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Santiago Sparks Army To 28-12 Season-Opening Win Over Morgan State Bears

WEST POINT, New York  -- Making just his second career start, junior Angel Santiago combined for 221 total yards of offense to lead the Army football team to a 28-12 victory over visiting Morgan State Friday night under the lights at Michie Stadium. Santiago threw for 101 yards and one touchdown while tacking on a game-high 120 yards on the ground and three scores to lead the Black Knights to their first season-opening win since 2010.

Santiago was one of two Army (1-0) players to eclipse the 100-yard mark on the ground as junior Larry Dixon tallied 107 yards, reaching the century mark for the fifth time in his career. Freshman Xavier Moss led the receiving corps with a pair of catches en route to a 75-yard showing. Junior Chevaughn Lawrence also caught a pair of passes, including an 18-yard touchdown toss from Santiago in the early goings of the second quarter.

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Army 28, MSU 12



On the defensive side of the ball, junior Geoffrey Bacon and sophomore Alex Meier tallied career highs in tackles, recording 16 and 11, respectively. Senior Kyle Maxwell, who entered the game without a career sack, finished the night with a pair of quarterback take-downs.

Santiago and the Army offense came out firing, marching 95 yards downfield in its first possession to score midway through the first quarter. The possession was bookended by Santiago connecting with Moss for a 24-yard gain before the quarterback found paydirt on a 33-yard scramble to the end zone. Santiago punched in his second score of the game with 36 seconds remaining in the first stanza, en- route to a 168-yard offensive quarter for the Black Knights while Morgan State (0-1) sputtered to gain just 61 yards.

Following Lawrence's TD reception to push Army's lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter, the Bears cracked the scoring column with time winding down in the half. Junior quarterback Robert Council scored on a one-yard run for MSU, but the first of two failed extra-point attempts kept Army's lead at 21-6 heading into intermission.

Santiago would add one more score during the Black Knights' first possession of the second half to extend the lead to 28-6, before MSU closed out the game scoring with Council finding senior Chris Flowers for a 22-yard score with eight minutes remaining in the third.

Council ended the night with 89 yards of passing and 47 yards rushing, while Lamont Brown led the Bears' ground game with 75 net yards. Flowers had two receptions for 37 yards. MSU totaled 301 yards of offense to Army's 396.

The Black Knights played a blemish-free game, recording zero turnovers and zero penalties, a feat last accomplished in Army's 2010 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl win over SMU on Dec. 30, 2010. Conversely, MSU was hamstringed by nine penalties resulting in a loss of 65 yards.

Army will hit the road for Game 2 of the 2013 season when the Black Knights travel to Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State on Sept. 7. Kickoff against the Cardinals is slated for noon at Scheumann Stadium. BSU defeated Illinois State, 51-28, in its season opener on Thursday night and earned a 30-22 win at Michie Stadium in the 2012 meeting with Army.

The MSU Bears will continue its road swing when they return to action next Saturday against Robert Morris.  The game is set for a noon kickoff on September 7 at Joe Walton Stadium. It will mark the second meeting between Morgan State and Robert Morris since 2011. The Bears won the matchup 13-12 at Hughes Stadium. 

Note:  NFL Hall of Famer and Morgan State great Willie Lanier was in attendance.  This game was also the first night game at Michie Stadium since 2009.


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Southern defense tries but falters against Houston

HOUSTON, Texas — With six minutes left in the first half Friday, Southern’s defense stood with its back 15 yards from the end zone.

Houston was threatening again. A play earlier, the Cougars’ No. 2 quarterback, John O’Korn, misfired and sailed a throw over the head of receiver Deonte Greenberry.

At that point, the Jaguars only trailed 13-6. Had they held their Football Bowl Subdivision opponent to a field goal, they might have stemmed momentum and allowed the Southern offense to cobble together a rally.

It failed. Running back Ryan Jackson cut once, hit a backside hole on a power play and scampered into the end zone: Houston 20, Southern 6.

One possession later, the Cougars recoverd a muffed punt at the Jaguars 12 and converted it into a score on a 10-yard touchdown pass. It took 55 seconds. And Houston’s next two scoring drives each needed less than 60 seconds to turn a reasonable deficit into a rout by the end of the third quarter at Reliant Stadium.

Yet, the Jaguars’ 3-4 scheme tried to stiffen early.

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Video: Dawson Odums said Jaguars must find positives in Houston loss



Turnovers, mistakes, penalties doom Southern

HOUSTON — Near the end of the first quarter against the University of Houston, the Southern sideline erupted after a leaping 45-yard catch by Samuel Altman. The Jaguars were in the red zone and threatening to draw within three points. Two plays later, freshman running back Kylum Favorite fumbled that momentum away.

Midway through the second quarter, a big stop on defense forced the Cougars to punt the ball back to a seemingly re-energized Jaguars team. Southern fumbled away that opportunity as well. The ball hit Marquon Webster in the back, and the Cougars recovered at the SU 12.

Add in a third fumble, an interception and 10 penalties for 91 yards and the Jaguars made things a lot more difficult on themselves in a 62-13 loss to the Cougars on Friday night at Reliant Stadium.

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MVSU Delta Devils and FAMU Rattlers "Wobble"&"Cupid Shuffle" at MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Southern tripped up from the start in its season opener

HOUSTON, Texas  --  Dawson Odums took over as Southern’s head coach after a near-disastrous 0-2 start last season.

He provided discipline and stability that yielded a more respectable team during a 4-5 finish, leading to a two-year contract for him and increased optimism entering his first full season. The Jaguars were picked to finish second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division, their highest projection in five seasons.

Southern might yet be a SWAC contender, but its season-opening performance did little to justify the optimism. The Jaguars committed four turnovers and several debilitating penalties and mostly couldn’t get out of their own way in a 62-13 loss to Houston on Friday in Reliant Stadium.

“You can’t give the ball away, especially against a good Division I team,” Odums said. “They’re going to capitalize with a short field. They had four (scoring) drives of (fewer than) 50 yards.”

Daniel Spencer had 102 yards and two touchdowns receiving and ran for ...

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Southern’s Dray Joseph stars but gets little help

HOUSTON — Southern quarterback Dray Joseph surveyed the landscape of scrambling bodies and managed to freeze Houston linebacker Austin Wilson. That split second created a seam that let Joseph fire a dart to receiver Samuel Altman for a 19-yard touchdown that drew the Jaguars within seven points in the second quarter Friday night at Reliant Stadium — a fleeting highlight in a 62-13 season-opening loss.

Faith in Joseph’s left arm shouldn’t waver, though. The senior, a preseason All-Southwestern Athletic Conference pick, reeled off 15 consecutive completions after misfiring on his first throw and finished with 268 yards and two touchdowns on 27-of-36 passing.

“I did a great job controlling my energy,” said Joseph, who started the night 15 of 16 for 163 yards. “I didn’t want to be too excited and overthrow balls, and I just came out and played an efficient game.”

Acting as the leader for the Southern offense isn’t new for the senior, who led the conference in passing last season.

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Morgan State drops its football season opener at Army, 28-12

WEST POINT, New York  --  In just his second start as Army's quarterback, junior Angel Santiago rushed for 116 yards, passed for 101 yards and accounted for all four touchdowns in the Black Knights' 28-12 win over Morgan State Friday night before 24,245 at Michie Stadium.

Santiago, a prep star from San Bernadino, Calif., rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another.

The 5-11, 188-pound signal-caller was the third-string quarterback in 2011 and 2012, carrying the ball just 53 times in two seasons. A.J. Schurr was in line to replace four-year starter Trent Steelman as the next quarterback for the Black Knights, but a good spring campaign vaulted Santiago ahead of him.

While Steelman was the focus of Army's intricate triple offense that paced the county in rushing yardage in 2011 and 2012, Santiago provides coach Rich Ellerson with a pocket passer capable of throwing the long ball.

Only twice did Army pass for over 100 yards in a game in 2012.

Against Morgan State, Santiago was ...

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