Tuskegee Football Punches Ticket to NCAA D2 Quarterfinals

FLORENCE, Alabama  --  With their backs against the wall and the clock winding down, the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers punched their ticket to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history, with a thrilling 35-31 victory over second-seeded North Alabama at Braly Municipal Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Following a North Alabama field goal that put the Lions ahead 31-28, Tuskegee took over with 3:54 to play in the game. Following three plays that resulted in a fourth down, Tuskegee (10-2) called a timeout and pitched the ball to Dennis Norfleet who picked up six yards and a first down.

The Golden Tigers faced another big play later in the drive on another third down. That is when Kevin Lacey dropped back and dropped a pass into the waiting arms of Desmond Reece, who found his way down to the North Alabama two-yard line with just 25 seconds remaining.

Dennis Norfleet

"That was probably the most confident pass I threw all day," Lacey said. "Coach (Slater) made the call and we just had to execute. I felt a little bit of the butterflies through the game, but knew I had to execute to give us a chance."

Tuskegee was forced to call a timeout on the play, which set the stage for Norfleet to send the Golden Tigers into celebration mode for the second consecutive week. The senior took the pitch from Lacey, went around the left end and dove into the end zone with just 19 seconds remaining to give Tuskegee a four-point lead.

"It was a play we had been running all day," Norfleet said. "They overloaded to the right side, and (Kevin) Lacey made a change at the line. I told our fullback Jerome (Lewis) that if he made the block I was going to jump over top of him. He did his job and I had to do mine."

North Alabama had one final chance as they completed a pass, but the lateral was knocked down by Daryl George and recovered by the Golden Tigers to send Tuskegee into their first quarterfinal game in school history.

"I am just tickled to be back up here," Tuskegee University head coach Slater said. "It is great to be back in this area. I am stunned, and it is unbelievable the way the game ended. My hats off to our players, they played hard and played with their heart. I am just happy for them."

The Golden Tigers defense came into the game as one of the best in the nation and held North Alabama – with Harlon Hill nominee Luke Wingo – to just 288 yards of total offense.

Junior defensive end Julian Morgan led the Golden Tigers with 12 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Meanwhile, Jewell Ratliff finished with nine tackles and the Golden Tigers finished with five sacks and eight tackles for loss in the win.

"We have just been preparing all week to get ready," Morgan said. "The coaches made sure we were ready, and we just came out and fought hard – the hardest we have all year. We are playing for each other, we all know what the goal is now and want to work hard to achieve that."

Offensively, Tuskegee piled up 434 total yards – including 258 rushing yards. Norfleet led all rushers with 136 yards on 21 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Devozea Gaines, thrust into a backup role at running back, finished with 73 yards on just four carries.

Lacey finished with 51 yards rushing and was 10-for-20 for 176 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown to Marquel Gardner.

The game featured big play after big play the entire game, with the teams trading the lead seven times.

"We know how it feels to be down," Norfleet said. "We have had games this year where it has happened, and we have found ourselves down. We don't want to have that feeling again, not this late in the year because we know it is one and done.

"Deep in our hearts and souls, we know we are playing for us and for Tuskegee University. If we dig deep and play, good things will happen."

The Golden Tigers set a new school record in the victory – early in the contest – as Terence Webb intercepted a North Alabama pass on their first drive. The interception was the 23rd overall for the Golden Tigers, breaking the mark of 22 that was set in 1974 and matched in 1990 (and again in 2012).

With their victory, Tuskegee advances to face the top-seeded Wolves of the University of West Georgia in the quarterfinals next Saturday in Carrollton (Ga.). The game is a rematch of the first round game from last season in which West Georgia won by three at Tuskegee.

Game time and ticket information will be announced on Monday.

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