TUSKEGEE, Ala. – Tuskegee forced five turnovers against Clark Atlanta in its home opener from Cleve Abbott Memorial Stadium as the Golden Tigers came away with a 30-16 win Saturday afternoon. Linebackers Davoris Thomas and Osband Thompson were both involved in two of the five turnovers with Thomas forcing two and Thomas recovering them both.
The win for Tuskegee (2-1,1-0) marked the first victory in Southern Intercollegiate Conference (SIAC) play of the season and handed Clark Atlanta (2-1, 1-0) its first overall loss.
Sophomore quarterback Ahmad Deramus was given the starting nod after Jamarcus Ezell was ruled out due to injury. The Gadsden, Ala. native completed six of his 12 passes for 124 yards and one interception. His longest pass was a 61-yard completion to Javarrius Cheatham who finished with 94 receiving yards on the day.
Defensively, the Golden Tigers produced another dominant performance and it did not take long for them to pick up where they had left off from the first two weeks. Darnell Hill returned a 47-yard interception for a touchdown with only 1:20 seconds into the game putting TU ahead 7-0. Two minutes later, CAU snapped the ball over its punter’s head causing a safety making the score 9-0. Eric Bright Jr. extended TU’s lead to 23-13 in the second quarter which was also the score at halftime.
CAU enter Saturday’s game averaging over 50 points per game, but Tuskegee was able to hold them to 34 points below that average. The Golden Tigers only gave up 213 yards of total offense including 58 yards rushing. Thompson led the way with another double-digit tackling effort earning 11, three tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, one pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Thomas was just as impressive totaling 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and two forced fumbles.
Both teams played a scoreless third quarter until the Golden Tigers put the game away on a Marquez Burdett 15 yard touchdown run making the score 30-16
The defeat last Saturday against Albany State had no bearing on league standings as it was not considered a countable game. The Division Champion is determined by a six-game conference schedule. If a school plays more than two-cross over games, only the last two count towards the divisional record.
Tuskegee faces the University of Findlay next Saturday with a kick time that starts at 1 p.m. EDT.
Courtesy: Tuskegee Athletics
