State college football roundup

By Staff

For the AJC

Freshman David Carter rushed for a season-high 130 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, to help Morehouse end the regular season on a winning note and beat visiting Miles 30-14 Saturday.

The win bolstered the playoff possibilities of the Maroon Tigers (7-3), who await the results of other Saturday games and the decision of the NCAA selection committee, which will be rendered Sunday by 5 p.m.

Before the game, Morehouse was ranked seventh in Super Regional II, and hopes to be one of 24 teams selected to compete in the playoffs.

Christian Green added 72 rushing yards to the team total of 228 yards, the second-best ground game of 2009. Green caught three passes for 9 yards.

Achille Hendje caught four passes for 52 yards, to lead the receiving corps.

Derrin Nettles made the biggest defensive play of the game, with a 92-yard fumble recovery and touchdown run.

Benedict 49, Clark 25: Benedict (8-3) scored 35 second-quarter points to run away from Clark Atlanta in Augusta, handing the Panthers (3-7) their seventh straight loss to end the season.

Tigers quarterback Pat Riley completed only four passes, but they went for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Riley also rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown.

Winston Thompson rushed 29 times for 175 yards for Clark. Thompson scored on a 9-yard run and a 9-yard pass from Mark Wright, who went 13-for-30 for 128 yards. T.J. Smith added a 2-yard TD run for the Panthers.

Samford 31, Georgia Southern 10: Dustin Taliaferro threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, as Samford beat Georgia Southern in Birmingham.

Taliaferro went 11-for-20 for 150 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to Richie Fordham and a 69-yarder to Riley Hawkins.

With the game tied at 10 in the second quarter, Hawkins’ touchdown catch gave the Bulldogs a 17-10 lead at halftime. Taliaferro scored on a 3-yard run to increase the lead to 24-10 in the third. The Bulldogs (4-5, 2-4 Southern Conference) got their final score on a 57-yard pass from Fordham to Alex Bennett.

Brandon Nolley scored the only touchdown for the Eagles (4-5, 3-3) on a 26-yard run.

The Bulldogs picked off Eagles’ quarterback Lee Chapple three times. Chapple went 29-for-43 with 212 yards.

Valdosta State 70, Edward Waters 6: Valdosta State set a school record for points in a single game to beat winless Edward Waters in Valdosta.

The Blazers spotted Edward Waters (0-10) a 6-0 lead before scoring the next 70 to improve to 6-4 overall.

Kellen Lewis completed 18 of 22 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and had a game-high 105 rushing yards with one TD.

Eric Sledge added three touchdown runs and Michael Brown had two scoring runs.

Shorter 55, Belhaven 42: A.J. Cooley rushed for 256 yards and four touchdowns as Shorter won a shootout in Jackson, Miss.

Shorter (6-4) scored 34 points in the third quarter to take control after the score was tied 14-14 at halftime. The Blazers (5-5) didn’t make it easy, however, scoring 21 points of their own in the period. The Hawks led 48-35 entering the fourth quarter.

Antwan Appleton added 104 yards rushing for Shorter. Belhaven quarterback Jared Wallace passed for 414 yards and six touchdowns.

Delta State 48, West Georgia 7: Delta State scored 28 points in the first half, handing West Georgia a lopsided loss in its season finale in Cleveland, Miss. Sean Gray’s 34-yard pass to Kevin Myles was the lone score for the Wolves (1-9).

Ft. Valley State 35, Albany State 13: The Wildcats outscored the Golden Rams 21-3 in the second half to win the Fountain City Classic in Columbus, ending Albany State's six-game winning streak in the series. Ft. Valley improved to 7-4 overall, 6-3 in the SIAC. Albany State fell to 8-2, 7-2.