Lane 20, St Augustine's 16

September 2, 2006

RALEIGH, NC – Lane College rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Saint Augustine’s College 20-16 Saturday (September, 2, 2006) in the Falcons’ football season opener.

The Dragons, members of the SIAC, scored 17 second-half points including 14 in the fourth quarter to erase a 16-3 Falcons’ lead at halftime. The visitors took a 20-16 lead with 6:40 left in the fourth quarter on Virgil Union’s 38-yard touchdown catch and Justin Miranda’s point after kick. The score gave Lane its first lead of the contest.

The lead held as the Falcons failed to score on their next four possessions. The loss dropped the Falcons to 0-1 while Lane improved to 2-0 after going winless last year.

The Falcons, 8-2 last year, started strong as junior defensive tackle Cedric Clark (Statesville, NC) recorded a safety for a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. The Falcons stretched the lead to 10-0 in the second quarter when senior tailback Travoris Carter (Anderson, SC) scored from one yard after Tim Riley (Temple Hills, MD) returned a punt 65 yards near the goal line. Duane Smith (Temple Hills, MD) passed to Jabre Green (Pittsboro, NC) for the two-point conversion.

After a field goal pulled Lane within 10-3, junior quarterback Harold Dorman (Washington, DC) found Smith for a 33-yard touchdown pass to push the Falcons’ lead to 16-3.

Though they controlled the first two quarters, the Falcons failed to score after halftime. Meanwhile, the Dragons chipped away at the Falcons’ lead. The turning point was early in the fourth quarter when the Dragons recovered a muffed punt that led to a touchdown. The Falcons never regained momentum as the Dragons scored another touchdown on their next possession to capture the lead and, ultimately, the victory.

Senior middle linebacker Kevin Jones (South Hill, VA) led the Falcons with a game-high 12 tackles and intercepted a pass. Senior outside linebacker Kente Blount (Hampton, VA) added 6 tackles as the Falcons recorded four quarterback sacks. But the Dragons’ defense held the Falcons to 115 total offensive yards.

After suffering a season-opening loss, the Falcons will attempt to regroup Saturday (September 9, 2006) on the road against CIAA opponent Virginia State. The contest starts at 6 p.m.