The Golden Tigers parlayed several timely defensive stops with All-American quarterback Jacary Atkinson’s nifty running Saturday to defeat Alabama A&M 34-24 in front of an announced crowd of 47,273 in the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis. The victory extended the Golden Tigers’ winning streak to 21 consecutive games, the second-longest in school history.

Indianapolis, IN (Circle City Classic)
Boxscore

Atkinson rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns against the Bulldogs, who left the SIAC in 1998 and now play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The senior from Valley, Ala., had five rushes of 10 yards or, including a 38-yard touchdown run on the Golden Tigers’ first possession that capped a three-play, 68-yard drive and gave them a 7-0 lead.

Atkinson also had a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, on which he dragged a defender into the end zone, as the Golden Tigers went ahead 20-10.

Atkinson’s rushing total was the sixth highest in the 25-year history of the Circle City Classic. He also tossed a 14-yard first-quarter touchdown pass to Jason English that extended Tuskegee’s lead to 13-0. Atkinson kept that drive alive with a 36-yard run to Alabama A&M’s 15-yard line.

The Golden Tigers’ defense twice turned Alabama A&M away without a touchdown after the Bulldogs were in the shadow of their goal line.

They held Alabama A&M (2-4) to a third-quarter field goal that made the score 13-10 after the Bulldogs had the ball first and goal at the one-yard line. They also stopped Alabama A&M on the Tuskegee four on the Bulldogs’ last possession of the game.

The Golden Tigers also forced Alabama A&M to turn the ball over on downs when they held on fourth-and-1 at the Tuskegee 48 with 9:24 left in the third quarter.

The Golden Tigers went away from their usual modus operandi against Alabama A&M. They outscored their opponents 95-10 in the first half of their previous four games. However, they only led the Bulldogs 13-7 after two quarters before scoring three times in the fourth quarter to pull the game out.

The change in strategy worked as Forney rushed for 73 yards on just 13 carries and John Pascley add 64 on seven carries. Pascley’s touchdown 52-yard run with left in the game sealed the victory after Alabama A&M pulled to within 27-24.

The Golden Tigers return to SIAC action Saturday when they face Morehouse in Columbus, Ga. The Maroon Tigers are 3-1 in the conference and 3-2 overall.

This will be the 98th times the schools have played. The Golden Tigers lead the series 63-27-7. They have won 11 of the previous 15 contests and the last four in a row.

click here to see pics from the game: Circle City Classic

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Football, SIAC News, Tuskegee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.