Albany, GA., -- The Edward Waters football team dropped a close road Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAC) meeting against Albany State, 42-34 Saturday afternoon inside Albany State University Coliseum.
With the loss, the Tigers fall to 1-7 on the season with a 1-5 mark in conference action.
EWU got off to a great start as the Tiger defense forced a fumble that was recovered by Stephan French. After the ASU fumble, the Tigers would drive 73 yards in 14 plays to take a 7-0 lead after quarterback Juwan Dent scored in a one yard touchdown run.
On the Golden Rams second possession of the game, Junior safety De'Angelo Sapp blitzed off the right side and stripped sacked ASU quarterback Isaiah Knowles. Sapp then recovered the fumble and put the Tigers ahead 14-0 with a touchdown.
Albany State would battle back and score two touchdowns to bring the Edward Waters lead to 14-13 midway through the second quarter. Then Juwan Dent found senior wide receiver Deven Thompson for a 68-yard touchdown pass, a career long play for both Dent and Thompson. The lead would be short lived as the Golden Rams answered on their next drive even the score at 21-21.
After an EWU field goal and another ASU touchdown, Albany State led Edward Waters 28-24 at halftime.
The Golden Rams would score again on their opening drive of the second half to move ahead 35-24 over the visiting Tigers. EWU would add a field goal by Cooper Badics to close the ASU lead to 35-27.
Albany State would add one final touchdown to spring their lead to 42-27, but the Tigers wouldn't give up the fight. Juwan Dent found Deven Thompson in the back on the end zone for their second touchdown connection of the ball game to bring the Tigers closer 34-42. But in the end the Golden Rams would hold off all EWU's attempts to recapture the lead.
Juwan Dent threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns on 14 for 18 passing. Dent also added a touchdown run, his third of the season. Deven Thompson led the Tigers receiving corps with 87 yards and two touchdowns on three catches. Johnny Jones also hauled in three passes for 73 yards. Tight end Raveon Moore recorded two catches for 72 yards receiving. Sophomore Gregory Mango paced the EWU backfield with 40 yards rushing.
Defensively, Stephan French led the Tigers with seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Riccardi Joseph finished with six tackles while De'Angelo Sapp compiled two tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Dartrell Roole, Robert Lewis and Enrique Rudolph also chipped in five tackles each.
Edward Waters will return to action with their final road game of the season with a trio to Jackson, TN for a SIAC matchup against Lane College on November 2 at Lane Field. The game will kickoff at 3:00pm (EST).
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