Kentucky State Football Falls to Tuskegee 38-24

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Denim Johnson threw for a career-high 361 yards, with one passing touchdown, as the Kentucky State University football team recorded a season-high 465 total offensive yards but came up short in a 38-24 loss to Tuskegee University in a Southwestern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game on Saturday in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Tuskegee (4-3, 4-1 SIAC) opened the game with a three-play, 90-yard drive, as Raequan Beal connected with Quavo Beckford on a 63-yard touchdown pass, taking a 7-0 lead with 14:12 remaining in the first quarter.

The Thorobreds (2-6, 2-4 SIAC) responded quickly, driving 68 yards in three plays, culminating in Johnson’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Bercy to tie the game 7-7 at the 8:24 mark of the first quarter.

Tuskegee regained momentum later in the quarter with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Beal to Beckford at 4:19 and a 93-yard fumble recovery return by Kaquan Kimber, extending their lead to 21-7 with just 47 seconds left in the first quarter.

Kentucky State cut into the lead with a nine-play, 64-yard drive, capped off by Cedric Ward’s one-yard touchdown run, narrowing the score to 21-14 with 10:28 remaining in the second quarter. Lorcan Ryans of Tuskegee added a 43-yard field goal, but Kentucky State’s Landon Grover answered with a 34-yard field goal at 2:53 in the second quarter, sending the game into halftime with the Golden Tigers leading 24-17.

In the third quarter, Ren Spivey Jr. extended Tuskegee’s lead with a nine-yard rushing touchdown, making it 31-17 with 8:13 left in the quarter. The Golden Tigers then orchestrated an 11-play, 99-yard drive, capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Chase Sellers at 9:50 in the fourth quarter.

The final points of the game came at 2:03 in the fourth quarter, as Kentucky State’s Jaun Gainous connected with Kale Anderson for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Despite the effort, the Thorobreds couldn’t close the gap further, falling 38-24 to the Golden Tigers.

Up Next
Kentucky State will celebrate their seniors in their final home game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m. inside Alumni Stadium.