Gem City Sports Network

Marauders unable to keep up with Morehouse

ATLANTA, Georgia – The Central State Marauders were unable to keep pace with a potent Morehouse College offense in a 41-14 loss on Saturday night.

The loss drops the Marauders to 1-2 overall with a 0-1 ledger in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The Tigers of Morehouse stay undefeated on the year with a 3-0 mark and are now 1-0 in SIAC play.

CSU began the game on a high note when quarterback Trent Mays found Darius Meadors for a 65-yard hookup. Running back Jerry Lanier capped off the drive from 1-yard out to give the Marauders an early 7-0 lead.

Morehouse immediately responded on its next possession with an 8-play, 61-yard drive capped off by a Santo Dunn touchdown run to tie the game, 7-7, with 9:20 left in the first quarter. Towards the end of the quarter, it was the Morehouse defense that came up with a big play by intercepting a pass inside their own 10-yard line to keep the score tied up.

CSU’s issues in the red zone continued in the second quarter as passes were intercepted at the MC goal line on back-to-back drives. While CSU struggled to put points up on the B.T. Harvey Stadium scoreboard, Morehouse built their lead to double-digits thanks to 34-yard field goal by Fernando Sdelam and another touchdown run by Dunn to end the half up 17-7.

Dunn gave his team full momentum to start the second half with an 89-yard kickoff return for a score to begin the third quarter. Pinning the CSU offense back to its own 1-yard line and forcing a punt, the Tigers regained possession on the CSU 28-yard line. Quarterback Michael Sims scored three plays later with a 13-yard run to put his team up 31-7.

CSU’s only score of the second half came on a 62-yard pass play from Mays to tight end Robert Corbin, Jr. with 9:45 remaining in the game. Morehouse tacked on one more score on a 24-yard pass from Sims to Amyr Smith at the 6:21 mark to further solidify the victory.

Leading the SIAC’s top scoring offense, Sims found nine different receivers while finishing the day completing 23 of 36 passes for 227 passes and a touchdown. Dunn finished the game with 73 rushing yards, 89 kick return yards, and three scores.

Cornerback Mandall Ray led Morehouse’s defensive efforts with two interceptions and 7 tackles.

Corbin, Jr. highlighted CSU’s offensive performance with four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Devon Cunningham led the Marauder defense with nine tackles and one pass break up.

The Marauders will travel to Frankfort, Kentucky to play rival Kentucky State next Saturday at 1 pm.

Dayton Comeback Falls Short At Duquesne, 31-26

Dayton Is Turned Away On Fourth-And Goal At the Two-Minute Mark

PITTSBURGH – The University of Dayton Flyers found themselves down 31-13 at Duquesne late in the third quarter, but UD scored two touchdowns and were stopped on fourth and goal from the 10 with 2:11 left in the game to fall at Duquesne 31-26.

Tucker Yinger led UD with 122 yards rushing on 13 carries with a touchdown.  Redshirt freshman QB Jack Cook was 17 of 28 passing for 229 yards (13 of 18 for 187 in the second half) with a TD.  Adam Trautman caught the TD pass and led the Flyer receiving corps with five catches for 69 yards.  Safety Tim Simon led UD in tackles (13) and solo tackles (7).

Dayton closes out non-conference is now 1-2 in 2018, while Duquesne is now 3-1.

FIRST QUARTER

•  Both teams scored on their first possession.
• The Dukes went 75 yards in three-and-a-half minutes to open the scoring.
• Dayton responded with a 92-yard drive that ended with Richie Warfield’s two-yard run to make the score 7-6 after the PAT was blocked.
• Duquesne then kept the ball for all but one play of the period, keeping the ball for7:23, 13 plays and driving 91 yards to lead 14-6 after one quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• After three punts (two by Dayton, one by Duquesne), the Dukes scored on an 80-yard Daniel Parr to Nehari Crawford pass to lead 21-6.
• Dayton missed a field goal on its next possession, but a Kyle Butz 32-yard punt return put the ball on the Dukes 25, and three plays later Jack Cook hit Adam Trautman from eight yards out to make it 21-13.
• Duquesne went 53 yards in just over a minute to kick the field goal that made the halftime score 24-13.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Flyers took the second half kickoff and drove to the goal line, but on a second and goal from inside the one, fumbled the snap to come away empty.
• The Dukes seemingly put a nail in the Flyers with a 94-yard drive to make it an 18-point game, 31-13.
• The Flyers responded began to come off the mat with a 55-yard TD drive.  Ryan Skibinski set it up with a 26-yard kickoff return.  Another big play was a Cook-to-Trautman 34-yard play on third and 11.  Cook scored on a QB sneak.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Dayton forced a punt and went 88 yards in just1:42.  Every play that gained yardage on the drive was a big play – Cook to Matt Tunnacliffe for 32, Cook to Tucker Yinger for 15, Cook to Tunnacliffe for 18, and the TD was scored on a 33-yard run by Yinger to make the score 31-26.
• Two plays later, Brandon Easterling came up with a diving interception to give Dayton the ball on the Duquesne 47.  The Flyers moved the ball to the Duke six-yard line, but a great one-on-one tackle by Duquesne’s Brett Zanotto on Yinger on a pitch play put the ball back to the 10.  And on fourth down, Cook’s pass to Trautman in the end zone was broken up by Daquan Worley.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• For the second straight week, Dayton out-gained its opponent in a losing effort.  This week it was 443-435.
• Nick Surges (1.5) and Dante Stefanini (0.5) each had sacks.
• Sean Smith averaged 40.0 yards per punt, with both of his two inside the 20.
• The Dayton return game was on point.  Kyle Butz returned two punts for 29 yards, Ryan Skibinski set up a TD drive with a 29-yard return on a “pooch kick,” and freshman Jake Chisholm returned three kickoffs for 89 yards.
• Dayton extended its NCAA all-division record by scoring in its 468th consecutive game
• Tucker Yinger rushed for over 100 yards for the third time in as many games this season and his 14th time as a Flyer.  He moved into fourth place on UD’s all-time rushing list, and now has 2,794 career yards.  Next on the list is Gary Kosins.  The former Chicago Bear had 2,812 in his three-year Flyer career.
• A critical factor in the outcome was the fact that Dayton made three trips into the red zone and came away with no points.

UP NEXT

• Dayton begins pursuit of its 13^thPFL championship next week when it opens the Pioneer Football League schedule on Saturday, Spt. 22 at home against Davidson.  Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET.
• The Davidson game is UD’s annual Family Weekend game.
• ————————————————————————————————Bluffton Shuts Out EarlhamRICHMOND, Ind. – Earlham College effectively ran a screen pass offense most of the afternoon, but committed four costly turnovers that limited the Quakers’ scoring opportunities in a 34-0 loss, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference clash on Saturday afternoon at Darrell Beane Stadium.

  Earlham quarterbacks Collin Hauschild and Joe Enwright combined to complete 35 of 55 passing attempts for 194 yards, accounting for the bulk of the Quakers’ 209 yards of total offense on the afternoon.

  The 35 pass completions by Hauschild and Enwright was one shy of the Earlham record for most pass completions in a single game of 36, back in 1999 against the College of Wooster.

  Jamel Barnes hauled in nine of those passes for 44 yards, while Zachary Baker made eight receptions for a team-best 59 yards. Baker’s 26-yard reception in third quarter brought the Quakers down to the Bluffton 21-yard line, part of a 12-play, 53-yard drive that brought Earlham all the way down to the Bluffton 9. The Quakers were unable to get the ball into the endzone, and came up short on a fourth-and-goal attempt when Enwright’s pass attempt into the endzone was knocked away from Baker.

  The drive was one of two Earlham trips inside the red zone during the game.

  Bluffton had struggles of its own in the first half as the Earlham defense made stops on key plays. The Quakers allowed the Beavers into the red zone just twice, and forced Bluffton into one turnover on a fumble and three turnovers on downs.

  The Beavers’ only score of the opening half came at 3:08 of the second quarter when Zachary Nobis connected with Adam Duncan on a nine-yard pass play to put Bluffton ahead, 7-0.

  Bluffton put up three touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away from Earlham, and added some insurance points in the fourth quarter with another TD strike.

  Defensively, Rance Albert led the Quakers with 12 total tackles, including three solo stops. Kobe Walker charted eight tackles with four of them unassisted, while William Norwood had seven tackles with a team-high six solos.

  Tyler Showalter paced Bluffton with 13 total tackles, including 10 unassisted stops.

  Earlham completes its string of four straight home games to open the 2018 season with next Saturday’s Homecoming matchup with Mount St. Joseph at Darrell Beane Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

  ———————————————————————————————– Blue Knights Weather Storm 27-19

• URBANA, Ohio – The Urbana football team fended off Lake Erie’s comeback attempt to move past the Storm, 27-19, at UU Stadium Thursday night. UU is 2-1 for the first time under head coach Tyler Haines for the program’s best start since 2012.

  It’s the first time UU has claimed victory in back-to-back home games since the 2014 campaign. The Blue Knights also remain undefeated in home night games (3-0).

  Eddie Stockett threw for a career-high 290 yards and three touchdowns and Kahliq Muhammad caught seven passes for two scores and 168 yards. The Blue Knight duo connected on the first play of the game for a 78-yard touchdown strike, and again, right before halftime to put UU ahead 24-7 at the break.

  “It’s still early in the season and we’re happy with the win but there are a lot of things to work on,” Stockett said. “We definitely left some points on the board. We just need to finish drives when we get down to the goal line and inside the red zone. It feels great to be 2-1 and I”m looking forward to getting back to work next week.”

  Running backs Isaiah Young, Khalil Trotman and David Hickey combined for 164 yards total on the ground. Trotman provided a late spark with a 43-yard dash for UU’s longest run this season. Stockett added 30 rushing yards on eight carries.

  Defensively, UU posted a season-high six sacks. Mikal Toliver recorded a career-high three sacks and L.A. Kelly led the team with seven tackles. Kelly and Toliver each posted a big sack in the fourth quarter. Onajai Davenport also contributed with six tackles and 1.5 sacks.

  Making his collegiate debut, freshman Rafael Floyd made seven tackles after moving from receiver to cornerback this week.

  The Blue Knights dominated the first half with 335 yards of total offense and scored on four of six drives to open the game. However, UU stalled out in the second half where it was outscored 12-3. The Blue Knights finished with a season-high 482 yards of total offense and allowed 332 yards to Lake Erie.

  Junior kicker Erick made a 34-yard field goal in the first quarter to make it 10-0 and wideout Jesse Braytip-toed the sideline on a 36-yard scoring grab in the second quarter. Bray now has a touchdown reception in each game this season.

  After scoreless third quarter, LEC scored on a 42-yard pass play to make it 24-13 Blue Knights with 10:39 remaining in the game. Then, UU fumbled on the next drive but linebacker L.A. Kelly came up with a big sack to help force a Storm turnover on downs.

  UU drove deep into LEC territory on its next pair of drives in the fourth quarter but only had one field goal to show for it. Ware nailed a 32-yarder to put UU ahead 27-13 with 1:06 left.

  The visitors made things interesting by scoring with 10 seconds left, but missed the two-point try. The on-side kick went out of bounds and UU was able to run out the clock.

  Penalties hurt both teams with a combined 300 yards on 17 flags thrown in the game. UU was flagged nine times for 144 yards and LEC eight times for 156 yards.

  The Blue Knights showed improvement in the red zone, going 3 of 4 on opportunities inside the LEC 20. UU had gone just 1 for 5 in the first two games.

  LEC quarterback Javarian Smith led the Storm on 22-of-37 passing for 285 yards and three touchdowns. UU limited the Storm to only 37 rushing yards and one third down conversion.

  //  UP NEXT
  UU returns to conference play when it hosts West Virginia Wesleyan next Thursday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at UU Stadium.

  Wesleyan is 0-2 after losing by three points in each of its first two games. The Bobcats dropped their opener 34-31 to Concord and fell 37-34 at West Liberty following a big second-half comeback. WVWC will host Fairmont State on Saturday.

  WVWC leads the all-time series 5-3, but UU is 2-1 at home against the Bobcats. UU won last year’s meeting on the road, 21-7.

  ———————————————————————————————-

• Quaker Drop OAC opener
• ADA, Ohio – Ohio Northern University (ONU) scored a touchdown on the last two possessions of the first half and the first two possessions of the second half to lead the Polar Bears to a 49-16 victory over the Wilmington College football team in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action on Saturday afternoon.ONU received the opening kickoff and thought it scored a touchdown until an illegal forward pass penalty negated a 39-yard score. Later in the drive, Wilmington made the Polar Bears pay as Que Taylor forced a fumble that was recovered by Tavion Bryant.

  After a Fightin’ Quaker three-and-out, the Polar Bears got on the scoreboard with a 12-play, 65-yard drive capped by a one-yard score from Brock Martin. On the next drive, it was Wilmington’s turn to have a touchdown called back due to penalty. Kyle Barrett found AJ Hightower for a 72-yard touchdown, only to see a holding call turn the score into a 16-yard gain. Four plays later, the Quaker offense faced a 3rd-and-10, but Barrett found DJ Chambers on a well-timed screen pass. Chambers made a man miss and outran the defense for a touchdown.

  Wilmington got the ball back with the score tied 7-7 after stopping Martin for no gain on 4th-and-one, but were forced to punt on after a three-and-out. ONU’s offense would score on its final two possessions of the first half to take a 21-7 lead into halftime.

  The Quakers drove the ball to nearly midfield to open the second half, but were forced to punt. Despite Aaron Johnston‘s punt pinning ONU at its 13-yard line, the Polar Bears scored in two plays to stretch their lead to 28-7. Wilmington responded with a 37-yard field goal from Tyler Butcher, but another touchdown from ONU put the game out of reach.

  Wilmington did score on its final possession of the game as Barrett found Zayne Hart for a five-yard score to cap a 13-play, 75-yard score.

  “I was happy with the fight in our guys today, but certainly the execution was not consistent enough to be successful against a program like ONU,” Head Coach Bryan Moore said. “We will learn some valuable lessons from today, get back to work and keep moving forward!”

  ONU held a 610-386 edge in yardage gained including a 357-151 edge in rushing yards. Also notable, the Polar Bears converted 9-of-13 times on third down while the Quakers were 4-of-13.

  Individually, Barrett finished 16-of-35 for 235 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Ace Taylorhauled in four passes for 90 yards while Chambers led Wilmington in rushing with 10 attempts for 60 yards.

  Anthony McFadden complete 15-of-22 passes for 253 yards and three scores along with rushing for 78 yards. A.J. Marks and Martin both rushed for over 100 yards for ONU while Chad Rex hauled in nine receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown.

  Defensively, Tre-Quez Parks led Wilmington with eight tackles while Dusty Lykins and seven and Michael Vargosix. ONU’s Mark Niles had 10 tackles.

  Wilmington, for the first time this season, will play at home next weekend as Muskingum University comes to Williams Stadium for a 2 p.m. contest as part of homecoming weekend.

•  Wittenberg Roll Over Oberlin 45-14

  Oberlin, Ohio – The #14 Wittenberg football team took their first road trip of the 2018 season, opening up NCAC action as they battled the Yeomen of Oberlin College. The Tigers took down the Yeomen 45-14 on Saturday afternoon, moving to 2-0 on the 2018 season.

  HOW IT HAPPENED

  After a low scoring first quarter, which saw just 10 points between the two sides and a Wittenberg field goal. The Tigers unleashed the offense scoring 28 points before the break to take a 31-7 lead into the intermission. Thad Snodgrass was on the receiving end of the first touchdown for the Tigers again this week, hauling in a 35-yard pass from quarterback Jake Kennedy. Wittenberg kept it going through the air with three more touchdowns before the end of the second quarter. Tristan Davis would reel in an eight-yard reception, while Nick Kendall would wheel out for a 12-yard TD catch. With seconds remaining in the first half, Liam Duncan would put the cap on the Tigers 28-0 run with a 39-yard touchdown reception. Wittenberg would hold the Yeomen scoreless in the third quarter of action, as the Tigers would go on to add 14 points to their lead in the second half.

  WHO STOOD OUT

  The Tigers would rack up 400-plus yards of offense, gaining 5.9 yards per play. Wittenberg continues to spread the wealth, as three different backs received over five carries on the afternoon. Troy Clay would rush for 49 yards on eight attempts for an average of 6.1 yards per attempt and a long of 13-yards. Jaheem Washington and Sam Kayserwould split 15 carries between the two for 33-yards. Wittenberg would launch their offensive attack through the air getting nine different receivers involved in the action. Bryce Bailey would lead the receiving core with 65-yards on six receptions, hauling in a long of 18-yards. Jeff Tiffner and Liam Duncan combined to reel in over 100-yards through the air, adding a touchdown apiece. Brandon Daniels would lead the Wittenberg defense with six tackles, including a sack. Artemus Watts and Terrance Crowe would each come up with an interception. Coming up with his second pick in two games for the Tigers, Crowe added five solo tackles on the day.

  UP NEXT

  Wittenberg will return to Edwards-Maurer Field on Saturday, Sept. 22 to host the Lords of Kenyon College at 7:00 PM for their annual Champions Night. This year the Tigers will be honoring seven championship teams, spanning from 1958, ’63, ’73, ’78, ’88, ’98 and ’13. These teams claimed five of the 17 Wittenberg OAC titles, along with two of the 15 NCAC crowns.