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September 29, 1997
By Hal LamarJust when Atlanta football fans thought they had seen everything, along comes the 100 Black Men Atlanta Football Classic and the 34-28 when-time-ran-out victory by South Carolina State over Tennessee State University.
So unpredictable was the finish that many of the 41,939 had begun settling in for some overtime play after Tennessee State, with 1st and 10 at their own 45 yard line, missed on an attempted "hail mary" pass for a touchdown to win the game.
Some might have thought the Big Blue stupid over trying to go for a quick victory. But consider the fact that the team had forged ahead 17-0 in the first half, then allowed the Bulldogs from Orangeburg to close the gap by three at the half.
Then with the score 17-14, the Tigers ran the score up again, leading 28-14 with 9:16 remaining in the ballgame.
But Willie Jefferies' Dawgs weren't through.
Thanks to 2 TSU turnovers at crucial moments, SC State scored again. One touchdown, which tied the score with 0:45 remaining, touched off some mild controversy. On a 4th and 4 at the TSU 9, SC State quarterback Reggie Curry was caught in his own backfield for a sack which would have turned the ball over to the Tigers on downs and finished the game. But TSU was called for offside which gave the Bulldogs 1st and goal at the four.
The controversy centered around a TSU assistant's claim that the Tigers were drawn offsides and a suggestion that the officials blew the call. TSU Head Coach L.C. Cole didn't go that far, but in a post game interview, he called the call "major" and remarked that it "showed us we have to be perfect everytime we step out on the field."
But the best, at least for SC State and the fans, was yet to come. The Bulldog touchdown still left 45 seconds on the clock, enough time for several TSU plays.
The Tigers managed to work the ball to their own 45 where quarterback Leon Murray then attempted a hail mary pass to the southeast corner of the end zone.
Failing on the first try, he returned again, attempting the same play in the same corner of the end zone.
This time,the ball was batted around like a balloon and ended up in the hands of SC State cornerback Jermaine Derricott. He was at his own 16.
" Everytime I get my hands on the ball, I'm trying to score, " said the junior. "All I saw was the other end of the field. I put everything else out of my mind and headed for the other end. What did I have to lose? Time had run out."
With blocking in front and with TSU hardly ready for this, Derricott ran 84 yards for the winning score.
Most of the 41,393 at the Dome were stunned, none more than TSU's Cole and for good reason. Again, he had seen his team blow a lead and lose a game. It had already happened twice this season against Jackson State and Florida A&M. " And here it is again. The old 28 points haunting us, " he said to reporters. "I just don't understand this."
Meanwhile, SC State returned to Orangeburg 3-0, their best start since 1991. That year, Jeff's Dawgs knocked off Newberry, Howard, Southern and Johnson C Smith and Morgan State before losing 24-21 to Bethune Cookman.
TSU returned to Nashville with a 1-3 record. Luckily, their lone victory this season came against Middle Tennessee which was also a conference game and leaves them in fairly good shape in the Ohio Valley Conference.
But the road jinx may or may not be over. The Big Blue is on the road again this weekend, facing North Carolina A&T in the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis.
Meanwhile, the 1997 Atlanta Classic may be the last appreance for one or both of the teams. SC State and TSU have been a part of the classic for all but a handful of the matchups. It appears that attendance for the non profit event peaked during their 1994 clash when the TSU Tigers won it before over 58,000, the largest crowd of the 8 year history of the game sponsored by the 100 Black Men of Atlanta.
There were rumblings among some club members that it may be time to extend invites to other teams and there were strong suggestions that Florida A&M which was part of the Classic's first two ballgames may be lured back.
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