Saint Paul's 24, Johnson C. Smith

September 27, 2008

Petersburg, Va. - The Saint Paul’s College Tigers played host to the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University at Cameron Field on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers (3-2 Overall, 1-1 CIAA) earned their first conference win of the season by defeating the Golden Bulls (1-4 Overall, 0-2 CIAA), 24 – 9.

After jumping out to an early lead, the Tigers never looked back. Saint Paul’s scored 17 unanswered points in the first half. The Tigers started the game by kicking the ball off to the Golden Bulls. On the third play of the Golden Bulls drive, Saint Paul’s linebacker Cameron Brunson intercepted the JCSU pass but fumbled as he made his way down the filed. Brunson’s teammate Chris Spears recovered the Tiger fumble and completed the play in the end zone for the first Tigers’ score of the day. That play seemed to have set the tone for the Tigers as they stayed aggressive throughout the rest of the game.

The Tigers managed to score two more times in the first half. Kicker Nelson Davalos kicked a 30-yard field goal, with 7:48 left in the second quarter, increasing the lead to
10 – 0. The Tigers did not stop there, with a 1:14 left before halftime, quarterback Micah Brown completed a 78-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Paul Banks increasing the Tigers lead once again, 17-0.

With the lead at going into the second half, the Tigers never looked back as they kept the pressure on the Golden Bulls. With 5:09 left, in the third quarterback Micah Brown threw his second touchdown pass of the day to freshmen Nicholas Bethea. Bethea, last weeks CIAA Rookie of the Week, made the impressive catch and then trucked his way into the end zone from 28-yards out.

The Tigers ended the day scoring 24 points on two touchdowns and a field with 290- yards of total offense. Quarterback Micah Brown ended the game with two touchdown passes, throwing for 136-yards and rushing for 34-yards. Nicholas Bethea produced another awesome outing gaining 109 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.

The Tigers’ defense proved to be tough once again. Senior defensive back Gregory Toler rallied his team by making several remarkable defensive plays. Toler finished the game with seven tackles, one interception, and two pass break-ups. Along with Toler, linebacker Clinton Gee also posted seven tackles, two for a loss of yards and one sack.
Toler and Gee helped hold the Golden Bulls scoreless throughout three quarters, but the Tigers would give up a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

The Tigers look to add to their win column next Saturday, October 4, when they storm into Richmond to take on the Panthers of Virginia Union University. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m.