Albany, Ga. - (October 24, 2009) - The Golden Tigers showed their championship mettle Saturday in their SIAC showdown with Albany State.

With 1:53 left in the game, the three-time defending conference champions were on the brink of a defeat that would have all but eliminated them from the title race. The three-time defending SIAC champions gathered themselves and drove 85 yards for a touchdown and defeated the Golden Rams 21-19 at Albany Municipal Coliseum in Albany, Ga.

Tailback Tony Forney scored the winning touchdown on a four-yard sweep around left end with 25 seconds remaining.

"This is by far the biggest win for me as head coach for a lot of reasons,'' Coach Willie Slater said. "It means we still have a chance to win the conference. It showed the kids we can come from behind. It has a lot of stuff with it. We've had to go through some things. We've gone through some growing pains. It showed we have grown; we have to keep it going.''

The victory was the Golden Tigers' fourth in a row against Albany State and leaves them and the Golden Rams tied for the SIAC lead with 6-1 conference records with Tuskegee holding the tie-breaker edge. The loss was the first of the season for Albany State in eight games.

If the Golden Tigers, 6-2 overall, win their remaining conference games at Lane and Stillman - their Homecoming opponent - they will win their fourth consecutive SIAC crown.

Albany State, the preseason pick to win the title, has conference games at home against Morehouse and against Fort Valley State in the Fountain City Classic in Columbus, Ga., remaining.

Lane (0-8, -0-7) and Stillman (3-4, 2-5) are the bottom two teams in the conference, and the Golden Tigers will be favored to win both games. But Slater said it is premature to start clearing space in the trophy case for the hardware that would accompany the Golden Tigers' 25th SIAC championship.

"We've got two games left,'' Slater said.  "We're in position (to win the championship). We kept ourselves in position. We haven't won it. That's for sure.''

The Golden Tigers can thank backup quarterback Joshua Harris for being on the verge of winning another championship. Harris alternated with redshirt freshman starter Jeremy Williams early in the game. But he played most of the fourth quarter after Albany State defensive back Mario Fuller knocked Williams out of the game with a bone-jarring open field tackle early in the quarter after Williams had scrambled for 29 yards.

With William on the sidelines with a bruised shoulder, Harris completed four of six passes for 70 yards on the winning drive and added 15 more yards on a scramble.

"Josh did a great job,'' Slater said. "He didn't miss any signals. He stepped it up. We needed that.''

Harris hooked up with wide receiver Wayne Williams for a pair of completions on the Golden Tigers' final possession. First he found Williams for 29 yards for a first down at Albany State's 29. He later connected with Williams for 17 yards to Albany State's four. Forney scored the winning touchdown on the next play.

Harris completed 10 of 20 passes for 120 yards and one touchdown - an 18-yard strike to Antoine Mitchell that put the Golden Tigers ahead 14-13 with 9:33 left in the game. 

Both teams gave ground grudgingly the entire game. The Golden Tigers averaged 4.5 yards a play, Albany State 3.9 in a game that typified how close the series between the two schools has been. They split the previous 37 meetings 18-18-1, and they are the only schools to win the conference titles this millennium. The Golden Tigers have captured five outright championships, Albany State three. The two shared the 2006 championship.

"I knew it was going to be a hard fought game,'' Slater said.  "They have a very good team. Their defense is outstanding. Their defense is the best we've faced since I've been here.''

The Golden Tigers weren't too shabby on defense, either. They yielded 240 yards of total offense while limiting Albany State to just 108 yards rushing.

Albany State entered the game averaging 163.4 rushing yards per game, third-best in the SIAC.  The Golden Rams used their big offensive line to push around the Golden Tigers on their possession. They drove 77 yards in eight plays - seven of which were runs. Their only pass was a 19-yard scoring strike from quarterback A. J. McKenna to wide receiver Ronnie Childs that put the Golden Rams ahead 7-0.  

The Golden Tigers responded with a two-yard touchdown run by John Pascley to tie the score at the half.  Juan Bongarra booted field goals 26 and 32 yards in the third quarter to give Albany State a 13-7 lead. The Golden Rams held the ball for 13:09 of the period, mostly because of McKenna's scrambling.

"We let him get out of the pocket,'' Slater said. "Once he got on the corner he picked us apart. He's a good player, a good athlete. He's strong, and he throws the ball good on the move. He wanted to get out on the corner. They tried to roll him, but when we pressured him he threw bad passes.''

McKenna completed 11 of 22 passes for 132 yards. However, the Golden Tigers intercepted him twice, once by safety Jeremy Obie in the third quarter and again by cornerback Justin Hannah in the final seconds to seal the victory.

Hannah's interception was his third in the last two games. He had two interceptions in the Golden Tigers' victory against Morehouse. He was named Heritage Sports Radio Network Defensive Player of the Week for that performance.

The game was played under a cloud of controversy as the Golden Tigers coaching staff was unable to use headsets to communicate during the contest. Normally, offensive and defensive assistants sit in the press box during games and relay information to coaches on the sidelines. However, the visiting coaches' press box space at Albany Municipal Coliseum was given to ESPN, which broadcasted the game live on the internet on ESPN360.com and on a taped delayed basis on ESPNU. Albany State officials provided an alternate location (covered tent) behind the bleachers on the visitors' side. However, the location had no electricity.

"I don't think that's very fair,'' Slater said. "That makes this win even sweeter. That made it tough for us, especially on the defensive side. You count on the press box to tell you when they are sending in different personnel and to identify sets and schemes. It's difficult to see that on the sidelines. But we didn't let that distract us.''