WILBERFORCE, Ohio – Playing in the final game of the 2018 season, the Central State University Marauders defeated the Lane College Dragons, 45-22, on Saturday.With the victory, CSU finishes the season with a 5-5 overall mark and a 3-3 ledger in SIAC play. LC falls to 3-6 on the season with a 2-4 record in the SIAC.
CSU jumped out to a 17-0 lead thanks to a 94-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Christopher Lewis, a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by K'Jamus Sanders, and a 24-yard field goal by Trevor Teel.
Led by Terraris Saffold, CSU's running game efficiently moved the ball while controlling the time of possession. Saffold finished the afternoon with a career-high 214 rushing yards along with one touchdown as the Marauders distanced itself from the Dragons in the second half.
THE BASICS
Score: Lane – 22; Central State - 45
Records: Lane (3-6; 2-4) – Central State (5-5; 3-3)
Location: McPherson Memorial Stadium – Wilberforce, Ohio
Weather: 58 degrees, Partly Cloudy
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter
With the Dragons' offense driving down to CSU's six-yard line, Marauder linebacker Javion Williams stripped the ball from LC's Justin Hill. Christopher Lewis corralled the loose ball and ran 94-yards for the score with 3:04 left in the first quarter. (CSU 7-0).
2nd Quarter
The Marauder offense went on a 12-play, 63-yard drive resulting in a 24-yard field goal by Trevor Teel at the 10:57 mark of the second quarter. (CSU 10-0).
Under heavy pressure, Lane quarterback Marcus Reynolds threw a pass that was intercepted by CSU's K'Jamus Sanders near midfield. Sanders went on to take the ball 52-yards for CSU's second defensive touchdown of the afternoon. (CSU 17-0).
LC scored its first points on a Vicente Pena 25-yard field goal with 5:25 left in the half. (CSU 17-3)
The Dragons cut the deficit down to seven when Reynolds found an open Quantavius Wilson in the end zone with 18 second left in the half. (CSU 17-10).
3rd Quarter
On the second play of the second half, CSU running back Terraris Saffold broke through the line for a 66-yard touchdown. (CSU 24-10)
It took CSU just three plays to score on its next offensive possession. Quarterback Trent Mays connected with Kevin Greenhowfor a 45-yard pass play. Mays capped off the drive with a 24-yard pass to tight end Robert Corbin, Jr. to extend the lead to 21 with 11:23 left in the third quarter. (CSU 31-10)
After the CSU defense registered back-to-back sacks to force a quick punt from the Dragons, the CSU offense went to its ground attack. Saffold ran for 20 yards on the first play of the drive. Blake McEwen took a reverse handoff from Saffold for a 56-yard gain down to the LC five-yard line. Full back Darius Meadors capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run at the 7:34 mark of the third quarter. (CSU 38-10)
4th Quarter
Lane went on an eight-play, 67-yard scoring drive capped off by another touchdown pass by Reynolds to Wilson with 9:52 left to play. (CSU 38-16)
After a fumble by Reynolds gave CSU the ball on the Dragons' 41-yard line, CSU ran the ball six straight times capped off by a four-yard touchdown run by McEwen. (CSU 45-16)
After a good kick return by Anthony Evelyn set the Lane offense up at CSU's 43-yard line, Reynolds found O'Joshua Bunton for a 16-yard gain. Reynolds went to Bunton again on the next play for a 27-yard touchdown.
Any hopes of narrowing the gap were erased when Reynolds threw his third interception of the day to Lewis, who ran it back for 69-yards. The CSU offense took a knee to end the game and seal their largest margin of victory this season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Ending the season with a 5-5 overall record, CSU tied its best record since the program was reinstated in 2005. CSU also went 5-5 in 2007 and 2015.
CSU finished the year in third place in the SIAC West Division with a 3-3 ledger in conference play.
Terraris Saffold set a new career-mark with 214 rushing yards on Saturday. He ends the season with 874 rushing yards and 363 receiving yards. He also accumulated 454 yards as a kick returner. For the season, Saffold accounted for 1691 total yards and 11 touchdowns.
Sophomore linebacker Kailen Abrams led the defense with 13 tackles, one sacks , two tackles for a loss, and one fumble recovery. Abrams finishes the season ranked in the top three in the SIAC with 118 tackles.
The Marauder defense recorded a season-high five turnovers (3 interceptions – 2 fumbles) on Saturday.
The Marauder defense registered a season-high five sacks on Saturday for a net loss of 42 yards.
The Marauders have scored 40 or more points for four consecutive games (44, 45, 40, 45). The last time CSU scored 40 or more points in four straight games was during the 1992 NAIA Championship season.
CSU entered Saturday ranked as the top offensive team in the SIAC with 359 yards per game.
On an extremely saturated field due to heavy rains throughout the week, senior quarterback Trent Mays threw the ball 17 times for 137 yards and one touchdown. Mays finished the season with an SIAC best 2027 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. He also picked up five rushing touchdowns throughout the year.
Senior Isaiah Smith, who serves as the team's primary punter, also played on the defensive side of the ball for much of the second half. Smith finished with six tackles and recorded his first career sack in the fourth quarter.
CSU won three of its final four games of 2018 with the only loss coming to NCAA Div. I – FCS opponent Robert Morris University.
QUOTES FROM SATURDAY'S GAME
"We absolutely wanted to end this season on a positive note. Due to some tiebreaking scenarios, we came up a bit short of winning the SIAC West but I am extremely proud of the way our players performed today and finished the season. Our defense made some big plays early on. We had to make some adjustments offensively due to the slick field conditions. Saffold, McEwen and the offensive line stepped up and delivered another great performance today. I have to personally name out the sensational play of guys like Darius Thomas, Jeremiah Hardge, James Davis, Darius Meadors, Robert Corbin, Darico Ellis, Genesis Hartley. These guys are crucial to our blocking schemes and have been consistent all year long. I also want to thank our seniors for their outstanding leadership and contributions. Rashaun Searles has an outstanding season on our defensive line. Isaiah Smith served an important role as our punter and was relentless as a tackler on special teams and in certain defensive packages. Trent Mays had a tremendous two-years at CSU as our quarterback. It's great to see them depart the program with a win in their last game."
-Head Coach Cedric Pearl
"We accomplished a lot this season. I was pleased with how we ended the year winning our final three home games. Our offensive line played excellent this afternoon and have been consistent all year long to allow our offense to make plays. We all just try to give our maximum effort on every play and it really worked out over these last few weeks of the season. I am looking forward to coming back and helping this program win more games next season."
-Running Back Terraris Saffold
"I was part of the team that went 1-9 a year ago and we all know that it was time for change . Each week, we turned up the intensity. We stayed together and we look forward to taking the program to another level in 2019. As a defensive unit, I thought our defensive line did a tremendous job of generating pressure. The play of our guys up front have allowed for me to have a great year and allows our linebackers and corner backs to make more plays. I thought this year's team did a great job of staying focused no matter what the outcome was. Heading into next year, our mindset is focused on delivering a championship."
-Linebacker Kailen Abrams
BOX SCORE
ATTENDANE: 3154
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