Indianapolis, IN (October 4, 2008) - The Golden Tigers parlayed several timely defensive stops with All-American quarterback Jacary Atkinson's nifty running Saturday to defeat Alabama A&M 34-24 in front of an announced crowd of 47,273 in the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis.
The victory extended the Golden Tigers' winning streak to 21 consecutive games, the second-longest in school history, and should allow them to hold on to their No.1 ranking among history black colleges and universities with a 5-0 record.
"We did enough to outscore them,'' Coach Willie Slater said. "I guess that's all you can ask of the kids.''
Atkinson rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns against the Bulldogs, who left the SIAC in 1998 and now play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The senior from Valley, Ala., had five rushes of 10 yards or, including a 38-yard touchdown run on the Golden Tigers' first possession that capped a three-play, 68-yard drive and gave them a 7-0 lead.
Atkinson also had a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, on which he dragged a defender into the end zone, as the Golden Tigers went ahead 20-10.
"He's a very elusive runner,'' Slater said. "To me that's the edge. Most defenses don't account for quarterback. On all the great teams I've been around the X-factor was the quarterback's ability to run. Once you get him in the secondary, it's hard to get him down.''
Atkinson's rushing total was the sixth highest in the 25-year history of the Circle City Classic. He also tossed a 14-yard first-quarter touchdown pass to Jason English that extended Tuskegee's lead to 13-0. Atkinson kept that drive alive with a 36-yard run to Alabama A&M's 15-yard line.
The Golden Tigers' defense twice turned Alabama A&M away without a touchdown after the Bulldogs were in the shadow of their goal line.
They held Alabama A&M (2-4) to a third-quarter field goal that made the score 13-10 after the Bulldogs had the ball first and goal at the one-yard line. They also stopped Alabama A&M on the Tuskegee four on the Bulldogs' last possession of the game.
"Those were timely plays,'' Slater said.
The Golden Tigers also forced Alabama A&M to turn the ball over on downs when they held on fourth-and-1 at the Tuskegee 48 with 9:24 left in the third quarter.
The Golden Tigers went away from their usual modus operandi against Alabama A&M. They outscored their opponents 95-10 in the first half of their previous four games. However, they only led the Bulldogs 13-7 after two quarters before scoring three times in the fourth quarter to pull the game out.
"My play calling left a little to be desired in the third quarter,'' Slater said. "We tried to give them formations and see how they were going to react. We tried to force the ball down the field. We changed strategy and ran the ball outside.''
The change in strategy worked as Forney rushed for 73 yards on just 13 carries and John Pascley add 64 on seven carries. Pascley's touchdown 52-yard run with left in the game sealed the victory after Alabama A&M pulled to within 27-24.
"I thought they played hard the whole game,'' Slater said. "Our practices are geared to winning the fourth quarter and close games.''
The Golden Tigers return to SIAC action Saturday when they face Morehouse in Columbus, Ga. The Maroon Tigers are 3-1 in the conference and 3-2 overall.
"Every one of them now is a big game for us,'' Slater said. "Morehouse is a good team. We know we will have our work cut out for us.''
This will be the 98th times the schools have played. The Golden Tigers lead the series 63-27-7. They have won 11 of the previous 15 contests and the last four in a row.
