September 19, 2009
Wildcats win critical game, remain in SIAC title hunt
By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
Although it was only the fourth game of the 2009 season, a loss by the Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) to the Dragons of Lane College in Saturday's game would have surely crippled the Wildcats' chances of securing an Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) title for first year head coach Donald Pittman. After a 53-20 win over the Dragons, the possibility of a crown remains intact.
Facing a Dragon team that was winless (0-2) entering the contest, the challenge for the Wildcats was to remain focused, not overlook Lane College, and play a solid game. For the most part, the Wildcats did all three.
With almost 500 yards of total offense for the game, the Wildcats were able to turn away the feisty challenge from a team that was near the bottom in almost every statistical category maintained by the conference. The impressive showing by the Wildcat offense was highlighted by the 339 yards FVSU accumulated through the pass. The quarterback tandem of Nathaniel Samas and Terrance Ransom completed 19 of 38 passes for 339 yards. While most of those completions were credited to Samas (15 of 29 for 263 yards), the duo threw passes to four different receivers to reach the overall total.
The game's marquee receiver was junior tight end Rodriquez Render. Normally Render shares his duties with the senior Jerel Hall. While an injury sidelined Hall for Saturday's game, Render showed that he was more than capable of manning the position in his teammate's absence. Render finished the night with seven receptions totaling 102 yards.
In addition to Render's seven catch performance, An'thon Harris finished with four receptions for 94 yards with a pair of touchdowns, 14 and 25 yards respectively. The junior Phillip Sterling caught three passes for 45 yards and the versatile running back Richard Willis added three receptions to go along with his 70-yard rushing performance. Willis' two touchdowns came on runs of one and four yards.
The 479 yards of total offense would not have been possible without the solid blocking performance of the entire FVSU offensive line of Christopher Spivey, Fednel Fleurenat, Collin Cordell, Trevonn Williams, Nicolas Mobley, and other role players.
On the other side of the ball, FVSU entered the game tied for first place in the SIAC for total team defense. For most of the game, the Wildcats showed exactly why they were ranked so high. In spite of two Dragon runs of over 60 yards and two passes of 40 yards or more, the Wildcats managed to hold the Dragons to 293 total yards. Along with the return of emotional leader Trent Newton, the Wildcat defense was sparked by the play of defensive end Alex Cook, nose guard Sergio Pengel and linebacker Reginald Goodrum. The secondary play was punctuated by the coverage of senior cornerback Dionte Dinkins.
The Wildcat win keeps them in contention for the 2009 conference title. Now at 2-2 overall and 2-2 in SIAC play, two things are necessary for the Wildcats to hoist the conference trophy at season's end. First, the Wildcats have to win the remaining conference games on their schedule. Second, they will have to depend on favorable outcomes of games involving other conference teams. And while the Wildcats would much rather put their title fate into their own hands, in this first season under a new regime, they will take a title any way they can get it.
The Wildcats are back in gridiron action on Saturday, September 26th at 2:30 p.m. when they meet the Tigers of Edward Waters College in the Stan Lomax Gold Coast Classic in Brunswick, Ga.
