CSU Marauders slay Dragons for first divisional win of 2015

COURTESY CSU ATHLETICS

JACKSON, Tennessee – Entering Saturday afternoon hungry for a win, Central State University shutout Lane College in a 21-0 victory to claim its first win of the season in the SIAC West Division.

Dropping the last three contests, CSU opened the first quarter with two scores thanks to phenomenal special teams play. With Lane's second drive stalling at their own 12 yard line, Nehemiah Coward broke through the Dragon blockers to stuff a Carlas Moore Jr. punt attempt. CSU linebacker Jonathan Dixon pounced on the ball in the end zone to give CSU its first lead in over three weeks. With the score at 7-0 in favor of CSU, Coward struck again with another punt block, which he then recovered and returned for a score of his own at the 5:14 mark of the 1^st quarter to put his team up 14-0. With both schools combining for just 84 yards of offense in the first half, the score remained the same going into halftime.


After a Justin Mosley interception midway through the 3^rd quarter placed CSU at the Lane 27 yard line, the Marauders took advantage of the short field with a 5 play touchdown drive capped off by a 15 yard run from Isaiah Grooms to give CSU the 21 point cushion.

CSU's defense maintained the shutout, holding the Dragon offense to just 89 total yards and forcing 5 turnovers. While managing to find the end zone on just one occasion, the Marauders successfully dictated the time of possession thanks to a running game that accumulated 48 touches for 184 yards.

In addition to Coward's play on special teams, linebacker Deonate Gary recorded 3 sacks and 8 solo tackles while running back Jihad Rasheed shouldered the Marauder ground attack to the tune of 68 yards on 17 carries.

With the latest victory over Lane, CSU is 6-1 in the all-time series dating back to 1973. With the second shutout victory of the season, it is the first time CSU has held two opponents scoreless in one year since 1994. The win also marked the Marauders third straight road victory, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1996. More importantly, CSU is now 3-4 overall and improves to 1-2 in the SIAC West Division standings.

"After losing some tough games at home over the past few weeks, we just want to enjoy this victory tonight," CSU Head Coach Cedric Pearl said. "We have another tough road trip ahead of us next weekend against Stillman. We are looking forward to the preparation for SC and having a great week of practice leading up to next Saturday."

After earning the first victory in CSU history over Stillman last year, Pearl and the Marauders hope to find similar success come Saturday's 3 pm kickoff in Tuscaloosa, AL. Stillman comes into the game with a 3-3 overall mark and a 1-1 ledger in the SIAC West.

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COURTESY CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION