Under the bright lights of Cleve L. Abbott Memorial Stadium and the hot glare of a national television audience, Tuskegee made the big plays in the fourth quarter to take down No. 15 Benedict on Thursday night in front of an announced crowd of 3,171.
Quarterback Khalib Johnson came off the bench in the second half and in place of an injured
Bryson McGrew and fired a 31-yard touchdown strike to
Preston Parker with 5:53 remaining to put the Golden Tigers (2-2, 2-0 SIAC) back on top in what turned out to be a see-saw affair. But as Benedict drove deep into Tuskegee territory for a potential winning score,
Keenan Libecca picked off Tigers quarterback Jett Peddy in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining to shut down the scoring threat. Then, facing a needing a first down to ice the game,
Desmond Leverette burst through for three yards on third-and-1 to seal the deal.
Before McGrew got hurt, he found the the end zone twice, once on a 12-yard run in the first quarter, then again on a 15-yard touchdown pass to
Nasir Powell in the third quarter that answered a second-half, opening-drive score by Benedict ot give TU a 13-10 advantage.
McGrew threw three interceptions but it was the ground game that kept the offense in it, especially Ja;Khael Rowser, who had 20 carries for 124 yards. The Golden Tigers had 195 yards on the ground, 383 yards of total offense, 22 first downs (12 on the ground) and a six-minute edge in time of possession. Defensively,
Devin Smith and
Masiah Wells each had a game-high eight tackles,
Jhyree Brigman had four tackles and a sack,
Yonis Descieux had four tackles and two pass breakups, and
Jayden Phifer had two pass breakups and an interception.
Tuskegee is back in action next Saturday, when it faces the Marron Tigers in the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic at Cramton Bowl in Montgomeryl. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
