By: FVSU Office of Sports Information
In Saturday's 22nd Annual Fountain City Classic between the Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) and the Golden Rams of Albany State University (ASU), the game carried with it the usual bragging rights which would flow to the winner of the annual clash. Held in A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Georgia, this year's classic also had the added element of a conference divisional championship hanging in the balance. A win by ASU (7-2) would give them the inaugural East Division Title of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and a berth in the SIAC Championship Game.
With a 2-7 record entering the game, the Wildcats were reduced to the role of “spoiler” in Saturday's match up. In the first half of the game, the role of “spoiler” appeared to be a part that the Wildcats were all too willing to play.
Mid-way through the first quarter, FVSU got the game's first score after Courtney Daniel sacked ASU's quarterback Stanley Jennings who fumbled the football. Sophomore defensive back Calvin Jackson recovered the fumble for the Wildcats and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown. After the extra point kick by Justin Rosenbaum, FVSU took a 7-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, the Wildcats expanded their after a 20 yard punt by ASU's punter gave FVSU great field position to start their drive. It took the Wildcats just 43 seconds and three plays to cover 43 yards which was capped by a one yard touchdown run by senior running back Aaron Courtney. Rosenbaum's point after touchdown kick pushed the FVSU lead to 14-0.
The early Wildcat lead was a surprise to most of the 21,953 fans attending the classic. That surprise, however, would gradually give way to the expected. Two scores by the Golden Rams cut the FVSU lead to 14-10 at halftime. A 12 yard touchdown run by Adrian Alexander and a 22 yard field goal by Brandon Hamilton accounted for the reduced Wildcat lead at the intermission.
After the halftime break, momentum shifted completely in the direction of ASU. Two third quarter scores shifted the lead to the Golden Rams for the first time in the game. The lead change took place after Alexander broke free on a 69 yard touchdown run with 10:12 remaining in the quarter. With the converted field goal, ASU led 17-14. Almost two minutes later, the ASU lead increased to 23-14 after Jennings connected with Darius Nelson on a four yard touchdown pass.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the ASU lead was pushed to 26-14 after a nine play, 68 yard drive stalled. However, Hamilton converted on his second 22 yard field goal of the game to ensure that the Golden Rams did not come away without a score.
Trailing now by 12 points, the Wildcats were in desperate need of a score. They got it on a six yard touchdown pass from quarterback Antonio Henton to wide receiver Terrell Walker. With the converted extra point by Rosenbaum, FVSU only trailed 26-21.
The five point deficit would be as close as the Wildcats would get. With three minutes left in the game, the Golden Rams padded their lead on a 24 yard touchdown pass from Jennings to Ronnie Tubbs. That was followed by Alexander's third touchdown of the game when he scored on a 15 yard run.
With the Golden Rams leading 38-21, the Wildcats, although too little too late, scored with less than one minute left in the game on a six yard pass from Henton to wide receiver Christopher Slaughter. With a final score of 38-29, the Golden Rams won the annual clash and claimed the East Division Title.
Freshman running back Travis Richmond led the Wildcats on offense with 104 yards on 15 carries. For the game, he averaged 6.9 yards per carry. Defensively, senior Courtney Daniel was the highlight for FVSU with a game-high 19 tackles. Daniel also finished with one tackle for loss; one forced fumble; and one quarterback sack. For his effort, Daniel was named Fountain City Classic Defensive Player of the Game.
The Wildcats finished the season with a 2-8 record. To view the team's cumulative and individual statistics, please visit www.fvsusports.com, click on football and then click on statistics.
-Wildcats Athletics-
