SAVANNAH, Ga. —
Kentucky State's defense forced four interceptions, including a 27-yard pick-six by Tray Blackmon, to spark a 37-20 road win over
Savannah State on Saturday night.
Quarterback
Torrence Bardell led the way with 95 rushing yards, including a 62-yard burst, while completing 6 of 10 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with
Earl Gray,
Jon McCall and
Darius Cyprian for scoring strikes.
Defensively, the Thorobreds collected four interceptions and tallied nine tackles for loss, led by
Josh Woods and
Jordan Thompson combining for 3.0 sacks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Donovan Dillingham recorded his first interception of the season, stopping Savannah State's opening drive at the 10:36 mark of the first quarter.
After runs by
Chad Elzy Jr. and
Torrence Bardell, Bardell connected with
Jon McCall for a 25-yard touchdown strike. The two-point attempt fell incomplete, leaving the Thorobreds with a 6-0 lead at the 6:05 mark of the first quarter.
With 53 seconds left in the first quarter, Savannah State's Jimmy Tran converted a 42-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 6-3. On the ensuing drive, Elzy broke free for a 16-yard gain before fumbling, with the Tigers recovering to keep the game tight at the end of the quarter.
Savannah State pulled even at 6-6 when Jimmy Tran converted a 38-yard field goal with 11:40 remaining in the second quarter.
At the 10:06 mark of the second quarter,
Torrence Bardell connected with
Earl Gray for a 34-yard touchdown, giving the Thorobreds a 13-6 lead.
Just over a minute later, Tray Blackmon's interception return stretched the lead to 20-6 with 9:00 left in the half.
Leland Gantz connected on a 28-yard field goal late in the second quarter to send the Thorobreds into halftime with a 23-6 lead.
Kentucky State opened the third quarter with a 74-yard drive in just three plays, capped by an eight-yard touchdown run from
Torrence Bardell to extend the lead to 30-6 at the 13:34 mark.
Savannah State answered with its first touchdown of the night on a 2-yard run by Joseph Hampton, then added a two-point conversion to trim the deficit to 30-14 with 7:57 remaining in the third quarter.
Bardell connected with
Darius Cyprian for a 45-yard touchdown strike at the 5:07 mark of the third quarter, stretching Kentucky State's lead to 37-14.
Savannah State added its final points on a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but the two-point conversion attempt failed as Kentucky State closed out a 37-20 victory.
UP NEXT
Kentucky State will look to carry its momentum on the road next Saturday, Oct. 4, with a 3 p.m. matchup against Miles in Birmingham, Alabama.
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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.