“We knew going into the season that the first four games
were against tough opponents, including two teams who made it to the FCS
playoffs last season. We felt the goal
was to not complain, but play the opponents we had scheduled. We have several areas we need to improve, but
the good thing about it is we have eight conference games in front of us. We’ve got to look at the film and make our
adjustments and prepare for Morgan State,” Head Coach Earl Holmes said.
The TSU (4-1, 1-0 OVC) defense scored two touchdowns in the
contest and held the Rattlers (0-4) to 224 total yards. The unit also notched
12 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
A 30-yard punt return from De’Ante Saunders set up the TSU offense at its own 49-yard line and a 24-yard rush by Tom Smith later on the drive set up the only score of the first quarter – a 22-yard field goal by Lane Clark at the 7:18 mark.
Butler led an 11-play, 95 yard scoring drive early in the
second period, completing two long passes, one to Hakeem Parker for 18 yards
and another to Archie Denard that went for 16. The aerial success led to a
five-yard touchdown run by Telvin Hooks to increase the Tiger lead to 10-0.
Four plays later, true freshman Terrell Bonds picked off
Damien Fleming’s crossing pattern and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown. The
defensive score put the home side up, 17-0, with 7:19 left in the first half.
Nick Thrasher got another interception for TSU and Clark
booted a career-long 42-yard field goal to give TSU a 20-0 halftime lead.
The Tiger rushing game found its footing during the opening
30 minutes, gaining 88 yards on 17 rushes for a 5.2 yard per carry average.
The Rattlers finally punched it into the end zone at the
10:27 mark of the third quarter on a quarterback draw by Fleming. It was the
only score of the period and capped a 10-play, 63 yard drive.
During the fourth quarter, quarterback Damien Fleming went
down with a foot injury, activating Carson Royal. On Royal’s first play, he would fumble on a
pass attempt, which was scooped up by Samquan Evans, who scampered 12 yards,
leading to the final score of 27-7.
The Rattler offense gained 224 total offensive yards, slimly
trailing TSU with 278.