PINE BLUFF -- Central State (Ohio) hadn't won a game prior to Saturday's date with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, but the Marauders rectified that problem before leaving Golden Lion Stadium.
Quarterback Trent Mays completed 20 of 36 passes for 334 yards and 1 touchdown as Central State battled back from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat UAPB 40-35 to spoil the Golden Lions' homecoming.
Running back Terraris Saffold carried 21 times for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns while wide receiver Darius Ford had 8 catches for 117 yards for Central State (1-6), which was coming off a 41-20 loss to Miles College last week at its own homecoming.
The Marauders piled up 514 yards of offense to become the second winless team to beat UAPB on its home field. Mississippi Valley State was 0-4 before knocking off the Golden Lions 38-31 last week.
"This one really hurts," UAPB Coach Monte Coleman said. "I've got to wait to see the film, but I really don't know what happened. Central State came in hungry and wanting to spoil our homecoming, and they did just that. This one really, really hurts."
Quarterback LeEarl Patterson was 13-of-27 passing for 333 yards and 2 touchdowns for UAPB (2-5), which has lost three consecutive games. Running back KeShawn Williams accounted for 177 yards from scrimmage, including 97 yards rushing, and 1 touchdown.
Coleman was visibly frustrated after his team's latest defeat, but he did take solace in the fact the Golden Lions were able to battle back from a 20-7, third-quarter deficit.
"We did some good things, but it was the little things that hurt us most," Coleman said. "We lost the turnover battle again, we had a personal foul penalty that took us off the 1-yard line ... just those types of things killed us."
Central State trailed 28-20 but pulled within 28-26 after a 1-yard touchdown run from fullback Darius Meadors with 14:20 left in the game. The Marauders regained the lead, 33-28, on a 12-yard score from Saffold with 10:28 to go and held off a late UAPB rally. Saffold added a 14-yard score with 1:36 to go to put the finishing touches on Central State's comeback.
UAPB did manage to keep Saffold under wraps for three quarters, but the senior got loose for a pair of pivotal first-down runs in the final quarter to help the Marauders chew up clock and keep the Golden Lions' offense off the field for long periods. Saffold came in averaging 102 yards rushing per game and had just 35 yards going into the fourth, but the Golden Lions had a hard time slowing down the combination of Mays and Ford.
"[Mays] was able to get loose a few times and make plays to [Ford]," Coleman said. "We did a pretty good job of bottling up [Saffold] for the most part, but when those guys needed to make a play, they did."
For UAPB, just about everything that could have gone wrong did in the early going. UAPB went three-and-out on its first three drives and had minus-7 yards of offense in the first quarter. The Golden Lions also fumbled a punt.
Central State took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run from Meadors with 3:37 left in the opening quarter before UAPB got its first break. Safety Ronald Rocket blocked a Marauders' punt and defensive lineman Nick Williams recovered it at Central State's 44. The Golden Lions needed just five plays to score, with Williams capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.
Central State scored the next 13 points, but UAPB reeled off 21 points in a row to jump in front. Patterson's 2-yard score pulled the Golden Lions to within 20-14, and his 66-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Paris Mack gave them the lead. Patterson added a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert Sims with 1:15 left before halftime to put UAPB up 28-20.
Sports on 10/15/2017