PINE BLUFF -- Morehouse College's big-play ability was more than enough to ruin Cedric Thomas' head coaching debut for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Saturday night, but it was a defensive stand that cemented the victory.
Tigers' defensive back Ben Goins recovered a fumble with 19 seconds left to preserve NCAA Division II Morehouse's 34-30 victory in front of 5,734 at Simmons Bank Field.
The Tigers had four scoring plays of more than 31 yards and got big performances from running backs Santo Dunn and Frank Bailey.
Dunn carried 14 times for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Bailey ran 18 times for 106 yards for Morehouse (1-0). The victory atoned for last season's 23-10 loss to UAPB.
Quarterback Shannon Patrick completed 17 of 25 passes for 451 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first game for UAPB (0-1), which has lost eight games in a row dating back to last season but came within 3 yards of ending that skid.
With 1:08 left to play and no timeouts, the Golden Lions moved from their 49 to the Morehouse 3 with less than 30 seconds to play. UAPB ran the ball on two consecutive plays before Patrick fumbled after being hit hard from behind by defensive end William Callaway on third down. The ball was recovered by Goins, and the Tigers ran out the clock on their next snap.
"I'm proud of the kids because they fought their tails off," Thomas said. "There's some things we have to clean up, but we still put ourselves in position to win.
"
UAPB played without injured preseason all-SWAC running back KeShawn Williams, but got 109 yards rushing from backup Taeyler Porter. Wide receiver Josh Wilkes also had a big night with 7 catches for 244 yards and 2 scores.
But defensive lapses and missed tackles cost the Golden Lions.
"The personal fouls, paying attention to detail, those things we have to get better at," Thomas said. "You've got to stop people on defense, and I pride myself on that side of the ball. Missed tackling comes from fatigue, but we'll clean that stuff up."
The Golden Lions had a 67-yard touchdown run from Porter called back after their first snap because of a holding call.
Morehouse struck first behind a pair of big plays. The Tigers benefited from a 52-yard run from Bailey and a 29-yard pass from Quarterback Michael Sims to wide receiver Tremell Gooden before running back Ronald Bradley scored from a yard out with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers pushed their lead to 14 on their next series when Sims threw a backward pass to Gooden, who the found wide receiver Tamarick Vanover streaking down the right sideline for a 64-yard touchdown with 12:55 to go in the second quarter.
The teams exchanged touchdowns on five consecutive possessions, with Patrick getting things started with a 38-yard scoring toss to Wilkes with 8:05 remaining before halftime. Morehouse answered behind Sims, who threw a 57-yard touchdown to wide receiver Ryan Edwards with 2:16 showing. Porter scored on a 29-yard run less than a minute later for UAPB.
Dunn darted 77 yards for a score on the first play of the Tigers' next drive to push their lead to 28-14, but Patrick responded with an 11-yard touchdown to wide receiver Tyrin Ralph with 27 seconds left. The only negative during that stretch of scoring was a missed extra-point kick from UAPB's Jamie Gillan, which left the Golden Lions trailing 28-20 at the break.
Morehouse led 34-23 until Patrick's 77-yard touchdown pass to Wilkes got UAPB within four.
Sports on 09/02/2018