist 24
Murray State 46, Tennessee State 43
Texas College 21, Lyon College 14
William Jewell 34, Lincoln (Mo.) 31
