Turnovers plagued Tuskegee as Winston-Salem State came away with a 23-20 victory at Cleve Abbott Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Golden Tigers turned it over twice in the first half and once in the second, allowing the Rams to dominate time of possession plus 17 minutes.
WSSU got on the board first with a 27-yard field goal on its opening drive to lead 3-0. Skegee responded with a nine-play 30-yard drive capped off with a Arnes Huskic career-long 50-yard field goal, which tied the game 3-3 with 1:07 left in the second quarter
An 11-yard touchdown run by Domique Graves gave the Rams a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. WSSU would take its biggest lead of the game with 1:33 left before halftime when Quincy Jackson hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass from Graves, making the score 16-3.
The Golden Tigers would quickly respond putting together a four-play 54-yard drive that ended with Jamarcus Ezell connecting with LaDarrell Pettway on a 25-yard touchdown catch, to bring TU to within six. 16-10. The drive only took 1:01. Ezell completed 15-of-27 for 163 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also carried the eight times for 30 yards. Steven Hodges led the receiving corps with five catches for 64 yards. Davoris Thomas finished with nine tackles while Ricky Norris and Quindarius Coles had eight stops each.
On the opening drive of the third quarter stalled in the red zone, but ended in a Huskic 29-yard field goal, bringing TU to within three, 16-13. The Rams regained its 10 point cushion after a one-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.
TU would attempt to rally when Ramzy caught his only pass of the afternoon with a 33-yard pitch and catch from Ezell, making the score 23-20. The Golden Tigers came up with a huge stop on third down to force a punt, giving Skegee the ball back with 6:61 and a chance to tie or take the lead. The drive would end eight plays and 25 yards later without a score. The loss drops TU to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Courtesy: Tuskegee
