WILBERFORCE, Ohio – The Benedict College Tigers posted their second consecutive shutout with a 10-0 victory over Central State on Saturday in their SIAC opener.
The Tigers scored their only touchdown in the first quarter after a muffed punt by the Marauders, and
Isaiah Stephens recovered the loose ball for a score with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.
"It was ugly, but a win is a win," said Benedict head coach
Ron Dickerson Jr., who saw the Tigers improve to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the SIAC. "We improved from last week. That's what we've got to keep doing.
"The defense and special teams played good. All the points came on special teams. We had pressure on the punt and the guy tried to get rid of the ball and threw it to us."
With Benedict holding a 7-0 lead at the half, the Marauders opened the second half with a long, 80-yard drive to the Benedict 1-yard line. On fourth-and-inches, the Tiger defense forced a fumble, with
Donte Craggette-Drake recovering in the end zone.
"That 80-yard drive had me sweating," Dickerson said. "Then, when it mattered, on the one-inch line, we caused the guy to fumble on fourth down. That was a play from 11 guys doing their job."
The Tigers took over at their own 20-yard line and drove to the Central State 14-yard line, with a 45-yard pass from
Darius Ocean to
Malik Mullins causing the bulk of the damage.
Zane Spires capped off the drive with a 31-yard field goal to make it 10-0.
The Benedict defense held the Marauders (0-3 overall, 0-3 SIAC) on two more key drives in the fourth quarter, with the Tigers stopping them on a fourth-and-14, and then later
Cam Williams intercepted a pass on Central State's final possession.
Ocean, getting his first action of the season, completed 15-of-22 passes for 180 yards, coming in for starter
Jackson Jensen.
"They knew Jackson was coming off that knee injury so they brought some exotic blitzes and he struggled picking them up," Dickerson said. "It kind of gave us the opportunity to play more of a little more mobile quarterback. Jackson's stats weren't that good, but we didn't help him as an offense and an O-line in that situation. I think Darius came in where we needed a more mobile quarterback, and he did a good job doing that. I think they're going to continue to complement each other throughout the season."
Defensively,
Israel Nwokocha had 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Stephens finished with nine tackles, while Williams had three pass breakups, including his interception.
Benedict has a short week as they prepare for a Thursday night game against Tuskegee.
"We have an eight-hour trip home, and hopefully we get some sleep, then we crack the whip Sunday. Sunday will be a Tuesday practice, Monday will be a Wednesday practice and Tuesday will be a Thursday practice and then it's gametime. We'll have to turn right around and make the corrections and move forward."
