COLUMBIA, S.C. – Emmanuel Houston scored three touchdowns to lead the Benedict College Tigers to their first football victory of the season, powering the Tigers to a 23-17 victory over the Shaw University Bears in a non-conference NCAA Division II game Saturday at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.
This week the Tigers won the turnover battle, intercepting Shaw's freshman quarterback Homer Causey three times, including once in the end zone, and recovering one fumble.
“We had a good week of practice, and I thought we would play that way,” said Benedict head coach Stanley Conner. “We still had some unforced errors we have to eliminate, but we are on the right track.”
The Tigers, now 1-2, fell behind 7-0 in the second quarter on a 39-yard pass from Causey to Derrell Person. But the Tigers were not down for long, as Harlon Samuels delivered a perfect strike to Houston sprinting down the left sideline and the 5-10 junior speedster outran the Shaw defense to the end zone.
“Watching film, we knew they like to play man a lot, and the coaches trust me with my ability to make plays,” Houston said. “I know how hard we work week in and week out, so that first victory is always fun.”
Shaw, the defending CIAA champions and the preseason pick to repeat the title this season, fell to 0-3. The Bears were ranked 24th in one preseason national Division II poll.
“We knew they were one of the top teams in their conference. But I told them if the effort was there, we could beat them,” Conner said.
The Tigers sacked Causey twice on the Bears' next series, and got the ball back in good field position, and drove the ball to the 10-yard line, where Andy Polanco kicked a 27-yard field goal for a 10-7 Benedict Tigers lead with 6:28 until halftime.
Shaw drove the ensuing kickoff down the field, but Martin Epps intercepted Causey at the 13-yard line and Benedict took a 10-7 lead into the locker room.
Causey threw another interception, with Gregory Smith pulling in the pick, setting up the Tigers for another drive. With Simeon Kelley running the offense at quarterback for the first time this season, the Tigers drove 55 yards on eight plays, with Kelley tossing a 20-yard pass to Houston. Polanco's extra point attempt was blocked, giving the Tigers a 16-7 lead with 7:55 left in the third quarter.
Shaw cut the lead to 16-10 on a 26-yard field goal from Lyncon Shepherd with 10:06 left in the game and got the ball back after the Tigers punted on their next series. But DeQuan Starling placed a hard hit on Shaw's Tyrone Craig and forced a fumble, with Anthony Davis recovering at the Shaw 34-yard line. A 30-yard run by Anthony Jemison set up a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line, and Houston got the call to carry in for the touchdown and a 23-10 lead with 5:41 left in the game.
Jeremy Vaughn intercepted Causey in the end zone on Shaw's next series, but the Tigers gave the ball back on a fumble. The Bears scored with 1:29 left on a 3-yard run by James Langford to trim the lead to 23-17. The Tigers recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock for the victory.
Benedict returns to action on Thursday night to face Fort Valley State at home in a regionally-televised game. Kickoff is 8 p.m. at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.
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