COLUMBIA, S.C. – Stillman College rolled up 700 yards of offense and scored five times on plays over 30 yards to defeat the Benedict College Tigers 48-36 in an SIAC football game on Saturday at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.

Stillman quarterback Josh Straughan completed 27-of-40 passes for 488 yards and five touchdowns. Jovontae Thurman rushed for 135 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns. He gained more than half of his yardage on a 71-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

"They showed the true explosive offense that they are," Benedict head football coach James Woody said. "I knew we were going to have some problems going in here, but was hoping we could contain some of the things they were doing. But we just couldn't stop them. They're a very, very good football team offensively. I knew it was going to come down to who could put up the most points. I didn't think our defense was going to be ready for them. We didn't show that today. We're very, very young and have a lot of injuries. But that's no excuse. These young guys, these freshmen, have to step up. They exploited our weakness, and that's in our secondary. We didn't get a good rush on that kid (Straughan), and he just picked us apart. We just blew too many assignments. You can't win like that."

Stillman (4-2, 3-0 SIAC) jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the second quarter. Benedict (2-4, 0-3 SIAC) got on the scoreboard on a 16-yard run by Jevric Blocker, then scored on a 25-yard pass from Cameron Stover to Okechi Ntiasagwe with just under a minute left in the first half to cut the lead to 20-14 at the half.

Thurman scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter after a 30-yard pass from Straughan to Devon Mackey gave the Stillman Tigers a first-and-goal. Benedict answered with a 30-yard field goal by Tory Mimbs on their next series to cut the lead to 27-17.

Stillman was driving on its next series, but Thurman fumbled the ball trying to get into the end zone, and the Tigers recovered. The Benedict Tigers drove 80 yards on seven plays to score on a 15-yard bootleg run by Stover. A 19-yard pass to Ntiasagwe and a 38-yard pass to Kendariss Brown helped the Tigers move down the field. After Mimbs' extra point, the Tigers had cut the lead to 27-24 with 5:11 left in the third quarter.

The Stillman Tigers got a 29-yard pickup on their next dive on a pass from Straughan to Reese Sturgis to get to the Benedict 29-yard line. After a 5-yard run by Thurman, Straughan threw two incomplete passes and was sacked by DeVante Pinkney on fourth down.

Benedict got a 9-yard pass from Stover to Brown, but the Tigers were facing a fourth-and-one to keep the drive alive when they were called for a false start penalty. Benedict ended up punting the ball back to Stillman. Woody said that series was a turning point in the game.

"We cut it down and we challenged the offense. We got the ball and couldn't get consecutive first downs," Woody said. "We were going to go for it on fourth and one, but then we jumped offsides and that set us back when we didn't have that opportunity. I had confidence we were going to score. But we had to punt it, and they drove straight down and scored. Again, missed opportunities."

Stillman struck quick, moving 87 yards on just four plays. Straughan threw a 22-yard pass to Dondre Purnell, then hit Hudson Cain for a 51-yard touchdown strike to push the lead back to 10, 34-24.

Stover threw an interception on Benedict's next series, and the Stillman Tigers put together another quick score. On the third play from scrimmage, Thurman went around the right edge and raced 71 yards for a touchdown, pushing the lead to 41-24 with 11:23 left to play.

Stillman added another score on its next series, as Straughan threw a 31-yard pass to Reese to make it 48-24 with 5:28 left to play and Stillman's third touchdown in eight minutes.

Benedict drove the field and scored on a 31-yard pass from Stover to Ntiasagwe. The Tigers attempted a two-point conversion, but Stover's pass was incomplete, making it 48-30 with 1:14 left to play.

Benedict attempted an on-sides kick and recovered. The Tigers drove and scored on a 9-yard pass from Stover to Kenneth Hurley Jr. on the final play of the game.

Benedict had a season-high 561 yards of total offense and Stover threw for a season-high 425 yards, completing 34-of-55 passes. Stover threw three touchdown passes but was intercepted twice. Brown was his top target, with 11 catches for 146 yards, both season highs.

Pinkney led the Benedict defense with nine total tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss.

The Tigers are on the road next week when they take on Clark Atlanta at 2 p.m.