COLUMBUS, Georgia -- By all appearances, Saturday's 77th Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic had the makings of a shootout. After all, Tuskegee and Morehouse had the two highest-scoring offenses in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coming into the game.
However, it was Tuskegee's defense that made the difference, forcing five turnovers and stopping the Maroon Tigers twice on drives inside the 5-yard line to earn a 21-14 victory.
"We have to do a better job of stopping the short passing game, but when the field gets short, it's harder to do that," said Tuskegee coach Willie Slater, whose team won for the eighth time in the past nine meetings in the series. "We never really let Morehouse drive on us. Our defense bent, but we didn't break."
Tuskegee's first big defensive stop came on Morehouse's first possession of the game. Following a punt by the Golden Tigers (4-1, 3-0), Morehouse (2-4, 1-2) took over on its 20-yard line and took 19 plays to march 77 yards. The drive ate up 6:25 of clock and ended when Tuskegee stopped Quendarius Hall for a 1-yard loss on a fourth-and-2 from the Golden Tigers' 3.
"This was a game of turnovers and missed opportunities for us," said Morehouse coach Rich Freeman. "We had some chances to punch it in, but we didn't. I felt like we moved the ball, but we just couldn't score."
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Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic notes: Latavius Watts of Carver High does his share
COLUMBUS, Georgia -- The Morehouse Maroon Tigers came up a bit short against Tuskegee in Saturday's 77th Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium, but it sure wasn't because of Latavius Watts.
Watts, a Carver High product who starts at strong safety for Morehouse, finished with seven tackles (3 solo, 4 assists) in the Maroon Tigers' 21-14 loss to Tuskegee. Watts was the only local product to play in the game.
Coming into the game, the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder was third on the team in tackles with 35 (20 solo, 15 assists). Watts also had two tackles for losses totalling7 yards, a pass breakup and three quarterback hurries to his credit.
Something to play for
Yes, his team is 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but Morehouse coach Rich Freeman knows there is a lot of football left to be played this season.
"Everybody in our division (the SIAC East) has lost at least one conference game, and we haven't played anyone in the East yet," said Freeman. "We're looking forward to it.
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