Miles Golden Bears Notch First Win Of Season

FAIRFIELD, Alabama -- Miles earned its first victory of the season and remained undefeated on Homecoming under head coach Reginald Ruffin in a 41-20 win over Central State in front of more than 11,000 at Sloan-Alumni Stadium on Saturday.

The final score was not indicative of the way the Golden Bears (1-5, 1-1 SIAC West) handled the Marauders (2-4, 1-3) for most of the contest. Miles scored the first 31 points of the game, racked up more than 400 yards of total offense, forced three turnovers, blocked two kicks and did not punt until there were less than three minutes remaining in the game. Midway through the third quarter, the backups were on the field. By the end of the game, even the fourth and fifth players on the depth chart were seeing some action.

The Golden Bears scored on their first four possessions. Justin Hardy (57 yards rushing) capped an eight-play, 65-yard scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to put Miles on the board. After forcing a three-and-out, Wade Streeter blocked a punt attempt and David Etienne recovered the ball at the CSU 32. On the next play from scrimmage, Daniel Smith fired a 32-yard strike to a streaking LeAnthony Robinson (49 yards receiving) to give Miles a 14-0 lead at the 7:59 mark.

After forcing another punt, the Golden Bears used another long drive to get back in the scoring column. Santee Marshall's second touchdown of the year came on the final play of the first quarter. His 9-yard run gave Miles a 21-0 lead and the rout was on.

Mitchell Smiley (five tackles, two fumble recoveries), playing in place of injured linebacker N'Ktavious Floyd, forced and recovered a fumble on the Marauders next series. The Golden Bears would then add three more points when Jackson Spradlin nailed a career-long 47-yard field goal to push the advantage to 24-0. CSU had a chance to put points on the board late in the half but Maxel Wells blocked Trevor Teel's 28-yard field goal attempt with just more than a minute remaining.

While the Golden Bears were cruising, they weren't finished. A methodical 10-play, 84-yard drive to open the second half yielded more fruit as Smith (203 yards passing) connected with Leonard Tyree for their seventh touchdown this season, a 12-yard laser that pushed the advantage to 31-0.

Central State would get on the board with a 13-yard touchdown run by Trent Mays, but Miles would come right back even as it began inserting reserves. Backup quarterback Li'Jon Cordier made quick work of the Marauders on the next drive. He hit Malik Campbell (four catches, 100 yards receiving) on a 61-yard pass on the second play of the series, then found Mikhail Jacobs on the next play for a 23-yard touchdown - his first career touchdown catch - to push the lead to 38-7.

BOX SCORE
ATTENDANCE: 11, 247

Miles opened its biggest lead of the game when Spradlin opened the fourth quarter with a 43-yard field goal to make it a 41-7 game. CSU got late touchdowns from Terraris Saffold and Darius Ford but it was way too little, too late for the Marauders.

Austin Stephens had a game-high 13 tackles (2.5 for loss) in less than three quarters of work. Jaylun Thomas had seven tackles, a sack and a forced fumble and Gregory Matthews had five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack for Miles, which plays next week at Kentucky State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

MILES COLLEGE GOLDEN BEARS SPORTS INFORMATION