Blythewood, South Carolina-Over the past two weeks, Edward Waters has had quite the flair for the dramatic, pulling out last second victories over Tuskegee and last week at home against Albany State. The Tigers look to keep their postseason hopes alive, continue their current winning streak, and lock up the program's first winning season since 2004 on Saturday afternoon. Edward Waters will face another squad that has set the SIAC and HBCU football world on fire in rival Allen University in the 4th annual AME Football Classic.

GAME INFORMATION:
Edward Waters (5-3, 5-2 SIAC) at Allen (6-2, 4-2 SIAC)
4th Annual AME Football Classic
Saturday, October 28th
Westwood High School Foottball Stadium | Blythewood, South Carolina
Kickoff: 2:00pm 
Weather: 78° Sunny, 0% Chance of Rain, Wind: WSW 3 mph

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets must be purchased on Allen's athletics website at: https://auyellowjackets.com/sports/2022/4/1/ticketing.aspx. If you use the code "AUVisitor", fans can receive $5.00 off regular price of admission.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Video Stream: https://www.jockjive.com/allenfootball.html | Play-By-Play: Cade Crenshaw
Audio Stream: Edward Waters Sports Network powered by YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv-RXniKhoI) | Play-By-Play: Joshua C. Jackson, Sports Information Director/"Voice of the Tigers"

COACHING MATCHUP:
Edward Waters: Toriano Morgan, 3rd Season (14-16)
Allen: Teddy Keaton, 5th Season At Allen (17-27), 10th Season Overall (44-53)

SERIES HISTORY:
Saturday's meeting between the two teams is the 10th all-time meeting between the two African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church affiliated institutions, and the fourth meeting under the "AME Football Classic" moniker. Edward Waters dropped the first two meetings with the Yellow Jackets back in 1945 and 1947, but have dominated the modern era of the series winning the last eight consecutive meetings by a combined score of 221-117.

1945: Allen 34, EWC 0
1949: Allen 56, EWC 13
2001: Jacksonville, FL    EWC 38, Allen 22
2002: Columbia, S. C.      EWC 7, Allen 2
2003: Jacksonville, FL     EWC 14, Allen 13
2004: Columbia, S. C.      EWC 28, Allen 20
2019: Jacksonville, FL     EWC 45, Allen 14
2021: Blythewood, S. C.  EWU 51, Allen 34
2022: Jacksonville, FL     EWU 38, Allen 12

PREVIEWING EDWARD WATERS:
LAST TIME OUT: Edward Waters continues to battle until the end and finds uncanny ways to win games. Down by as much as 24-7, the "Cardiac Cats", outscored Albany State 17-3 in the second half, including another last second touchdown pass from Jyron Russell to Deven Thompson with :08 remaining in the contest to earn a 31-27 victory and take down their second straight SIAC "Blue Blood" program.

IN "7 " WE TRUST: QB Jyron Russell has been on an incredible roll this season. Last week's performance against Albany State (22-34 passing, 281 yards, 3 TDs) now makes him the EWC/U modern era single season leader in passing yards (2,220 yds) and passing TDs (18). Russell presently leads the conference in touchdown passes, and is second in passing yards. He is also 7th in NCAA Division II in passing yards and is in the top 20 nationally in passing TDs.

WELCOME BACK ROLLE: After missing the first seven contests of the season due to eligibility issues, junior DB and Preseason Second Team All-SIAC selection Dartrell Rolle made an immediate impact in his first contest back. The Miami native infused much needed energy to the Tiger secondary, with four tackles, a tackle for loss, and the game's only turnover, an interception just before halftime.

EARNING RESPECT: Edward Waters has begun to appear in several HBCU Top 10 Polls this week. (BOXTOROW D2 Top 10: 9, HBCU Sports Ultimate DII Poll: 8, HBCU Premier Sports DII Top 10: 9, The CFB Network HBCU 15 Poll: 15, Dr. Cavil's Mid-Major Poll: 7)

MORGAN MATCHES UP WITH MENTOR: This contest against Allen will also have special meaning for head coach Toriano Morgan as he will match wits against his former head coach at Tennessee State and current Yellow Jacket defensive coordinator, L. C. Cole. As a wide receiver at TSU, Morgan and Cole helped the "Big Blue" Tigers to two Ohio Valley Conference championships and two appearances in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 1998 & 1999.

PREVIEWING ALLEN:
YELLOW JACKETS STINGING THE COMPETITION: Like their opponents on Saturday, Allen has also had a meteoric rise through the SIAC this season. Selected to finish 11th in the SIAC Preseason Rankings, the Yellow Jackets have bucked those notions to a 6-2 overall mark and a 4-2 record in the SIAC, with a major notable win against Albany State on their homecoming on Oct. 14th. AU comes in to Saturday's matchup after nearly picking up another program defining victory, coming up just short with a 28-21 loss at Miles last week.

BY THE NUMBERS: Allen once again has one of the most prolific offenses in the SIAC. The Yellow Jackets are 4th in the SIAC in scoring offense (29.7 ppg), 1st in total offense (458.3 ypg), 11th in rushing offense (102.4 ypg), and 1st in passing offense (355.9 ypg). On the other side of the ball, AU is 7th in scoring defense (29.1 ppg), 6th in total defense (366.6 ypg), 3rd against the run (106.0), and 12th in passing defense (251.9 ypg).

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: After missing last season due to injury, Allen redshirt sophomore QB David Wright has come back with a vengeance. The Tampa Bay native leads the conference in passing (184-313, 2491 yds, 58.8 comp pct, 2491 yds, 14 TDs), but also leads the league in interceptions with 14. Beau Harrington is 5th in the conference in rushing (114 att., 468 yds, 6 TDs, 4.1 YPC), while Deyandre Ruffin ranks 4th in receiving (31 rec., 568 yds, 2 TDs, 18.3 ypc). Defensively, All-SIAC selection LB Gary Bourrage is 4th in the conference in tackles with 55, avg. 7.9 tackles per game.

LEADER OF THE JACKETS: HBCU veteran head coach Teddy Keaton is in his fifth season of the rebirthed football program at Allen University, coming back after a 13 year hiatus in 2018. Prior to his head coaching stint at Allen, he had a five year stint at Stillman College from 2011 until the school discontinued the football program in 2015.

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