SAVANNAH, Ga. —
Triston Morgan scored on a 25-yard run, breaking multiple tackles along the way, to score the winning touchdown as the Benedict College Tigers secured a trip to next week's SIAC championship with a 16-13 victory in double overtime over the Savannah State Tigers on Saturday.
The contest was a tough defensive battle, with Benedict scoring an early touchdown and held the 7-0 lead for most of the game until Savannah State tied the score with 2:05 left in the fourth quarter. An interception on a Hail Mary pass at the end of regulation sent the game into overtime.
In the first overtime period, Benedict's
Logan Karwacki kicked a 27-yard field goal. Savannah State got the ball to the 2-yard line on their overtime possession, but Benedict's
Omari Terry came up with a three-yard tackle for loss and another tackle for no gain, and Savannah State kicked a 27-yard field goal to force another tie.
In the second overtime period, Savannah State threw a pair of incomplete passes and Terry had another tackle for loss. They kicked a 44-yard field goal to take a 13-10 lead. On Benedict's possession, Morgan took the handoff on first down and bounced off tacklers as he made his way into the end zone for the game-winning score.
Benedict, now 9-1 on the season and 7-1 in the SIAC, will travel to Albany, Ga., next week for the SIAC championship against the Golden Rams. Savannah State wraps up its 2025 season at 4-6 overall and 3-5 in the SIAC.
Benedict took their second offensive series and drove 30 yards for a touchdown, with
Darius Ocean throwing a 3-yard pass to
Malaqhi Jones.
The BC Tigers missed out on several scoring opportunities in the game, throwing three interceptions and missing three field goal attempts.
Savannah State threw a short pass in the fourth quarter, and receiver TaDarius Vaughn avoided a Benedict defender and raced 74 yards before being brought down at the 4-yard line. On the next play, Joseph Hampton ran in for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 with 2:05 left in regulation.
Morgan finished with 94 yards rushing on 18 carries, while
David Smith added 71 yards on 18 carries.
Terry led the BC defense with eight tackles, including four tackles for loss.
Terence Brown had an interception in the first quarter. The Benedict defense held Savannah State to 2-of-12 on third down conversions.
Benedict will be going for its third SIAC championship in the past four years, and the first under second-year coach
Ron Dickerson Jr. Next week's title game will be a rematch of the Oct. 25 contest in Columbia, with the Golden Rams taking a 31-3 victory.
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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 (HBCUs) 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.