TUSKEGEE, Ala. | After struggling for the first 59 minutes of the contest Saturday afternoon against Kentucky State University, the fifth-ranked Golden Tigers of Tuskegee University gave themselves an opportunity to win in the final seconds of the game.
 
With no timeouts remaining and just 70 seconds left on the clock, senior Desmond Reece returned a punt 25 yards inside the Kentucky State 20 and a personal foul penalty gave the Golden Tigers the ball inside the 10. Following a pair of running plays that got the ball to the three, Tuskegee spiked the ball to set up the attempt at a winning field goal.
 
However, Kentucky State was able to break through the line and block the kick and hand the fifth-ranked Golden Tigers their first loss of the year, 10-9 at homecoming inside Cleve L. Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium on Saturday.
 
The loss ends the chances of Tuskegee (6-1, 1-1 SIAC West) claiming the SIAC West Division championship, as Kentucky State (4-4, 3-0 SIAC West) wins their first division championship and advances to the SIAC Championship Game in November.
 
The Golden Tigers now must sit and wait for the regional rankings to come out Monday to see where they stand through the first eight weeks of the season, and with two games remaining on the schedule have some work to do to get into the NCAA Division II playoffs.
 
After a sluggish first half in which the Golden Tigers took a 3-0 lead on a 26-yard Hall field goal, Kentucky State came back and took the halftime lead 7-3 on a muffed punt by John Pecaro. The freshman had the snap go through his hands and hit off of his facemask, leading to a Kentucky State nine-yard drive that gave the Thorobreds the halftime lead.
 
Kentucky State looked to be poised to put the game away early in the second half as they marched down the field in three plays to the Tuskegee one-yard line. However, the vaunted Golden Tiger defense made a stand on two consecutive plays stuffing Jules St. Ge at the one, before Osband Thompson was credited for a sack after a bad snap. That led to a Kentucky State field goal, and a 10-3 Thorobred lead with 2:46 remaining in the contest.
 
Tuskegee answered, but late in the fourth quarter, using an 11-play drive that consumed 5:21 and ended with a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Jerome Lewis. However, with a chance to tie the game, the extra point attempt was blocked and Tuskegee found themselves trailing 10-9 with 1:25 remaining in the contest.
 
Although they struggled much of the day, the Golden Tigers still outgained Kentucky State 261-194 in total offense and forced Kentucky State to punt the ball 10 times. The Golden Tigers dominated in time of possession with over 33 minutes and held Kentucky State to just 1-of-12 on third down conversions.
 
The Golden Tiger defense held Kentucky State to just 97 yards rushing and 97 yards passing, with Thompson and Quavon Taylor combining for 22 tackles on the afternoon. The defense finished the day with four players with six or more tackles, and recorded a pair of sacks and six tackles for loss.
 
Jayjerien Craig led the team offensively with 73 yards on the ground, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, while Lacey finished with 47. Lacey finished just 9-for-20 with 98 yards passing in the loss.
 
Tuskegee hits the road for the final two regular season games, first taking on Central State University next Saturday at 1 pm (est) in Wilberforce (Ohio). The game can be heard on the Tuskegee Digital Network, with pregame at 12:45 pm.
 
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