Columbus, Georgia - (October 10, 2009) - Golden Tigers cornerback Justin Hannah says he doesn't get more excited about playing Morehouse than he does any other opponent.
His play says otherwise.
Hannah intercepted two passes against the Maroon Tigers Saturday for the second consecutive season and propelled the Golden Tigers to a 30-16 victory in the 74th Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic at A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ga.
"It's not so much that I get excited for Morehouse,'' said Hannah, the game's MVP after sharing the award with Golden Tigers quarterback Jacary Atkinson last year. "You want to play as hard as you can and as fast as you can every game.''
Hannah returned his first interception of the game 26 yards for a touchdown that gave the Golden Tigers a 14-0 lead early in the second period. His second interception was a game-changer. Morehouse quarterback William Brack scored on a three-yard run with 6:13 left in the game and trimmed the Golden Tigers' lead to 21-16. Hannah intercepted Brack's pass on a two-point conversion attempt and returned it for two points for Golden Tigers.
"That was a three-point swing,'' Coach Willie Slater said. "It prevented them from being able to kick a field goal to tie the game. That was a huge swing. Hannah played a great game.''
John Pascley closed out the scoring for the Golden Tigers with a 17-yard touchdown run with 2:55 left in the game.
"That one helps,'' Slater said of the Golden Tigers victory. "They are one of the better teams in the conference. We're getting better every week. That's encouraging.''
The victory was the Golden Tigers' sixth in a row against Morehouse and the 13th in the last 16 games against the Maroon Tigers. It sets up an Oct. 24 showdown with SIAC leader Albany State, the unbeaten preseason favorite to win the championship, in Albany, Ga. The Golden Rams are 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference. The Golden Tigers are 5-2 and 4-1 and have a three-game winning streak against Albany State.
"It's a big game,'' Slater said. "But we can't approach it like a championship game. The game after them will be a big one, and the game after that one will be a big one. We've got a four-game season. We've got to go one week at a time and see if we can pull one out. All of them will be tough.''
The Golden Tigers' victory against Morehouse in all likelihood eliminated the Maroon Tigers from the SIAC race. Morehouse is 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the conference. No team has won the conference crown with more than one loss since 1991 when Alabama A&M, Clark Atlanta, Fort Valley State, Morehouse and Tuskegee all shared the crown with 5-2 conference records.
Slater said the most encouraging aspect of the victory against Morehouse was the Golden Tigers for the first time this season did not have a turnover.
"We didn't play well at times,'' he said, "and we're still doing dumb stuff. But we didn't turn the ball over. I credit the assistant coaches for not putting the quarterback in situations to turn the ball over.''
The Golden Tigers' offense didn't have one of its more productive games as it generated 270 yards. However, their defense was superb in limiting Morehouse to just 216 yards - 7 rushing and 209 passing - and forcing four turnovers. The Golden Tigers also had three quarterback sacks.
"Coach (Reginald) Ruffin (the Golden Tigers' defensive coordinator) got on us real good,'' Hannah said. "He told us ‘don't depend on offense; don't depend on the defense to win the game. Go out there and win game. Be the person to a make touchdown; be the person to make a sack.' He challenged us to be the person to make things happened. We accepted that challenge and played our hearts out.''
Slater the Golden Tigers' kicking game played a critical role in the victory, too. Punter Chris Khan averaged 41.4 yards on eight kicks, and he had three punts inside the 20-yard line.
"We were making them go a long way. That always helps,'' Slater said, adding that according to his statistical study, the odds of teams scoring when they start inside their 20 are one in 30 when they start beyond their 20, those odds change to one in eight.‘'
The Golden Tigers have an open date before facing Albany State. Slater said run blocking and the passing game will be points of emphasis during the off week.
Quarterback Jeremy Williams completed 12 of 26 passes for 85 yards, and the running game averaged 3.9 yards on 44 rushing attempts.
"We still have got to work with run blocking,'' he said. "We've got a ways to go. And we will spend a lot of time trying to get better on throwing and catching the ball.''
