Fort Valley, Georgia-A late touchdown by Fort Valley State with just over a minute remaining in the game prove to be a backbreaker for Edward Waters in their 34-31 loss to the Wildcats in an SIAC road matchup on Saturday evening at Wildcat Stadium.

Edward Waters (0-3, 0-2. SIAC) trailed 27-24 with 5:27 remaining in the ballgame, when Jyron Russell and the EWU offense engineered an eight play, 68 yard drive that culminated with a 15-yard touchdown to TE Raveon Moore that gave the Tigers a 31-27 lead with 1:37 remaining. Fort Valley State (2-1, 2-1 SIAC) quickly responded with a three-play, 64 yard drive with an 18-yard TD that took just :24 seconds to retake the lead at 34-31. 

The Tigers had an opportunity to respond with less than a minute remaining and drove as far as the FVSU 25-yard line, but a game-winning score was not to be as Russell's pass toward the endzone fell to the turf, unfortunately sending the Purple & Orange to a tough road loss.

Despite the loss, the Edward Waters offense easily had its best showing of the season, posting 477 yards of total offense on 70 plays (368 passing, 109 rushing). The Tigers defense was also dominant in the game, holding a potent FVSU rushing attack to just 86 total yards rushing.

Russell finished his evening going 21-37 passing for 368 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Johnny Jones led the EWU efforts through the air with seven receptions for 139 yards, while freshman Nathan Rembert had his best contest of his early EWU career with six receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Deshaun Hugee had 14 carries for 47 yards in the contest to lead the way for the Tigers.ç

Defensively, LB Widmyer Garcon and DT James Gary each had seven tackles in the contest, with a combined three tackles for loss. Sophomore DB Kenard King was also able to collect his first interception of the season for Edward Waters in the contest as well.

The Tigers will look to regroup on Saturday, September 23rd in an SIAC home contest against Morehouse College at 2:00pm at Glover Community Field and Stadium. The contest will also be aired live on ESPN+

Follow the Tigers
For complete coverage of Edward Waters University Athletics, follow the Tigers on social media @EWU_Athletics (Twitter), /EWUTigers (Facebook) and @EWU_Athletics (Instagram) or visit the official home of Edward Waters Athletics at EWUTigerPride.com