Early offense, stout defense lead to Miles Homecoming win

FAIRFIELD, Alabama -- Miles head coach Reginald Ruffin has spent the last few weeks imploring his team to play a complete game from opening kickoff to the final whistle.

The Golden Bears almost pulled it off on Saturday, holding Kentucky State to less than 100 yards of total offense midway through the fourth quarter and taking a shutout into the final minute. But while Miles defeated the Thorobreds 16-6 in front of a packed Homecoming crowd at Albert J. Sloan-Alumni Stadium, a fourth down, 64-yard touchdown pass in the final minute caught Ruffin's ire.

"We almost played a whole four quarters. Then we almost let them get back in the game," Ruffin said. "That could've been a real momentum killer. We've got to learn to play until the clock has all zeros."

After racking up nearly 500 yards in offense in a win over Central State last week, Miles (3-4, 2-0 SIAC West) had just 292 yards against KSU (2-5, 1-1). The Golden Bears went back to David Whipple at quarterback in place of John McDowell, who was injured in practice after starring last week. Whipple threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns but after the opening play of the second quarter, the offense went back into its season-long funk.

"We've got to solidify who's going to be our number one guy," Ruffin said. "(Whipple) was in rhythm on those touchdown strikes. But then we started stalling and it's frustrating as a head coach when we keep running into the same problems on offense."



Whipple connected with Devante' Williams on a 52-yard scoring pass with 4:31 left in the first quarter. He then found Trey Smith on a 16-yard strike on the opening play of the second quarter to stake Miles to a 13-0 lead. A Nick Christiansen 40-yard field goal right before halftime gave the Golden Bears a 16-0 advantage.

Kentucky State, though, was going nowhere fast. Miles continually stifled the Thorobreds on offense, forcing punts on 11-of-13 possessions. But the Golden Bears could not get out of their own way. They had 120 penalty yards (which was actually less than the 154 accumulated by KSU) and dropped multiple interceptions, including one that bounced into the hands Lavelle Cloyd for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 38 second remaining.

"We dropped at least three interceptions," Ruffin said. "The penalties were mental breakdowns. We've got to do a better job. They will be addressed first thing Monday morning at practice. Have to be more disciplined team.

"We didn't get all the breaks today. But I'd rather take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day."

Jamarcus Nance rushed for 60 yards on 21 carries while Whipple added 55 rushing yards.Michael Mitchell had a team-high seven tackles while Braysean Jones had six. Kaelan Bonds and Skylar Smith each had 1 1/2 sacks for the Golden Bears, who had six total against a KSU team that has allowed the most sacks in the league.

Miles has one last home game next week when it hosts Lane for Senior Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.



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