TUSKEGEE, Ala. | After 11 weeks of the season have been completed, records are thrown out and the top 28 teams suit up for the next five weeks to crown the 2015 NCAA Division II football champion.
And for the third consecutive season, the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers are part of the chase, and for the second time in three years they will hit the road for the opening round of the playoffs as they face Catawba College on Saturday afternoon.
Kick is set for 1 pm (est) in Salisbury (NC).
Tuskegee (8-2) enters the playoffs as the sixth-seed in Super Region 2, and will face Catawba (9-2) for the first time in school history. The Golden Tigers are the only team from the SIAC in the playoffs, while Catawba is one of three from the SAC – a conference in which the Indians were crowned champions.
The Golden Tigers enter the game after a week off, a week in which 10 players were selected for the SIAC All-Conference Team, led by Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year
Jewell Ratliff. The senior linebacker led the conference with 118 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four interceptions. He was joined on the First Team defense by redshirt sophomore safety Jonah McCutcheon, who led the team with six interceptions.
Meanwhile,
Darius Holmes – a BOXTOROW National Player of the Week earlier this season – was named co-Freshman of the Year by the Conference. Other defensive players who were honored by the conference included defensive linemen
Julian Morgan,
Daryl George and defensive back
Michael Robinson – all named Second Team all-conference.
The Golden Tigers are one of the nation's leading defensive teams, including being ranked in the top 10 nationally in several categories including defensive touchdowns (first), first downs defense (eighth), passes intercepted (fifth), red zone defense (third), scoring defense (eighth), team passing efficiency (second) and total defense (fifth).
They will be facing a Catawba offense that averages 334.6 yards of total offense, including 216.5 yards rushing. The Indians have a pair of runners who have combined for 1,680 yards. Cary Littlejohn leads the Indians with 976 yards on 189 carries, while Mike Sheehan has rushed for 704 yards on 147 carries and a team-high 12 touchdowns.
The Indians allow 326.9 yards of total offense, which the Golden Tigers can use as they average 326.3 yards per game and lead the SIAC in total offense and scoring at 30.3 points per game.
A pair of offensive linemen in
Leeward Brown and
Vincent Williams (second team) were named All-Conference, and paved the way for senior
Dennis Norfleet to earn second team honors with 528 yards rushing – including nearly 200 in the final two games of the season.
Senior receiver
Marquel Gardner will look to lead the Golden Tigers through the air with 22 receptions this season for 324 yards. He eclipsed the 100-receptions mark and 2000-yards mark this season as a senior. Junior tight end
Leo Gilbert leads the Golden Tigers with five touchdowns, while junior
Kevin Lacey has recorded 171 yards rushing with his 1,464 yards passing.
This is the first time since 2007 since Catawba has qualified for the playoffs, and the Indians are 5-6 overall in the postseason. Meanwhile, the Golden Tigers have qualified each year they have been eligible beginning in 2013.
The winner of the game will play the winner of second-seeded North Alabama and seventh-seeded Newberry next weekend.
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