JCSU Football Nipped by Morehouse, 37-35
The Golden Bulls defense set up their first touchdown when Carlo Thomas(East Orange, N.J.) picked off a Monquavious John pass at the 50, returning it 37 yards to the Morehouse 13 yard-line. Two plays later, JCSU’s Tromecio Summers (Charlotte, N.C.) punched it in from five yards out. The point-after from Erik Amaya (Kannapolis, N.C. put the Golden Bulls up 7-0 at the 5:39 mark of the first quarter.
The Golden Bulls went up 14-0 following a seven play, 61 yard drive capped by a 25-yard over-the-shoulder reception by Fred Sott. Scott beat his defender with a double move and hauled in the floating pass.
Morehouse was able to get on the board late in the first quarter when John connected with Don Cox for a 10 yard strike in the back of the end zone to make it 14-7 with just 1:14 left before halftime. JCSU could not generate any more points and punted to the Morehouse 28. Morehouse would rush for five yards and took the 14-7 lead into halftime.
The Morehouse defense forced an interception that eventually led to Martin’s second touchdown grab of the game, this time from 20 yards out to extend the Maroon Tiger lead to 26-14.
The Golden Bulls answered to make it 26-21 thanks to a six-play, 72 yard drive capped by a 30-yard Steve Reneau (Rialto, Ca.) touchdown reception on a well -executed screen pass . On the kickoff Morehouse extended the lead to 34-21 following a 100 yard kickoff return from Amyr Smith. The two-point conversion attempt was good, making it 34-21 Morehouse at the end of the third quarter.
JCSU would then embark on an 11 play, 75 yard drive to start the fourth quarter that ended on a three-yard bootleg from freshman Harold Herbin (Fayetteville, N.C.) on a fourth and goal play. Amaya’s extra point drew JCSU closer at 34-28 with 10:30 left.
The JCSU defense then limited Morehouse to a 20 yard field goal by Alexis Gonzales to make it 37-28 with 5:16 left. On the next JCSU possession, the Golden Bulls marched 83 yards in 11 plays to cut the lead to 37-35 thanks to a Fred Scott (Stone Mountain, Ga.) three yard scoring grab to pull within 37-35 with 3:12 left.
Morehouse was then forced to punt on a fourth and 13 but JCSU was flagged on a questionable roughing the kicker penalty, giving Morehouse a fresh set of downs. The Maroon Tigers were then able to melt the clock, thwarting the JCSU comeback and preserving the 37-35 win.
Offensively, freshman running back Desean Binyard (Winston-Salem, N.C.) carried 14 times for 78 yards while Herbin rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Tromecio Summers scored a touchdown and had 16 yards on five carries.
Fred Scott paced the JCSU receivers, hauling in seven catches for 108 yards and two scores while Eugene Holmes had five catches for 67 yards. Steve Reneau caught one pass, good for 30 yards and his first career touchdown.
Harold Herbin finished 22-for-40 for 274 yards and three touchdowns, throwing two interceptions on the evening.
Defensively, Austin Jacques (Springdale, Md.) anchored the JCSU defense, collecting 10 tackles on the night, including a sack, two and one-half tackles-for-loss and one quarterback hurry. Basir Wright (Douglasville, Ga.), Travon Leake-Anderson (Richmond, Va.) and Keith Darnell (Jonesboro, Ga.) each finished with six tackles each. Carlo Thomas continued his solid play, by collecting his third interception of the season. Thomas also had three stops and two pass breakups on the night.
JCSU plays in its third-straight road game next Saturday as it starts CIAA play at Virginia Union. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Hovey Field in Richmond, Va.