AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Lane Dragons used a 66-yard pass play to set up the winning touchdown with 1:11 left to play and rallied for a 23-19 victory over the Benedict College Tigers on Saturday in the annual Augusta City Classic.

The Tigers had rallied from a 16-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 19-16 lead and had the ball in the red zone with under two minutes to play, only to see the Dragons (2-4 overall, 0-2 SIAC) pull out the miraculous victory and keep the Tigers (0-6 overall, 0-1 SIAC) winless on the season.

"It was a very tough loss for us today," Benedict coach Mike White said. "The guys fought hard to get back into the game and made a play or two, but it wasn't enough to get the win. I'm proud of the way we played, but we've got to finish the game a little bit better than that."

The Lane Dragons jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Tigers got on the board on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Hoard to George Myers Jr. with 4:11 left in the first half. The Dragons added two points on a safety when Benedict punter Brian Curry was sacked in the end zone with 19 seconds left in the half, making it 16-7 at the break.

The Tigers got a 28-yard field goal from Tory Mimbs with 2:53 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 16-10.

Curry had a 39-yard punt downed at the Lane two-yard line with 7:20 left in the game. On first down, Charles Powell busted through the line to tackle Gerald Gaines in the end zone for a safety and cut the lead to 16-12 with 7:14 left in the contest.

The Dragons kicked the ball back to Benedict, and Myers returned the ball 76 yards before being dragged down at the Lane 14-yard line. On first down, Hoard threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Griffin. Mimbs added the PAT to give the Tigers a 19-16 lead with 6:54 to play.

The Dragons got the ball back, and on second down Darius Mitchell fumbled the ball after a completed pass, and Harmon Brown recovered for the Tigers at the Lane 31-yard line. The Tigers drove the ball and had a first-and-goal at the 9-yard line, but a false start penalty, a sack and a tackle for loss pushed the ball back to the 22-yard line, where Mimbs missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 1:45 to go.

The Dragons took over on their own 22, and on first down, Marcus Reynolds completed a pass to Mitchell, who got past the Benedict secondary and then avoided a tackle before finally being pushed out of bounds at the Benedict 12-yard line.

"We just blew coverage," White said.

On third down from the 4-yard line, the Dragons came out in a spread formation, and Reynolds carried the ball into the end zone untouched. Carlas Moore Jr. kicked the PAT for a 23-19 lead with 1:11 on the clock.

The Tigers moved the ball with a 19-yard pass to Okechi Ntiasagwe, a 16-yard run by Hoard and a 12-yard pass to Jevric Blocker to get to the Lane 24-yard line. After back-to-back incomplete passes, Hoard gave the Tigers a first down with a 10-yard run to the Lane 14-yard line. After an incomplete pass, the Tigers had one last shot with five seconds left on the clock, but Hoard was sacked to end the game.

White said this loss was the toughest to take.

"We battled back and did some of the things we've talked about. Yeah, this thing's a little worse than the rest of them," White said.

Myers was named the Benedict MVP of the Classic. He finished with six receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown, four rushes for 18 yards and 131 return yards on three kickoff returns. Raheem Jennings finished with 97 yards rushing on 27 carries, both season highs for the Tigers. Hoard completed 12 of 25 passes for 148 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Kelvin McCollum led the defense with seven tackles, including two tackles for loss.

The Tigers are home next week for Homecoming. Benedict will take on another winless team in the Clark Atlanta Panthers. Kickoff is 2 p.m.