September 10, 2005 – TUSCALOOSA, AL – Interceptions and a porous defensive secondary led to a 35-14 Morehouse defeat at the hands of the Stillman College Tigers, Saturday.

The Maroon Tigers offense sputtered and the defense gave up key receptions on critical third down plays. Two Stillman quarterbacks threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns.

Morehouse was without the services of backup running back Eddie Rowe and starting cornerback Johnny Eubanks who are nursing injuries. Both are day-to-day.

Stillman defenders picked off three Morehouse passes and returned two of them for touchdowns. The first came early in the first quarter when the Maroon Tigers had the ball on the Stillman 11 yard line. A Carlos King pass bounced off the hands of intended receiver Raymond Johnson and into the hands of Stillman’s Brian Witherspoon who returned it for a team record 99 yards. The second occurred late in the fourth quarter with the Maroon Tigers down 28-14. Forced into a desperate pass situation, backup quarterback Ruben DuPree’s pass was intercepted and returned 60 yards by Stillman’s Kalvin Eaton.

Except for those two miscues, the game was close.

After averaging 225 yards in the first two games, Maroon Tigers rushers could only muster 120 yards against the Stillman defense. John David Washington led all rushers with 55 yards on 17 carries. After three games, Washington is the SIAC’s leading rusher, with 329 yards.

Running back Byron Comer scored a touchdown on a 1-yard plunge just before halftime to make the score 21-14.
Comer gained 41 yards on nine carries and had a total of 133 yards or kick returns, one of them for a 56-yarder. Kelvin Moore gained 32 yards on seven carries.

The Maroon Tigers gained 171 yards passing. Wide receiver Raymond Johnson led all receivers with five receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Kicker Adam Williams continues to have a fine season. He hit 2-of-2 points-after-touchdowns and had six punts for a 40.7 yards-per-punt average.

Linebackers Lynn Freeman and William McKnight led the defense with 12 tackles each.

The loss drops Morehouse to 1-2 (1-2 SIAC). Stillman improved to 2-1 (2-1 SIAC).

The Maroon Tigers will take on Edward Waters College, from Jacksonville, FL, on Saturday in Valdosta, in the inaugural Harvey Moore-Azalea City Classic. Followed by a parade and tailgate parties, the game will kickoff at 5 p.m., at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, near the campus of Valdosta State University.