FORT VALLEY, Ga. – Morehouse enjoyed its first first quarter lead of the season and found itself within striking distance in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon against rival Fort Valley State. But three Wildcat scoring drives in the final period led to a 31-3 loss, the 12th straight defeat away from B.T. Harvey Stadium.
Chase DeVaughn ran for 28 of his season-high 62 yards on the Maroon Tigers opening drive, which went 51 yards in 12 plays. When the drive stalled, Danny Elrod booted a 40-yard field goal to give Morehouse (0-8, 0-6) a 3-0 advantage less than six minutes into the contest. It was his fourth field goal of the season – second from at least 40 yards – and gave the Maroon Tigers just their second lead of the season.
But Fort Valley State (6-2, 5-1) got the first of two touchdowns from Brandon Marshall late in the first quarter to give the Wildcats the lead. FVSU led 14-3 at halftime, which was the score going into the fourth quarter. But the defense did all it could to keep the Wildcats at bay.
Caleb Grant recovered a fumble forced by Stephen Singleton to stop a drive in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Carlos Dunovant stopped Marshall on fourth-and-1 to thwart another Fort Valley opportunity. A defensive stand late in the third quarter led to a missed Wildcats field goal and the Maroon Tigers were still in business.
Unfortunately, the fourth quarter was dominated by the Wildcats. Touchdown runs by Marshall and Jamal Sanders sandwiched a Daniel Gibbs field goal to take the game out of reach for Morehouse. The offense was only able to muster 12 yards and added a turnover in the final 15 minutes as the Maroon Tigers dropped their eighth straight contest.
Daylon Land had a game-high 12 tackles (eight solo) and two tackles for loss and Joel Girtman Jr. added six tackles to pace the Morehouse defense. Ajani Williams had four catches for 36 yards as the top receiver for the Maroon Tigers, who celebrate Homecoming next weekend when they host Kentucky State next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
