Box Score
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Stillman Tigers used a late score at the end of the first half and a 97-yard kickoff return to open the second half to defeat the Benedict College Tigers 35-21 on Saturday, handing the Benedict Tigers their fourth straight loss.

Benedict fell to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the SIAC. Stillman improved to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the SIAC.

Benedict was trailing 14-10 when Stillman was driving late in the second quarter. Facing a fourth-and-six from the Benedict 25, Stillman opted to bypass a 42-yard field goal attempt and went for the first down. Quarterback Torrance Moise picked up the first down on a seven-yard run. Two plays later, Moise completed a 15-yard pass to Joshua Jackson for a touchdown with 1:34 left in the half.

The two teams went into the locker room with Stillman holding a 21-10 lead, and Benedict playing "what if" games after missing on a couple of deep thrown balls in the first half which could have resulted in touchdowns if the passes were on target.

Then Stillman opened the second half with a 97-yard kickoff return by Dondre Purnell. That put Stillman ahead 28-10 and the Benedict Tigers couldn't recover from the big deficit.

"We played a good football team today. The guys didn't give up, they didn't quit. Again, we made a lot of mistakes," Benedict head coach James Woody said. "That's no excuse, but we've got to learn how to tackle and we've got to learn how to make plays. In the first half, we had a couple of wide-open shots that could have hit for touchdowns. It could have easily been 14-0 in the first quarter. We couldn't hit them, overthrew them wide open. We've got to make those types of plays. Defensively, we've got to tackle better. We didn't tackle well at all. I thought we played well the second half. We've got to get better overall."

Stillman finished with 445 yards of total offense, including 301 through the air. Moise, filling in for Stillman's starting quarterback Josh Straughan, completed 19-of-27 passes for 263 yards and one touchdown. Straughan was last week's SIAC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 437 yards against Lane, but was injured late in that contest and sat out against Benedict.

Benedict quarterback Marcus Graham struggled, completing 13-of-33 passes for 186 yards and was sacked four times. Backup Brandon Thompson saw significant playing time late in the game and completed 6-of-11 passes for 89 yards. Coach Woody said the Tigers had trouble anticipating and picking up the blitzes and defensive pressure by Stillman.

"Offensively, we've got to be more consistent in the passing game," Woody said. "We've got to understand if they're bringing six in the box, seven in the box, we've got to know our hot principals. Marcus had a bad day reading those hot principals and had guys wide open on the field. We made some adjustments and we just didn't execute."

Stillman took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 4-yard run by Jovontae Thurmon after the Benedict defense had stopped two previous scoring attempts. Benedict blocked a 20-yard field goal attempt by Stillman's Eric Berry, then snuffed Stillman on a fourth-and-three from the Benedict 10.

Benedict's Eduardo Hernandez kicked a 42-yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 7-3. Stillman responded on their next drive with a touchdown when Rovonta Johnson broke through the Benedict defense and dashed for a 42-yard touchdown run. Benedict cut the lead to 14-10 when Moise fumbled the snap and Benedict's Martin Epps picked up the loose ball and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.

After the kickoff return in the second half, Benedict drove to the Stillman 6-yard line, but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Hernandez. Stillman took the ensuing possession and drove 69 yards for a touchdown. A 54-yard pass from Moise to Reese Sturgis was the key play in that drive.

Devin Gainer sacked Moise in the fourth quarter and forced a fumble. The Tigers took advantage of the good field position and scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper run by Thompson. The Tigers couldn't recover the onsides kick, but Stillman missed a 29-yard field goal. Benedict got the ball back and moved the ball, but ran out of time.

Brandon Beech led the Benedict defense with 10 tackles. Devin Gainer had eight tackles, including three sacks,

Benedict is home next week to face Clark Atlanta for their Homecoming. Kickoff is 2 p.m.