Fort Valley State rushed for 206 yards in the second half to sour the Spel-House Homecoming with a 42-20 win over Morehouse Saturday afternoon.
Singer Ari Lennox belted out tune after tune on the stage outside the fenceline of the northern end zone in celebration of the Maroon Tigers Homecoming but the location turned out to be the Wildcats’ favorite spot. Fort Valley scored four touchdowns on that patch of turf including three in the first quarter.
Morehouse had a good game plan to start the game -attack the freshman defensive back. Brogan Korta got behind defensive back Dray Duncan on a deep route for what could have been a touchdown on the first play of the game. Miles Scott’s pass however was severely underthrown allowing the true freshman to make up ground and nearly intercept the pass before knocking it to the ground.
The Wildcats dodged the bullet and chambered a few of their own. After a 16-yard touchdown run by Jamal Sanders’ was called back for holding, Kelvin Durham hit Za’Tarious Anderson over the middle for a 27-yard touchdown.
Morehouse went back to the plan. This time it was tight end Maurice Veney’s turn to try Duncan. The hulking freshman (6’4, 225 lb) had a few steps on Duncan but for the second time, Scott’s pass was late. The 6’2 Duncan swooped over, high-pointed the ball, and pulled it in for the first turnover of the day.
It wasn’t the last.
A quick three-and-out put the ball back in the offense’s hands inside their 10-yard line. Things went from not-so-good to what-the-hell in 8 seconds. The Blue Death Defense’s young tackle Marquis Hood his Scott’s arm while the quarterback attempted to pass. The ball went straight up in the air with only a trio of Hood’s teammates around to catch it. Linebacker Jaylen Brown came down with the pass in the end zone for the Wildcats’ second score.
Another Maroon Tigers possession, another pass on first down. This time Scott and Korta were able to make the connection for a 26-yard gain into the red zone. Morehouse could not get the running game on track and settled for a 21-yard field goal from Khasen Kirkland.
Trading three for seven is not a winning recipe but the Maroon Tigers needed to give the Homecoming crowd something to chew on.
Fort Valley answered the field goal with an 8-play, 74-yard drive capped by Jamie Hampton’s 18-yard catch in the end zone for Durham’s second touchdown pass.
Game over right?, Wrong.
Morehouse did not go away. The Maroon Tigers took the first drive of the second quarter all the way down to the Wildcats 4. A few miscues, including a mishandled snap, cost the home team precious field position. Kirkland split the uprights from 40 yards out to salvage the drive.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Eric Cowling, Jr. set up the Maroon Tigers’ next score by hauling in a deflected pass intended for Hampton.
Back on offense and back in the air went Scott. Under pressure again Scott’s errant pass floated aimlessly in space until Ajani Williams made a spectacular diving catch at the 16-yard line. Scott’s 10-yard pass to Anthony Hubbard and a pass interference penalty on the Wildcats set up Jaiden Jones 2-yard touchdown run.
All of a sudden, the Wildcats were no longer running away with the game.
A huge sack by freshman defensive lineman Derrick Bing (6’4, 265 lbs) coupled with an intentional grounding penalty on Durham led to another Wildcats punt.
Morehouse got the ball back with less than two minutes on the clock and 80 yards between them and the end zone. No pressure. Yeah right.
Riding on the momentum, Scott went back to Williams who was being covered by -if you guessed Duncan you win a “like”. Williams made an amazing over-the-shoulder catch with Duncan in his left pocket for a 48-yard play. Feeling no pressure, Scott delivered a strike to Donovan Logan in the end zone to close the half down 21-20.
“We gotta get out of our own way,” was the halftime charge from Fort Valley State Head Coach Shaun Gibbs. “That’s been the message all year. If we take Fort Valley off the schedule we are a pretty good team.”
Challenge accepted.
Fort Valley took their next two possessions in for touchdowns. Running back Brandon Marshall capped both 60-yard drives with short touchdown runs. Marshall finished the day with 186 yards on 15 carries.
He carried the ball seven of the eight plays on the second scoring drive. Gibbs confirmed that he ran the ball on the drive in an attempt to take the fight out of the Maroon Tigers.
If the bruising drive didn’t do it, Dejuan Bell’s 52-yard punt return for a score at the top of the fourth quarter and Tree’vyon Webb’s interception at the three-yard line made any comeback bid highly unlikely.
Fort Valley’s win keeps the Wildcats tied with Albany State and Tuskegee for a spot in the conference championship game. Should the Wildcats defeat Benedict on Saturday it will set up a showdown with their arch-rivals from Albany State in the annual Fountain City Classic. Tuskegee could really make it interesting if the Golden Tigers can defeat Miles in Cleve Abbott Stadium on the same day.
Game and Homecoming Photos
All photos copyright: Jason McDonald, JM Photography for CORE360 Sports