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| FVSU President Paul Jones and Director of Athletics Anthony Holloman pose with the winning trophy from Saturday night's game. |
FAIRFIELD, Alabama –- The Wildcats came together for the win in the final 15 minutes of Saturday night's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football opener. Fort Valley State completed its 21-19 come-from-behind victory over Miles College when Jaylen Lowder pulled in a right-side pass and then touched the end zone pile on with 21.9 seconds left for the game-winner.
Trailing 13-7 as the game turned to the fourth quarter, Fort Valley State (1-2) found its offensive rhythm. The Wildcats offense snapped the ball 21 times in the final stanza for 133 yards and the two touchdown scoring drives of 68 and 65 yards. The game-winning FVSU drive started on its own 35-yardline with 5:28 remaining in the contest and culminated 12 plays later with Lowder diving into the end zone. The Wildcats defense forced an incompletion and sacked the Golden Bears quarterback on the final two plays.
On the night, the Wildcats offense rushed for a season-best 146 yards and threw for another 181 yards to total 327 yards, while the unit held the ball 40:58 of the 60 minutes.
Wildcats quarterback Slade Jarman had an efficient night as he went 21 of 31 for 181 yards passing with two touchdowns to one interception. He also rushed for another 14 yards. Lorenzo Smothers touched the ball 16 times for 123 all-purpose yards between rushing, receiving and kick returns – 7 carries for 57 yards rushing, 6 receptions for 34 yards receiving. Jahmari Clark added nine carries for 32 yards on the ground, while he caught three passes for 22 yards and the first score of the night. Brandon Davis covered 41 yards on two catches and Jhi'Marre Brown 32 yards on his pair of receptions.
Defensively, the FVSU unit held Miles College to only 19 points after it gave up 96 points to two highly-talented opening foes. The Wildcats gave up only 254 total yards, including 18 total yards rushing. The visitors' defensive unit sacked the Miles College quarterback five times with both Voris Bryant and Niykiem Floyd recording 1.5 sacks apiece. Bryant led the FVSU defense with six tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, while Andrew Robinson chipped in five tackes, 1.5 for loss and a sack. Jahseari Patterson finished with four stops, two for loss, and a sack, while Camron Young had four tackles and Zach Anderson picked off a pass.
Leonard Tyree paced the Miles College offense with five catches for 171 yards and two scores. Daniel Smith completed 11 of 21 passes for 236 yards.
Jarman engineered an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive for the team's first lead of the season at 14-13, when Willie Jordan took the handoff and flipped the ball to Smothers, who cut through the Golden Bears (0-3) defense for six yards to the end zone, with 7:25 left in the game.
With the answer on the next possession, Miles College wide receiver Tyree pulled in his third long pass of the night on a 48-yard score for the home team to retake the lead, 19-14, at 5:28. The point margin remained two points as the snap flew high and the Wildcat defense tackled the kicker on the spot.
Jarman produced the clutch Wildcats drive, where he went 5 for 5 covering 40 yards for the game-winning score. After the final FVSU timeout, the senior found Lowder in the far right flat and watched his tight end moments later reach out the ball into the pile on for the touchdown at 21.9 seconds left in the contest and a 21-19 lead.
Miles took over on its own 35-yardline with 15.4 ticks left on the clock. After a deep incompletion, Floyd sacked Golden Bear quarterback Smith and then he teamed up on the second-straight sack to end the game.
For the third time in as many weeks of the season, Fort Valley State had a rocky start to its game. After holding the Golden Bears to a punt on the game's first possession, the Wildcats fumbled the second offensive snap, which was scooped up by the home team's Austin Stephens, who ran nine yards for the fumble return touchdown only 2:55 into the contest.
On the third offensive possession, FVSU took over on a short field at the home 32-yardline, but it could only get to the 8-yardline. Miles College tipped the Abisai Gutierrez 25-yard field goal attempt to keep it at 7-0.
The Wildcats, though, was not stopped in their first second-quarter drive. Behind a Clark 21-yard left-side run and a Jarman to Brown deep right sideline 16-yard pass, the visitors drove 75 yards on 13 plays capped by an 8-yard Clark touchdown reception out of the backfield to tie the game, 7-7, at 7:56 in the second stanza.
Fort Valley State doubled up Miles College offensively, 122 to 69 yards, in the first two quarters.
Midway through the third quarter, the Golden Bears took over on their own 42-yardline. After a 7-yard run, Smith found Tyree down the right sideline and he ran away from the Wildcats defensive backs for a 51-yard score. The Miles College kicker missed the extra point to make it 13-7 with 7:15 in the third frame.
BOX SCORE
The Golden Bears missed a 35-yard field goal wide right late in the third quarter to keep the score at 13-7.
On the first fourth-quarter possession, FVSU drove to the home 11-yardline, but a third-and-one Jordan run fell short. Gutierrez booted a 28-yard field goal, but Miles College defense was offside and the three Fort Valley State points were pulled off the scoreboard. Smothers found the end zone from six yards on the next play for the team's first lead, 14-13.
Fort Valley State completes its four-game season-opening road swing next Sunday afternoon, Sept. 23, at SIAC East member Benedict College. The kick-off will be at 4:30 p.m. in Columbia, S.C.
FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY WILDCATS SPORTS INFORMATION
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