Monday, September 28, 2015

Great defense leads Miles to win over Morehouse

ALBERT J. SLOAN - ALUMNI STADIUM
FAIRFIELD, ALABAMA

FAIRFIELD, Alabama  --  For the second consecutive week, Miles used a stout defense to lift a struggling offense and went into the fourth quarter nursing a lead.

This week, though, the Golden Bears did just enough to hold on, using seven sacks and forcing four turnovers - including two in the final period - to earn a 13-10 win over Morehouse Saturday at Sloan-Alumni Stadium.

Freshman Jamarcus Nance ran for 85 yards and a touchdown and kicker Nick Christiansen booted two field goals - one from 56 yards - to provide the scoring. But a swarming defense, paced byBraysean Jones, was the difference as the Golden Bears (1-3, 1-0 SIAC) opened conference play with a win.

The Maroon Tigers (2-2, 0-1) racked up 261 yards of offense, 154 of them on the ground, and had 20 first downs to Miles' 10. But twice in the fourth quarter, driving deep in Miles' territory with a chance to tie the game or take the lead, Morehouse could not hold on to the ball. First, it was Jones - who had 11 tackles (seven solo) and 4.5 sacks - forcing a fumble at the Miles 33 that was recovered by Michael Mitchell with 10:29 left. On Morehouse's next possession, a big gain turned into a big turnover when Ashton McKenzie knocked another ball loose that was recovered by Caleb Duncan.

On the Maroon Tigers' final drive, they got to the Miles 36 but on 4th-and-5, Jones got his final sack of the game and Miles was able to run out the clock.

Miles trailed 3-0 at the end of the first quarter but saw its fortunes change right before halftime. After a sack by McKenzie forced a fumble that was recovered by Skylar Smith, the Golden Bears would score on an 8-yard run by Nance to give them a 7-3 lead going into halftime

In the second half, Christiansen would convert on two field goals that extended the lead. The first was from 37 yards. The second was more exciting. After having a 51-yard field goal wiped out because of a penalty, he nailed a career-best 56-yarder that gave Miles a 13-3 lead with 4:41 left in the 3rd quarter. After a failed onside kick, Morehouse would put together a quick scoring drive on its next possession to cut the deficit to three points with 2:46 left in the third.

Malik Johnson rushed for 85 yards, Monqavious Johnson was 11-of-19 for 107 yards passing and James Woods had a game-high 15 tackles for Morehouse.

Miles had several defensive stars. McKenzie had five solo tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Emmanuel Ray had nine tackles (eight solo), Mitchell had eight tackles (five solo) and Cedric Pool had six tackles and an interception for the Golden Bears, who host Albany State Golden Rams next Saturday at 4 p.m.


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