ATLANTA — The Central State Marauders were unable to keep pace with a potent Morehouse College offense in a 41-14 loss Sept. 15.
The loss drops the Marauders to 1-2 overall with a 0-1 ledger in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The Tigers of Morehouse stay undefeated on the year with a 3-0 mark and are now 1-0 in SIAC play.
CSU began the game on a high note when quarterback Trent Mays found Darius Meadors for a 65-yard hookup. Running back Jerry Lanier capped off the drive from one yard out to give the Marauders an early 7-0 lead.
Morehouse immediately responded on its next possession with an eight-play, 61-yard drive capped off by a Santo Dunn touchdown run to tie the game, 7-7, with 9:20 left in the first quarter. Towards the end of the quarter, it was the Morehouse defense that came up with a big play by intercepting a pass inside its own 10-yard line to keep the score tied up.
CSU’s issues in the red zone continued in the second quarter as passes were intercepted at the MC goal line on back-to-back drives. While CSU struggled to put points up on the B.T. Harvey Stadium scoreboard, Morehouse built its lead to double-digits, thanks to a 34-yard field goal by Fernando Sdelam and another touchdown run by Dunn, to end the half up, 17-7.
Dunn gave his team full momentum to start the second half with an 89-yard kickoff return for a score. Pinning the CSU offense back to its own 1-yard line and forcing a punt, the Tigers regained possession on the CSU 28-yard line. Quarterback Michael Sims scored three plays later with a 13-yard run to put his team up, 31-7.
CSU’s only score of the second half came on a 62-yard pass play from Mays to tight end Robert Corbin, Jr. with 9:45 remaining in the game. Morehouse tacked on one more score on a 24-yard pass from Sims to Amyr Smith at the 6:21 mark to further solidify the victory.
Leading the SIAC’s top scoring offense, Sims found nine different receivers while finishing the day completing 23 of 36 passes for 227 passes and a touchdown. Dunn finished the game with 73 rushing yards, 89 kick return yards and three scores.
Cornerback Mandall Ray led Morehouse’s defensive efforts with two interceptions and seven tackles.
Corbin Jr. highlighted CSU’s offensive performance with four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Devon Cunningham led the Marauder defense with nine tackles and one pass break up.
The Marauders will play next at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 against Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Ky. For more information on Central State University athletics, visit maraudersports.com .