Unbeaten Tigers show character

Tennessee State's football team may someday look back on Saturday's 20-14 win over Southeast Missouri State as a watershed moment in the 2001 season.

Twenty penalties for 169 yards. Three touchdowns called back with flags and a potential scoring catch ruled out of bounds. An opponent that found ways to move the ball and had a chance in the game's final seconds to upset the 25th-ranked Tigers with first-and-goal at the TSU 1.

Tennessee State prevailed despite those obstacles. It may have become stronger because of them as well.

Many of the players felt faith is what kept them together when adversity seemed ready to defeat them on the turf at Adelphia Coliseum. "I believe we were able to do what we did because we have faith in each other, and faith that God will see us through adversity," offensive lineman Juandale Cooper said. "That's our strength. That's what kept us together when things weren't going our way today."

"I think those who might not believe in such things can see how powerful faith is," defensive end Orlando Dotson said. "I think this is something the players on this team won't forget."

"We showed our character today in overcoming adversity," said cornerback Eric Joyce, who had an interception and a fumble recovery to go with two tackles against SEMO. "We have a new attitude this year."

"I'm proud of them, because it shows a lot of character," head coach James Reese said. "Any time you've got your backs up against the wall...and you can overcome adversity, you've done a good job.

"It was by grace that we pulled it out. I told them it would have been easy to lose. ... They could have just quit. But they didn't. I'm very proud of them."

Shannon Harris, the league's top-ranked passer, completed 27 of 41 throws for 344 yards and no interceptions. "He did a great job," Reese said. "We were able to run it a little bit (126 yards), and Shannon was able to get it in the air and our receivers made the catches."

"We just did what we've worked on doing all season," said Harris in his customary self-effacing manner. "Our line blocked and our receivers caught the ball. We played together."

Harris has been good about picking more than a few numbers when he looks downfield this year, and that pattern continued against SEMO. Patrick Jenkins had six receptions for 39 yards, Ron Jackson had five for 89, Steve Farmer had four for 50, C.J. Johnson had three for 67, Carlos Wright caught three for 30, Marvin Jones had three for 23. Lamar Price, Batavia Weldon and Karon Key each had a reception as well.

Jones was the Tigers' leading rusher with 15 carries for 64 yards. Key ran the ball only three times for 6 yards, but scored both of the Tigers' touchdowns on one and three-yard rushes in the first half to go with two Joey Hudak field goals of 30 and 25 yards in the second half.

The Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Ohio Valley Conference) gained 470 yards of total offense to offset the yellow laundry that figured prominently in the game. They also had three interceptions and a fumble recovery, while SEMO failed to get a turnover from the Tigers. Linebacker Walter Reese had 10 tackles, including three for a loss of 17 yards, to lead the defensive unit for TSU, while SEMO's Ricky Farmer made 12 stops that included one for a loss of one yard.

The Indians (2-3, 0-1 OVC) had the ball at the TSU one-yard line but were unable to score. RB Curtis Cooper, who had 146 yards on 22 carries, failed to get the 147th as he slipped and was stopped for no gain as time expired.

"So close, yet so far," said Southeast coach Tim Billings in offering a succinct summary of his team's performance in the contest.

Cooper finished the game with 146 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving. Willie Ponder, the leading receiver statistically in I-AA, caught eight passes for 108 yards and scored both of the Indians' TDs.

Tennessee State's penalties kept them from putting SEMO away. Jones scored from 5 yards out with just over three minutes left in the game, but that TD was negated by a holding call and Joey Hudak's ensuing 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked by the Indians' Dimitri Patterson to set up Southeast Missouri's final drive. A Ron Jackson 88-yard reception was wiped out by an illegal block on the teams' second possession and Carlos Wright's 90-yard kickoff return to open the second half came back because of a holding call. Another call that hurt the Tigers came when Farmer was ruled out of bounds on an apparent third-quarter 13-yard TD catch along the end zone sideline.

"The situation was tough, but penalties are part of the game," Dotson noted. "We just had to overcome them."

They did, although not without a lot of tension in the game's waning seconds. After Patterson's field goal block with 2:52 left, SEMO took over at their own 10 yard-line and Cooper took down the field.

He caught five passes for 54 yards on the final possession from quarterback Jeromy McDowell, the Indians' third quarterback of the game. McDowell came in during the third quarter following a knee injury the previous week against Illinois State.

Cooper also rushed for 19 yards on the drive to go with two TSU penalties for 21 yards.

On fourth-and-five from the TSU 15 with 22 seconds left, Cooper took a short swing pass from McDowell and almost scored, but officials ruled that he had been knocked out of bounds at the one with 13 seconds left.

"I thought I was in," Cooper said. That point seemed moot since SEMO now had first-and-goal from the one with a timeout in hand. It would loom large moments later, however.

McDowell was stopped short on a QB sneak on first down and the Indians used their final timeout with eight seconds left. On second down and under heavy pressure, McDowell lofted a pass into the left corner of the end zone that went off Ponder's hands.

Now the clock read 0:03. McDowell handed off to Cooper, who then proceeded to slip as he made his way to the line of scrimmage. The Tigers had triumphed, while the Indians had stumbled, literally and figuratively.

"I was thinking about jumping, but I just got caught on the turf and went down pretty much right away," Cooper said.

The Indians' three defeats have only been by a total of 13 points, and their coach accentuated the positive in defeat. "We had a chance to win against a ranked team, at their place," Billings said. "What more can you ask for?"

In TSU's case, a win and a look forward to Saturday's matchup with Howard University in the Circle City Classic at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind. The game kicks off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on the BET cable network.

Tennessee State's next three opponents - Howard, Mississippi Valley State and UT-Martin - are struggling through tough seasons and pigskin prognosticators expect TSU to win those games handily before heading up to Charleston, Ill., on Oct. 27 to face defending OVC champ Eastern Illinois. The memory of last year's 3-8 campaign will keep TSU from being complacent, however, according to players.

"We got complacent at times last year and lost," Cooper said. "We're not going to be complacent this year. We're not going to take anyone for granted. We owe people a lot for what happened last year. We're going to stay focused on playing our best each game and winning."

Web Site: www.teamstsu.com

Tigers vs. Howard

TV - BET Network