By FVSU Sports Information

Columbus, GA - When the 8-1 Wildcats of Fort Valley State University (FVSU) entered Saturday’s match up with the undefeated (9-0) Golden Rams of Albany State University (ASU) in the 21st Annual Fountain City Classic, they knew how much was at stake.

First, a win by the Wildcats would give them their first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Championship since 1999. Second, a win against the Golden Rams, the number one ranked team in the south region of Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), would almost assure the Wildcats of their eighth appearance in the NCAA playoffs.  And finally, a win would have meant back-to-back wins for the Wildcats in the Fountain City Classic, thereby securing bragging right for another year.

In Saturday’s low scoring affair, the Wildcats felt the sting of disappointment in a 12-7 loss to ASU.  On a day when the usually high octane Wildcat offense could generate only 159 yards of total offense, the 23,966 fans who were crammed in and around A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ga. witnessed a defensive battle.  Case in point, the offense of the Golden Rams was not much better than FVSU’s with a total of 167 yards.

For the Wildcats their only touchdown of the game was made by the defense. After almost two and one half quarters of scoreless football, FVSU defensive end Emanuel Williams broke the scoring ice when he recovered an ASU fumble and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown with 8:03 left in the third quarter. The converted extra point by Justin Rosenbaum gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead. 

The score by the Wildcats must have ignited the Golden Rams.  On the ensuing drive ASU mounted a 6 play, 69 yard drive that was capped by an eight yard touchdown pass from Stanley Jennings to Ronnie Childs.  The Golden Rams missed the extra point attempt and FVSU had 7-6 lead.

The game’s final score came with 10:46 remaining when the passing and receiving duo of Jennings and Childs connected on a 53 yard touchdown pass.  A partially deflected pass by FVSU’s Bernard George found its way into the arms of Childs who ran it in for the touchdown.  After the touchdown the Golden Rams tried a two point conversion but the attempt failed.  The 12-7 ASU lead proved insurmountable as the Golden Rams held on for the win.

In reflecting on the loss, FVSU Head Coach Donald Pittman said, “We had our chances to win the game.  With a team like Albany you can’t afford to miss your chances to score.  We did and now we have to deal with the consequences.”

The loss by the Wildcats could prove detrimental to their chances for participating in the NCAA playoffs.  Ranked 7th in the region prior to the game, the Wildcats will need some help from other teams to advance.  Only the top six teams from a region make it to the playoffs.  With the final week of the regular season for most teams coming next weekend, the Wildcats will have to wait until then to see if their 8-2 (7-2 in conference) record is good enough to earn them a trip to the playoffs.