September 1, 2007 – ATLANTA – A chance to break a nine-game losing streak vanished, when the Maroon Tigers surrendered a nine-point fourth-quarter lead and fell to the Fort Valley State Wildcats, 16-15, on a last-minute field goal.
The decisive blow came off the foot of Jake Grubbs who booted a 40-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the game to provide the margin of victory for the visiting Wildcats. The All-SIAC placer kicker made a similar field goal last week to beat Clark Atlanta, 13-10, in the waning moments of that game.
Morehouse’s last win against Fort Valley was a 27-16 victory in 1997.
Except for the final 14 seconds, Morehouse led most of the way.
The only score in the first three quarters was an eight-yard touchdown run by Kelvin Moore that capped a seven-play, 62-yard drive. Morehouse faked the point-after attempt, as holder David Hart sprinted into the end zone for a two-point conversion and an eight-point Maroon Tiger lead.
Fort Valley bounced back in the fourth quarter. Brandon Anderson punched in it from four yards out, but the two-point conversion failed.
The big play for the Maroon Tigers was a 90-yard touchdown run by cornerback Brandon Morgan, who scooped up a fumble and was off to the races. The fumble came courtesy of a wicked hit by linebacker Earl Thomas that separated the ball from receiver Nate Randall after a seven-yard completion.
Fort Valley bounced back again, this time on a 16-play, 62-yard drive. Running back Anderson again punched it in from the one and Grubbs added the extra point.
After three rushes by Kelvin Moore that netted only seven yards, Morehouse was forced to punt from its own 24. But the second block of a Micah Streiff punt gave the Wildcats good field position and set up the Grubbs heroics.
Derrick Scott (13 tackles) and Jeffrey Cargile (11 tackles) led the Morehouse defense that stymied the Wildcats for more than three quarters.
The Morehouse offense managed only 170 total yards, with Kelvin Moore accounting for 113 of those, collecting 88 yards on 21 rushes and making two catches for 25 yards.
Quarterback Carlos King connected on 7-of-21 passes for 66 yards and one interception.
Punter Micah Streiff, last week’s SIAC Special Team Player of the Week, punted nine times for a 40-yard average, despite having two of his punts blocked.
Fort Valley quarterback Garret Williams completed 16-of-35 passes for 157 yards, the bulk of those to receiver Nate Randall who hauled in nine passes for 108 yards.
Morehouse fell to 1-1 (1-1 SIAC), while Fort Valley improved to 2-0 (2-0 SIAC)
The Maroon Tigers will travel to Jackson, TN next Saturday to face Lane College in a game that will be televised on ESPNU. The game will be played at 3 p.m. Central Time, but the broadcast time has not been determined.
