Wildcats Make Longest Trip of Season, Aim to Get Back on Track Against Marauders

10/5/2022 11:24:00 PM

By: Chris Myers

FORT VALLEY, Ga. – For the second time in three weeks, the Wildcats head far to the north for the weekend. Fort Valley State aims to get back on track Saturday afternoon and spoil Central State's Homecoming in southeastern Ohio.

The Wildcats and Marauders different fortunes from a week ago heading into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference members 13^th meeting in the series. The two league foes will kick-off the action at McPherson Stadium starting at 1 p.m.

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FVSU at Central State
McPherson Stadium, Wilberforce, Ohio
Sat., Oct. 8, 1 p.m.
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FVSU vs. Central State – 13th Meeting
     It has been a progressively an even series and a series of streaks between FVSU and Central State in the first dozen times on the gridiron across from each other.
     Overall, on the strength of four-straight victories, the Wildcats have tied the series, 6-6.
      Last season in Fort Valley, FVSU used four first-half touchdowns to win the first game played on Wildcat Stadium's new field turf.
     Central State last win of its six in a row of the series came in 1992 in a 33-0 shutout.
      12 Series Scores:
     2021 – at FVSU 35, CSU 14
     2019 – FVSU 77, at CSU 34
      2017 – FVSU 24, at CSU 19
      2016 – at FVSU 30, CSU 28
      1992 – CSU 33, FVSU 0
      1989 – CSU 36, FVSU 18
      1988 – CSU 21, FVSU 7
      1987 – CSU 23, FVSU 8
      1985 – CSU 14, FVSU 7
      1984 – CSU 27, FVSU 20
      1973 – FVSU 28, CSU 17
      1972 – FVSU 70, CSU 6

Former Coach Porter Faces FVSU for 1^st Time
     Fort Valley State's last SIAC title and two trips to the SIAC title game came under the now Head Football Coach of Central State Kevin Porter.
     The Warner Robins, Ga., native directed FVSU to the SIAC crown in 2016 and the host and runnerup in 2017. He directed the Wildcats for a third year in 2018 and finished with a 12-19 record.
     In fact, four other Central State coaches are former FVSU coaches in Associate Head Coach Michael Ervin, Offensive Coordinator Buddy Blevins, Quarterbacks Coach Michael Whitley and Running Back Coach Anthony Armstrong.

Wildcats Explode in 2019 in Wilberforce, Ohio
     After trailing 14-9 with one quarter in the books, FVSU exploded for 68 points in the final three periods on Central State's home field in the October 12, 2019 meeting.
      Down by the five points, the Wildcats offense scored twice, before identical 68-yard fumble recovery returns for touchdowns in the final 3:22 of the first half and pushed them ahead 37-20 at intermission. FVSU added five more second-half scores and a field goal of a 40-14 second half, before the 77-34 final.
      The two teams combined for 1,115 yards of total offense with the Wildcats accounting for 592 yards, 482 passing. The 2019 SIAC Offensive Player of the Year Slade Jarman passed for 386 yards on 33 of 48 attempts with 4 touchdowns including a two-yard rushing score to top it off. He completed passes to 11 different receivers.
      Central State rushed for 316 yards of its 523 total yards.

Last FVSU-Central State Meeting in 2021 at Wildcat Stadium
     Fort Valley State rode four first-half touchdowns on its way to tackling Central State, 35-14, in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saturday football action.
      Emmanuel Wilson rushed in for the opening score from nine yards midway through the first quarter of his game-best 164-yard afternoon. Tyrell Jackson fired scoring passes to Erron Price (56 yards) and a pair to Tajee Steele of six and 65 yards over the final 19:45 of the first half and a 28-0 lead by the half the Wildcats (4-2/2-0 SIAC East) enjoyed.
     Central State (1-5/0-2 SIAC West) did cut the margin in half, 28-14, with two scores and the second coming with 5:28 left in the contest. FVSU, though, did not blink and ran off a 5:04 drive culminating in a four-yard Marlon Fleming scoring burst to cap the victorious day on the first game played on the new field turf surface.
      The Wildcats offensive unit showcased a balanced attack with 455 yards of total offense with 277 through the air and 178 on the ground. Wilson accounted for 164 yards of that rushing total on 27 totes and the nine-yard touchdown. Jackson completed 13 of 22 passes for his 277 yards and three scores. For the second-straight week, Steele surpassed the 100-yard mark with an even 100 yards on four grabs and the two touchdowns. Price pulled in two passes for 74 yards and the long 56-yard touchdown, while Cordell Pimienta added four catches for 60 yards.
      The top-rated SIAC rushing defense showed up on Saturday. FVSU held Central State to only seven net yards on 32 carries with 12 of the rushes resulting in tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Marauders did pass for 354 yards. Solomon Moseley led FVSU with seven tackles and a sack. Tyler Moore added another highlight play with another blocked punt to his credit to go with six stops, while Deon Andrews added six tackles of his own and a pass breakup. Antonio Golden chipped in 2.5 tackles for loss with both Zaquan Baldwin and Caleb Thomas posted 1.5 tackles for loss apiece. Keon Bogan snatched the lone FVSU interception.

FVSU Comes off Tough Day vs. Benedict College
     For only the second time since 2008 and snapping a two-game streak, FVSU fell short at Homecoming in The Valley versus Benedict College. In a battle of the SIAC Unbeatens, Benedict College pounced on Fort Valley State with scoring drives on its opening two possessions and prevailed, 45-13
     On the opening offensive play, the Tigers (5-0/3-0 SIAC East) used a halfback sweep pass gadget play for 32 yards and it spelled the type of day it would be for both teams in opposite ways. Benedict quarterback Eric Phoenix fired scoring passes of 16 and nine yards for an early 13-0 lead and extended a 20-6 halftime advantage with 20 unanswered tallies in the third quarter for the victory over FVSU (4-1/1-1 SIAC East).
     After the first two Tigers scores, the Wildcats put together a long 83-yard drive with running back Emanuel Wilson providing the driving force with runs of 19 and 25 yards on back-to-back rushes. Troy Dendy capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown burst to cut the score to 13-6, but the home team would get no closer from there.
     FVSU proved to have a tough time against Benedict on both sides of the ball Saturday. The Tigers outgained the Wildcats, 473 to 207 yards. FVSU also committed three turnovers which Benedict scored 14 points off them and suffered two quarterback sacks.
     Wilson was the offensive bright spot as the SIAC's leading rusher rumbled for 108 yards on 20 carries.
     Dialo Mosley paced the home defense with 13 tackles with 2.5 stops for a loss. Landon Austin chipped in 11 tackles and a pass breakup and Tyler Moore added 10 tackles, a tackle for loss and two breakups.

Central State Scored Late to Edge Past Allen
     Central State came back from an early 13-point deficit and scored late to secure a 35-32 road win over Allen on last Saturday night.
     Falling behind 13-0 by the end of the first quarter, the Marauders battled back two score two touchdowns in the second quarter to claim the lead. On CSU's first touchdown drive, the Marauders took advantage of a misguided Allen punt that gave the ball to CSU at the Yellowjackets 28-yard line. Runs by Kaz Dina and Kendall Boney moved the ball down to the 10-yard line. Making his first start of the season at quarterback, Boney finished the drive with a 10-yard pass to Brandon Brock with 4:53 left in the half. AU gave the ball back to CSU at the Marauder 43-yard line after a failed fourth down conversion. After a pass from Boney to Brock, Dina broke loose and rushed for a 44-yard score as the Marauders took a 14-13 lead into halftime.
     CSU looked poise to take control early in the third quarter before a Boney pass was intercepted and returned 84-yards for a score by Allen's Kevin Graham. On the next possession, Boney was taken out of the game after taking a hit while scrambling out of the pocket. With backup Brandon Kyles under center, CSU completed pass plays of 17 yards, 10 yards and 21 yards to march down the field before Kyles ran for a one-yard touchdown to give the lead back to the Marauders, 21-20.
     Allen threatened to retake the lead on its next possession. With the ball on the CSU five-yard line, AU opted to go for the touchdown on fourth down. CSU linebacker Jalil Lenore ran down quarterback Michael Reese to keep AU out of the end zone and gave the ball back to CSU. With challenging field positioning, the CSU offense failed to move the ball and eventually fumbled on a Kyles rushing attempt. AU recovered the loose ball on the 28-yard line and scored four plays later to take a 26-21 lead with 12:06 remaining.
     Down by five, Boney returned to the game for the Marauders and completed a 33-yard pass to Micah Lowe. Later in the drive, Boney found EJ Wash threw the air for a 19-yard touchdown as CSU went up 28-26 with 10:49 left in the game.
     Having already experienced issues with long snapping throughout the first four weeks of the season, the Marauders made another miscue on the center to quarterback exchange as a bad snap went off Boney's hands and into the end zone. AU pounced on the ball in the end zone to take a 32-28 lead with 5:33 to go.
     In what would end up to be their final possession of the night, the Marauders methodically moved the ball down the field. Boney completed his first three passes of the drive and scrambled for an 11-yard gain down to the AU 12-yard line. With nine seconds left to play, Boney scrambled and flicked the ball to Dina who made two defenders miss and scored with two seconds showing on the game clock to seal the victory for the Marauders.

Wildcats Moves to No. 5 Spot in HBCU D2 Coaches Poll
          Following a tough weekend, the Wildcats stayed solidly in the ranks. The Fort Valley State football team moved to No. 5 in the HBCU D2 Coaches Poll sponsored by BOXTOROW Sports.
     Despite falling for the first time this fall last Saturday to No. 3 Benedict College, FVSU went down to 110 points and dropped one spot from No. 4 last week, still third highest of any Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference members.

2022 HBCU Division II Coaches Poll powered by BOXTOROW
Week 5
(Records through October 2, 2022)

No.	Team	W-L	Pts	Last Week
1	Virginia Union (21)	5-0	227	1
2	Albany State (1)	4-1	197	2
3	Benedict (2)	5-0	191	3
4	Virginia State	4-1	135	5
5	Fort Valley State	4-1	110	4
6	Bowie State	3-2	108	6
7	Lane	3-2	95	9
8	Fayetteville State	3-2	87	7
9	Tuskegee	3-2	29	NR
10	West Virginia State	3-2	26	NR

Others receiving votes: Shaw (2-3) 18, Savannah State (2-3) 12, Bluefield State (3-2) 8, Chowan (2-3) 4, Lincoln (Pa.) (2-2) 2, Miles (1-4) 2, Johnson C. Smith (1-3) 1.
(1st place votes in parentheses)

Wildcats vs. Marauders – SIAC Ranks
     FVSU                                 Category                                CSU
       4^th (23.2 ppg)                   Scoring Offense                     2nd (26.8 ppg)
       10^th(22.4 ppg)                  Scoring Defense 13th (28.0 ppg)

       6th (338.6 yds/gm)          Total Offense                          9th (309.2 yds/gm)
       5^th (171.6 yds/gm)           Rush Offense                         13^th (48.6 yds/gm)
       7^th (167.0 yds/gm)           Pass Offense                          2nd (260.8 yds/gm)

     4th (315.6 yds/gm)          Total Defense                         7th (331.6 yds/gm)
       2nd (121.2 yds/gm)         Rush Defense                         5^th (145.6 yds/gm)
       8^th (194.4 yds/gm)           Pass Defense                         6th (186.0 yds/gm)

       6^th (+1)                             Turnover Margin                     12th (-6)

Individuals
Rushing
1^st - Emanuel Wilson (FVSU) -- 130.0 yds/gm
Passing
2^nd – Brandon Kyles (CSU) – 204.4 yds/gm
4^th – Kelvin Durham (FVSU) -- 167.0 yds/gm
Receptions/Game
3^rd – Twon Hines (CSU) -- 5.8
7^th – Brandon Brek (CSU) – 4.6
8^th – Kaz Dina (CSU) – 4.3
Receiving Yards/Game
1^st – Hines (CSU) – 93.4
4^th - Corintheus Edmonds (FVSU) -- 70.2 yds/gm
Scoring TDs
2nd – Wilson (FVSU) -- 6.0 ppg
Scoring Kicking
2nd – Rodney Williams (FVSU) -- 5.2 ppg
4^th – Jose Chaives (CSU) – 3.6 ppg
Tackles
1^st – Jalil Lenore (CSU) -- 11.8
3^rd – Mike White (CSU) -- 8.5
11^th – Tyler Moore (FVSU) -- 7.2
Sacks
2^nd – Tim Alderman (FVSU) -- 4.0
4^th – White (CSU) -- 3.0
6^th – Kailen Abrams (CSU) -- 2.5
Tackles for Loss
2^nd – White (CSU) -- 7.5
4^th – Alderman (FVSU) -- 6.5
6^th – Abrams (CSU) -- 5.0

Wildcats Return to Wildcat Stadium for Senior Day Next Weekend
     The Wildcats return to The Valley for their final home game of the 2022 season. FVSU welcomes Morehouse College for Senior Day in a 2 p.m. kick-off on Saturday, Oct. 15.

-Wildcats-

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Wildcats Make Longest Trip of Season, Aim to Get Back on Track Against Marauders