November 5, 2005 – KNOXVILLE, TN – A season that began with hope and promise ended in defeat with a 34-24 loss to Miles College in the inaugural Knoxville Legacy Football Classic.
With the third consecutive loss, the Maroon Tigers ended the 2005 season at 3-7 (2-7 SIAC) and eighth place in the conference, the worst finish since going 2-8 in 1999.
An Adam Williams 27-yard field goal midway through the first quarter got the Maroon Tigers off to a good start, but it went downhill from there.
Miles bounced back in the second quarter with three touchdowns. A 29-yard touchdown pass from Ruben DuPree to Corey Russ interrupted the scoring barrage by the Golden Bears who led 21-10 at halftime.
Miles scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. A 2-yard touchdown run by John David Washington late in the third quarter and a 4-yard TD run by Ruben DuPree late in the fourth quarter made the score respectable, but it was too little too late.
Morehouse out-gained Miles 224- 75 yards through the air, but were out-gained 219-81 yards on the ground. The game was marred by 24 penalties by both teams for a total of 208 yards.
Running back Washington led the Maroon Tiger rushing game with 94 yards on 19 carries. The senior from Toluca Lake, CA finished the season with 1,198 yards and broke his own Morehouse single-season rushing record of 1,124 set in 2003. Washington also owns the Morehouse single-game (242) and career rushing records (1,198).
Wide receiver Raymond Johnson led all receivers with five catches for 76 yards. The senior from Lithia Springs, GA finishes his career at Morehouse with three school records – most receiving touchdowns in a season (12), most receiving yards in season (1,038) and most receptions in a season (56).
Strong safety Woodrow Vereen, with 12 tackles, and linebacker Gerik Witt, with 10 tackles, led the Maroon Tigers defense that has been decimated by late-season injuries.
Quarterback Ruben DuPree completed 15-of-31 passes for 224 yards. He was intercepted twice and sacked six times.
