The Benedict Tigers kept its unbeaten record intact with an 48-6 win over the Fort Valley State Wildcats on Thursday night in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.
The Tigers improved to 7-0 on the season with the win (5-0 against the SIAC) and advanced their regular season win streak to 19 games.
Meanwhile, Fort Valley State suffered its first official conference loss of the year, dropping to 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the SIAC.
After surrendering a field goal to the Wildcats on their opening offensive possession, Benedict immediately went to work.
Fort Valley State was simply overmatched and unable to stop Benedict’s big plays on defense and offense.
Benedict quarterback Aeneas Dennis took advantage of breakdowns in coverage by the Fort Valley State secondary connecting on big passing plays downfield that were wide open.
Wildcats running back Brandon Marshall did all he could to give his team a chance to win. He broke for big runs when his team needed it and even preventing a potential Benedict touchdown on a fumble recovery that resulted in a touchback.
However, Fort Valley State quarterback Kelvin Durham was unable to make a significant impact as he was unable to handle the pressure of the Benedict pass rush.
Benedict will look to inch closer to its second straight SIAC championship berth on Oct. 21 when they return to the field to face the Kentucky State Thorobreds.
Fort Valley State will look to keep its hopes alive when they play a homecoming contest against the Morehouse Maroon Tigers.
