Dragons look for first win at Tuskegee

Vyron Brown’s message to his team Saturday evening was simple.

His team – the Lane College football squad – had opportunities to compete against Benedict College in their game that afternoon.

But too many mistakes and not enough consistency by the Dragons were what held them back.

It all added up to a 54-7 loss for the Dragons, dropping them to 0-3 on the season and 0-2 in SIAC play.

The highlight of the day for Lane came in the first quarter.

After giving up a touchdown to the Tigers and it appeared Lane would be punting to them a second time, Lane kicked it, but Benedict’s returner muffed the catch with a well-timed hit by Lane’s Walter Tatum. Montrail Jones covered the ball for the fumble recovery and new life for the Dragons on the drive at the Benedict 17-yard line.

One play later, Lane quarterback Polo Solomon connected with receiver Terrance Holland for the score to tie the game.

Unfortunately for Lane, the Dragons wouldn’t get close to scoring again. And while Benedict didn’t have many plays that went for large gains throughout the game, they did a good job of sustaining drives and getting into the end zone for touchdowns.

Benedict won the game in every stat. Its defense held Lane to -7 rushing yards and 96 passing yards. Howard was responsible for about half of those yards as he finished the day with 47 yards on five catches and the score.

Up next for the Dragons is a trip to Alabama to face Tuskegee on Saturday.

Tuskegee is 3-0, 2-0 in SIAC play. Two of their wins have been by six points, so they’ve shown they can win competitive games.

They average about 117 rushing yards per game and 229 passing yards while holding their opponents to 102 rushing yards and 211 passing yards.

Kickoff on Saturday is 1 p.m. on Tuskegee’s campus.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news