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HOW THEY DID ITCRITICAL OUTCOMES HIGHLIGHTED LAST WEEKEND IN OCTOBERA missed first-quarter extra-point kick by SC State placekicker Michael Gaston proved to be the difference in this battle for first place in the MEAC. Gaston missed on the PAT after SCSU QB Cleveland McCoy (4-9-0, 66 yds., 10 car., 42 yds.) hit tight end Spencer Miller with a 28-yard scoring strike to give the Bulldogs a 9-7 lead with 3:14 left in the opening period. After scoreless second and third quarters, that miss came back to haunt the 'Dawgs when DSU placekicker Josh Brite kicked thru a 30-yard field goal with 10:59 left in the game following an 11-play, 66-yard march that proved to be the game-winner. DelState stopped SCSU twice on fourth down in the final quarter to preserve the win. DSU (6-2, 5-1) had opened the game with a 7-play 65-yard drive culminating in Shaheer McBride's 20-yard TD reception from QB Vashon Winton (12-22-0, 139 yds.). SCSU answered with an 11-play 49-yard drive that ended in a 36-yard Gaston field goal. SCSU RB DeShawn Baker carried 28 times for 161 yards to lead the Bulldog offense. In a match-up of division leaders, Jackson State QB Jimmy Oliver put up the gaudy statistics but Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-3, 4-2) rode the late passing of QB Chris Wallace (8-16-0, 252 yds.) to get its third big win in a row over a SWAC contender as it outscored the E. Div. leading Blue Tigers (5-3, 4-2). Wallace threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Brandon Wright at the end of the third quarter and then had an 85-yarder to RB Martell Mallett and a 16-yarder to Ryan Whatley in the fourth quarter as the Golden Lions fought back from a 30-14 halftime deficit. Mallett (14 car., 50 yds., 2 TDs) opened the second half scoring with his second rushing TD of the day, a one-yarder. The first half belonged to JSU and QB Jimmy Oliver who finished the game with 520 yards of total offense, 408 passing yards on 34 of 44 completions with three TDs and 112 rushing yards on 13 carries. The Tigers could manage only a Oliver to Jamal Pittman third quarter TD pass and a Eric Perri 23-yard fourth quarter field goal in the second half. JSU WR Kethonne McLaurin had nine receptions for 181 yards. UAPB RB Dedrick Poole had two receptions for 108 yards and scored on a nine-yard first quarter run. Clark Atlanta (4-5, 2-4) held Tuskegee (5-3, 5-2) to 100 yards of total offense and no offensive touchdowns and knocked them out of first place in the SIAC with a stunning upset win in Atlanta. TU's only points came in the third quarter on CB Justin Hannah's 26-yard interception return. Roosevelt Echeverry's PAT attempt was blocked. CAU RB Terrin Usher scored on a 12-yard run with 5:07 to play that was the winning score. ECSU (8-1, 6-0) overcame muddy and windy conditions to pull out a win at St. Paul's (2-7, 1-5) and set up a battle for the CIAA E. Div. title next week at home vs. Virginia Union. ECSU RB Brandon Fields escaped for an 18-yard run late in the third quarter which set up his four-yard score that allowed the Vikings to come away with the victory. Virginia Union (7-2, 5-1) got a 34-yard TD pass from QB Lamar Little to Michael Hampton in its first possession and a 43-yard Hugo Flores-Diaz field goal in the second quarter which stood up against Bowie State (4-5, 2-4). BSU RB Nathaniel Queen ran for a school-record 239 yards on 25 carries but was kept out of the end zone. Peter Mensah scored BSU's TD on a one-yard third quarter run. Elihu Smith had 158 rushing yards for VUU. Alabama A&M (6-3, 4-2) had seven sacks and a game-turning 99-yard kickoff return to paydirt from Ulysses Banks in the second quarter to win its second consecutive Magic City Classic game before a Legion Field crowd of 66,233. The win sets up a meeting at Jackson State Saturday for the SWAC E. Div. lead. Banks' return followed a 34-yard field goal from Anthony Johnson got ASU on the board. A&M QB Kelcy Luke (10-18-1, 142 yds.) scored on a four-yard run later in the period. A&M RB Tamar Scott added a three-yard third quarter TD run. The A&M defense limited ASU QB Alex Engram to 3 completions in 18 attempts but did allow a 31-yard Engram run for a score in the third quarter. Johnson added a 36-yard third-quarter field goal that closed out the scoring. ASU RB Jay Peck ran for 97 yards on 24 carries. TSU (3-5, 3-4) built up a 33-7 lead midway through the third quarter and then withstood a furious comeback to get its first win over Grambling (3-5, 3-3) since 1999. TSU QB Tino Edgecombe (18-27, 263 yds.) had two first-half scoring tosses and the Tigers scored on a 35-yard Stacey Thomas first-quarter interception return and on scoring runs by Ramond Gilmore in the second and third quarters to build the big lead. GSU QB Brandon Landers (23-40, 280 yds.), who had three interceptions, began the comeback with a six-yard third quarter scoring pass to Henry Tolbert (8 rec., 93 yds.). Landry Carter scored on a 13-yard run early in the fourth quarter and Landers added 14-yard scoring run with four minutes left to get the G-Men close. TSU fumbled the ensuing kickoff but was able to stop Grambling on a fourth-and-11 before running out the clock. B-CC (5-3, 3-2) surrendered an opening drive TD to NC A&T and then racked up 603 yards of offense (350 rushing, 253 passing) and scored on its first nine possessions to throttle the Aggies (0-8, 0-6). B-CC wingback Eric Weems had two TDs, one on a 67-yard punt return and another on a 10-yard pass from Jimmie Russell, P. J. Smith had TD runs of 3 and 39 yards and Russell threw for two TDs and rushed for 8- and 12-yard scores. RB Michael Ferguson rushed for 108 yards on 23 carries for the Aggies, who got their only TD on a Wayne Campbell to O. Green pass in the first quarter. © 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc. |