FAIRFIELD, Ala. —
Miles took a 37-3 decision over
Morehouse on Saturday afternoon at Sloan-Alumni Stadium, a result that was not surprising entering the contest. But the victory was significant. It gave the Golden Bears (7-2, 7-0 SIAC) a berth in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game on Nov. 16, which the team will host. It will be the first time the team has appeared or hosted the title tilt since 2021, a significant turnaround for head coach
Sam Shade and his crew after being 1-9 just two seasons ago.
The victory marked the first time in program history that the team won its first seven conference games in a season and leaves it one short of the modern school record of eight straight wins, set in 1954 and duplicated across the 1957 and 1958 seasons. The win also keeps the Golden Bears in line to appear in the Division II playoffs. But most importantly, it showcased that Miles is in the midst of one of its most dominant stretches of football. Morehouse (1-8, 1-6) had just nine first downs and 110 yards of total offense - the fewest allowed by a Miles team in the past 15 seasons - while having 10 yards or fewer on nine of its 12 possessions.
The afternoon started with the program honoring 19 players who played their final regular season home game on Senior Day. But there was no room to celebrate when quarterback
Kamren Ivory was intercepted on the Golden Bears’ first play from scrimmage. The Maroon Tigers turned that turnover into a field goal for a 3-0 advantage with 9:36 left in the opening quarter.
But from there, Miles dominated the ball game. On the ensuing drive, Ivory (10-of-19, 181 yards) hit big pass plays to
Keidarris Griffin (32 yards) and
Franck Pierre, whose 24-yard touchdown catch put the Golden Bears ahead 6-3. After a punt, Miles continued to hand the ball to
Jonero Scott - who had not played since rushing for 178 yards against Allen at the end of September. He proceeded to get three carries on the possession for 17, 11, then 38 yards, the last being a touchdown run to extend the lead. Scott did not play after the first quarter but still finished with 84 yards on six carries.
The ability to continue to rest Scott was sealed on the final play of the first quarter when
Lashon Young made his Division II-leading seventh interception. This one was returned 52 yards for a score - his first this season - and gave Miles a 20-3 lead. The Golden Bears continued to pour it on in the second quarter. Ivory threw two more touchdowns, a 42-yard effort to Griffin (five catches, 117 yards) and a 9-yard toss to
Bradley Caldwell, his first with this season. Miles led 34-3 at the half and got a Roderick Scott 29-yard field goal in the third quarter, which amounted to all the scoring in the second half.
Morehouse never got close to scoring because the Miles defense spent most of the game in the Maroon Tigers' backfield. The Golden Bears had 15 tackles for loss, led by
Roc Dowdell (six tackles, 4.5 TFL, one sack) and six sacks (
Roderick Campbell, 2, Dowdell,
Jamichael Rogers,
William Hardy,
Carson Pritchett). The Maroon Tigers finished with minus-57 rushing and did not have a run longer than seven yards on the afternoon.
Miles will close out the regular season at Tuskegee on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.