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NCAA Div. II playoffs
Albany State falls late to Tusculum, 34-22
SIAC runners-up Albany State battled rain, hail and bone-chilling weather to take and hold a lead deep into the fourth quarter but was outscored 20-0 in the final stanza to succumb to Tusculum 34-22 in a first round NCAA Div. II playoff game Saturday in Greenville, Tenn.
The Golden Rams (7-4), making their sixth straight playoff appearance under head coach James "Mike" White, turned two early turnovers into a 10-0 second quarter lead and did not surrender the lead until the 23rd-ranked Pioneers scored a touchdown with 3:31 left to go up 27-22. After stopping ASU's final drive at its own 41, TC added an insurance touchdown for the final margin.
But the final score does not indicate how hard-fought a battle TC emerged from.
Up 10-7 at the half, ASU scored first in the third quarter on a 61-yard dash from running back Brian Porter and then answered a Tusculum touchdown with an 11-yard TD run from QB Kisan Flakes to lead 22-14 entering the final period.
But after the Golden Rams' defense stopped Tusculum on a three-and-out in its first fourth quarter possession, ASU was whistled for roughing the punter giving the ball back to the Pioneers at the Albany 36. Tusculum drove for a score and then put up two more touchdowns while holding the ASU offense to just two first downs for the rest of the quarter.
"It was a huge play," Rams coach Mike White said of the penalty on the punt. "We were in punt-safe mode. We weren't trying to block it and everybody was stunned. I couldn't believe what happened. It kind of swung the momentum back their way. We weren't rushing the punter or anything. It was a mistake. Just a mistake.
"In the playoffs, it's very crucial that you make plays at the end. I thought they made the plays and we didn't."
Harlon Hill Trophy candidate Corey Russell of Tusculum orchestrated the three fourth-quarter scoring drives, including a pair of touchdown passes and a 41-yard TD run with 1:39 remaining to ice the game. On the day, Russell accounted for 274 passing yards, 52 yards below his 326 yards per game average, and three TD tosses, while also rushing for 87 yards and two scores. His 361 total offensive yards is his 10th straight 300-yard game, establishing a new NCAA II single-season record.
The fourth-seeded Pioneers (9-3) advance to face top-seeded Delta State Saturday in a second round game.
ASU running back Brian Porter was brilliant rushing for 170 yards on 21 carries including his third quarter TD run. Porter also had nine yards on four receptions and returned two kickoffs for 51 yards to amass 230 all-purpose yards in the game. Flakes rushed for 72 yards on 20 carries including a second quarter scoring run of 12 yards. Flakes was able to hit on only 9 of 19 passes for 44 yards, one of those completions however went to RB Demetrice Johnson for an 11-yard score with :56 left in the third quarter to put the Rams up 22-14.
Isaiah Gay paced the Golden Rams with 10 tackles and a forced fumble, while Quinton Nelson accounted for seven tackles in the loss. Tusculum out-gained ASU by a 386-320 margin, but it was the Golden Rams who dominated the time of possession (36:23 to 23:37).
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.