This Saturday the Marauders of Central State University will take on the Golden Rams of Albany State University in the inaugural Frederick Douglass HBCU Football Classic in Rochester, New York. The last meeting between the schools took place October 7, 2023, with the Golden Rams laying a 48-0 donkey kicking on the Marauders.
Central State
Central State lost a hard tough, largely defensive matchup, 17-10, to Morehead State. Chance Harris’ 18-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in the contest. Central State quarterback Kendall Boney struggled, completing just 11-of-his 31 passes for 119 yards and an interception. He did, however, account for the Marauders’ lone touchdown of the day with his 1-yard plunge in the second quarter. The CSU defense played well, holding the Eagles to 283 yards of total offense and 4 yards per play.
The Marauders took on Division II powerhouse, no. 4 Grand Valley State in their next contest. GVSU showed exactly why they are a top-4 team in the country by handily dispatching Central State 58-0. The Lakers held the Marauders to just 95 yards of total offense, 1.9 yards per play, and just 6 first downs on the evening. Central State recorded just 35 yards through the air, with Tison Hill’s 20 yards pacing all Marauder signal callers.
GVSU’s offense racked up 667 yards, including trampling Central State for a jaw dropping 546 rushing yards. Three Lakers topped 100 yards- Derrick Woods (108), Kenneth Jones (116), and Khalil Eichelberger (119).
Central got their first win of the season via a low-scoring, defensive lead 10-3 battle over Savannah State. CSU quarterback Kendall Boney wasn’t particularly productive throwing the football, completing 10 of his 18 attempts for just 47 yards. It was not Boney but running back Aaron Kennebrew who tossed the lone touchdown of the game, a 23-yard pass to Brandon Brock.
However, Boney was the Marauders’ leading rusher, running for 69 yards on 13 attempts.
The Central State defense held Savannah State to 156 yards of total offense ( 83 rushing, 73 passing) and 10 first downs.
Albany State
Albany State got their annual beating from Valdosta State out the way in Week 1. The Blazers cleaned up Golden Rams 42-10 for their fifth consecutive win in this series. The Blazers took a 21-0 lead on the way to a 21-3 halftime advantage. Tiant Wyche’s 18-yard touchdown run was the Golden Rams’ lone trip to the end zone on the evening. Tiant led Albany State with 74 yards and that score on just 8 carries. The Blzaers tacked on an additional 21 points in the second half to mercifully end the bludgeoning at 42-10.
The Golden Rams returned home to christen their new blue field in their
opener against Shaw. The Bears led until the 3:33 mark of the third quarter when quarterback Isaiah Knowles connected with Devon Dorsey on a 23-yard touchdown pass that put ASU up 19-16. Knowles’ second touchdown pass of the quarter, a 17-yard toss to Xavier Herndon extended the lead to 26-16 heading into the fourth quarter. The game’s final stanza was a high-octane back and forth affair that saw 41 points, including an electrifying 88-yard kickoff return from Tiant. Unfortunately for Albany State, Shaw scored 27 of those points, including a 28-yard touchdown pass from Christian Peters to Ah’shaan Belcher with just 8 seconds left that lifted Shaw to the 43-40 victory.
Prediction
Central State is the 11th worst offense in the SIAC, averaging an anemic 6.7 points per contest, and one of four SIAC teams whose scoring average is in the single digits. On the flip side, Albany State surprisingly fields one of the most offensive user-friendly defenses in the SIAC, surrendering 42.5 points per game.
Albany State has the third ranked passing offense in the SIAC with 239.5 yards per game, however, Central State has the second-best passing offense in the conference, surrendering just 107.5 yards per game.
It won’t be pretty but Albany State will be able to grind out enough offense to score points against the Marauders’ defense. On defense the Golden Rams will stack the box, forcing Central State out of their comfort zone, which is throwing the football. The Central State passing game, at the moment, will be ill-equipped to be able to put enough pressure on Albany State’s defense to push the ball down the field or to generate points.
Final Score: Albany State 24 Central State 9
