Benedict’s dream of a storybook season began with a depressing opening chapter on Saturday at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.
The Tigers fell behind early, rallied to take the lead, then lost 34-27 in overtime to Morehouse in the ninth annual Palmetto Capital City Classic in front of 7,629 fans.
The loss ends Benedict’s five-game winning streak in the Palmetto Capital City Classic. More important, the loss quickly puts the Tigers in a precarious position in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — Benedict plays at defending conference champion Tuskegee next weekend.
“We had took many turnovers, too many penalties at crucial times and too many breakdowns on both sides of the ball,” Benedict coach Stan Conner said.
“The only good thing was we had a lot of chances to quit, and didn’t. We kept playing hard and somehow forced the game into overtime. No doubt about it, this is a loss that is going to challenge the character of this football team.”
Offensively, the Tigers turned the ball over six times. Senior quarterback Pat Riley fumbled five times, losing four of them, and threw an interception.
The game was bookended by turnovers. Riley lost the ball on the Benedict 25 on the first play of the game; his final fumble came at the goal line in overtime.
“Pat was pressing, trying to do too much,” Conner said. “He’s a veteran and I have no doubt that he’ll get back to letting the game come to him.”
Riley finished with two touchdown runs and touchdown passes to Kareem Dunlap and Corey Gardhigh. Another of his fumbles in the first quarter set up a Morehouse touchdown.
Morehouse surprised Benedict’s defense with a power running attack, featuring physical sophomore David Carter. The Maroon Tigers finished with 324 yards rushing, with Carter getting 179 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. Carter scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
“People think all we do is throw the ball all over the place,” said Morehouse coach Rich Freeman, whose team finished with 481 yards offense. “But we know we must establish the run first to have success. I think we played well in two phases of the game, but not special teams, which I’m responsible for.”
Two breakdowns in the kicking game cost Morehouse the chance of winning in regulation.
In the first quarter with a 21-7 lead, after a bad snap on a Morehouse field goal attempt, kicker Ian Mullen tried to throw a pass that was intercepted and returned 77 yards for a touchdown by Tyrone Davis.
Morehouse also had a chance to win the game with 1:47 remaining after William Brack’s 1-yard touchdown run tied the game at 27, but Mullen’s point-after was blocked by Gladel Brutos.
As it turned out, all that did was prolong Benedict’s agony.
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