St. Louis, Missouri - (September 26, 2009) - It took overtime to do it, but the Golden Tigers continued their mastery of Kentucky State with a 35-28 SIAC victory in the 16th Annual Gateway Classic at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
The victory was the 12th in a row for the 16th-ranked Golden Tigers against Kentucky State, and improved their record to 4-1 overall and in the conference. Kentucky fell to 2-3 in the SIAC and overall.
The Golden Tigers squandered a 28-14 fourth-quarter lead and didn't secure the victory until Justin Hannah broke up a fourth down pass in the end zone in overtime.
John Pascley scored the winning touchdown on a nine-yard run on the Golden Tigers' first possession in overtime. Pascley rushed for 24 of the 25 yards the Golden Tigers gained in overtime.
Kentucky State drove to the eight-yard line on its possession. Quarterback Jerrell Noland tried to hit Jamaree Gordon on a slant pattern, but Hannah knocked the ball away to preserve the victory.
"I was confident we would win the whole game,'' Golden Tigers coach Willie Slater said. "I thought we should have won handily.''
Perhaps the Golden Tigers would have won by a wider margin and without going into overtime had it not been for three turnovers - two pass interceptions and a fumble - and their inability to shut down Kentucky State's running game. The Golden Tigers allowed a season-high197 rushing yards, and the Thorobreds averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
"They ran the ball better than they should have been able to,'' Slater said. "They made some big plays in the running game.''
Tuskegee came into the game allowing 125 yards rushing per contest.
The good news was the Golden Tigers had their second consecutive impressive offensive game statistically, amassing 390 total yards. Their running game was especially effective as they gained 277 yards on the ground. Pascley rushed for a game-high 98 yards and scored three touchdowns. Nykeem Barton added 82 and two touchdowns, and together they allowed the Golden Tigers to control the ball.
"We played good in spots and we played bad in spots,'' Slater said. "We scored 35 points; that was good. We led 28-14; that was good. We were able to run when we needed to run to win the game; that was good. The most disappointing part was allowing them to come back and tie us in the last minute.''
The Golden Tigers, however, never controlled the game even though they had possession of the ball for 32:12 to 27:48 for the Thorobreds.
The Golden Tigers started quickly, scoring on their first possession. They drove 60 yards in eight plays. Pascley put the finishing touch on the drive with a two-yard touchdown run. Kentucky State tied the score with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Noland to Juwan Jones with 14:38 remaining in the second quarter.
The Golden Tigers answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Pascley's second touchdown, a one-yard plunge.
Kentucky State tied the score at 14-all late in the second quarter after intercepting a pass by red-shirt freshman quarterback Jeremy Williams. Anthony Boykins knotted the game with a 40-yard touchdown run for the Thorobreds.
The Golden Tigers' special teams forced a fumble on a punt, which David Newman recovered. That set the stage for them to regain the lead on Barton's two-yard run with 28 seconds left in the half..
Gordon returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the Golden Tigers' 35. The Thorobreds were poised to tie the score again when Noland and Deron Hawkins connected on a 35-yard pass play. Hawkins fumbled at the two when Rodney Anthony knocked the ball loose. Daniero Robiskie recovered it in the end zone for the Golden Tigers with 17 seconds left in the half. Anthony has been playing with a concussion and didn't realize what he had done until he reached the locker room.
Anthony said after the game that when he made the hit, all he saw was lights. Slater called the play a game-winning hit.
The Golden Tigers took a seemingly safe 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter after Barton scored his second touchdown on a 15-yard run at the 2:31 mark in the third period. They took 5:36 off the clock while driving 85 yards in 10 plays.
Kentucky State came back with a vengeance in the fourth quarter to tie the score once again. The Thorbreds drove 69 yards in five plays for their first touchdown of the period with 48 yards coming on four running plays. The final 21 yards came on Noland's scoring pass to Gordon.
Kentucky State tied the game with 13 seconds remaining in regulation on a three-yard pass from Noland to Robert Swapshire. Kentucky State got the ball when Stevin Williams intercepted a pass by Jeremy Williams in the end zone after the ball bounced off a receiver's hands. The Thorobreds proceeded to drive 80 yards for the tying touchdown. They twice kept the drive alive by converting on fourth down.
The Golden Tigers travel to Indianapolis Saturday to play Alabama A&M in the Circle City Classic in a non-conference game. The contest is a rematch of last year's Circle City Classic, won by the Golden Tigers 34-24. Alabama A&M is 3-1 and in first place in the SWAC Eastern Division.
