HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ^__ Tuskegee's defense had no answer for the offensive unit from Alabama A&M, while the Golden Tiger offense never found a rhythm Saturday as Tuskegee dropped a 58-3 inside of Louis Crews Stadium.

Aaron James and his team fell to 4-1 overall yet remain unbeaten in SIAC play while Alabama A&M improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the SWAC.

Alabama A&M scored touchdowns on six of its eight possessions in the opening half — including the first five — while Tuskegee punted five times, along with giving up an interception and fumble after making a field goal on their opening drive. TU trailed 44-3 at the half and the Bulldogs added scores in both the third and fourth quarters for the 58-3 final.

A&M rang up 539 yards of total offense while the Golden Tigers finished with a season-low 192 yards while also committing eight penalties for 70 yards.

TU quarterback Bryson Williams finished with just 132 yards passing on nine completions and an interception in the loss. Meanwhile, Alabama A&M QB Quincy Casey played three quarters and completed 17 of his 27 pass attempts for 296 yards, and four touchdowns.

Individually, freshman Desmond Leverette set career-highs on the ground for Tuskegee, finishing with 10 carries for 75 yards, while sophomore Corey Petty had a strong day on the outside with five catches for 91 yards, including a 67-yard catch in the first quarter leading to the lone score from TU.

Sophomore linebackers Malik Moore and Vincent Hill led the way on defense for Tuskegee with eight and seven tackles respectively, followed by safeties Noah Holton (six tackles) and Christian Ramsey (five tackles).

Nearly nothing went right for the Golden Tigers as the Bulldogs scored touchdowns on six of their eight first half possessions to take a 44-3 lead at intermission.

Tuskegee's offense, meanwhile, crossed midfield just once in the first half and never really threatened to score after the opening drive field goal to start the game.

The Golden Tigers managed to get on the board first on their opening drive, driving 64 yards on just six plays to take the first lead. Then came the offensive struggles.

Tuskegee gave up scores on the first two A&M possessions, allowing 81 yards and 39 yards for touchdowns to find themselves trailing 14-3 lead after the first quarter. The Bulldogs forced punts on the next four defensive possessions and recovered a fumble on the last drive of the half to stall the Golden Tiger offense after the opening field goal. A&M added a pair of touchdowns through the air and on the ground before the first half closed, along with a safety on a blocked punt, taking the 44-3 lead into the break.

After another score from the Bulldogs in the third, they crossed the goal line for the final time with just over 12 minutes to play.

Tuskegee did force a turnover in the final quarter ^__ the fifth consecutive game to start the season ^__ when Deondre Chatmon recovered a fumble at the TU 43-yard line and returned it 15 yards to the A&M 42-yard line, to go along with his three tackles on the day. But Golden Tigers still could not convert on the following drive, as they failed to convert on a fourth down to turn the ball over on downs with 3:46 remaining in the game.

Up Next
Tuskegee will return to conference play next weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, as they take on the Maroon Tigers on Saturday, October 7, at 7 p.m. at Legion Field in the 87th Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic.

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