CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Wildcats led for three quarters and clawed their way until the last play Saturday night. Fort Valley State showed its prowess and pushed No. 24 Delta State to the limit before the home team escaped with a 27-24 football victory.
After FVSU tied the game with four minutes left, Delta State quickly drove 73 yards five plays to the visiting 5-yardline. The Wildcat defense stiffened and held the Statesman to a 22-yard field goal with 1:16 remaining. FVSU took over for one last chance to retie the contest, but it fell short ending the upset bid.
The late tie and potential Wildcat comeback was setup by the special teams. With the fourth quarter ticking away down behind a touchdown, the Wildcat special teams blocked a punt for the second week in a row this time by Omarion LaRoach and Brandon Marshall pushed his way into the end zone six plays later from a yard out for a 24-24 tie with 4:07 left.
On the night, Delta State (3-1) outgained FVSU, 413 to 293 yards. The Wildcats (1-2) had one more tackle for loss, six to five, and both blocked one kick – the Statesmen a field goal and the visitors a punt.
Marshall led the offensive effort with 28 touches of the football for 135 total yards and two scores. He rushed for 70 yards on 24 totes with the one-yard plunge and grabbed four passes for 65 yards, including a 28-yard scoring pass.
Kelvin Durham connected on 16 of 34 pass attempts for 217 yards with two touchdowns and one interception on the desperation pass on the game's final play.
Za'Tarious Anderson, who had a 15-yard touchdown catch as the game's first points, and Jamie Hampton both pulled in four passes for 65 yards apiece. DeJuan Bell added two passes for 20 yards.
Defensively, the Wildcat defense spread out the stats. Kentrell Lawson paced the effort with eight tackles with one for a loss. Jaquan Jackson posted six stops and Jaydn Walker had five with a tackle for loss. The other four FVSU tackles for loss belonged to Kamari Blankumsee, Josh Burney, Cedric Hillsman and Marquis Hood.
Delta State's quarterback Cole Kirk passed 39 times and completed 24 of them for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
The Wildcats started fast and set the game's tone on the first possession of the game. On the second offensive play, Durham hit Hampton for a 42-yard strike to the home 15-yardline. Durham faked a pass and fired it to a diving Anderson in the endzone from 15 yards away and a 7-0 lead only one-minute into the night.
Delta State answered with an equally impressive first drive. The Statesmen drove 62 yards and tied it at 7-7.
FVSU retook the advantage in the early second quarter when Daniel Gibbs booted a 36-yard field goal and a 10-7 score at 13:26.
After back-to-back Marshall runs of 23 and 18 yards, Durham found his running back down the right sideline and he raced the rest of the 28 yards for the second FVSU touchdown and 17-7 lead at 6:12.
Delta State chipped in a 26-yard field goal with 27 seconds before the half for a 17-10 intermission score.
FVSU continues its 3-game road swing on the east coast of Georgia. The Wildcats take on the Tigers of Savannah State next Saturday evening, Sept. 28, in a 6 p.m. kick-off.
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