Senior Ross Rutledge broke through the Concordia Hornets (2-2) line to block an extra point attempt, that would have tied the game, helping the Majors (1-0, 0-0) hold on 24-23 for their first win of the season on Harper Davis Field Saturday.
The Hornets, an NAIA competitor, were down by 14 points late in the fourth quarter only to score twice on deep pass plays. The blocked PAT came after the Hornets converted a 26-yard touchdown pass with 2:45 left to play.
The Hornets made it interesting by forcing the Majors to punt on the ensuing drive, but the Hornets punt returner mishandled the ball and sophomore T.J. Loehn pounced on it with 1:30 seconds left to play. The Majors simply downed the ball to run out the clock and preserve the win.
Sophomore Eryc Lorino led the Majors rushing attack with 141 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Lorino had a 37-yard TD run in the first quarter and a 58-yard run in the third quarter. The latter gave the Majors a 17-7 lead after freshman kicker D.J. Mello had connected on a 20-yard field goal earlier in the quarter.
The Majors took a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter after freshman wideout Matt Foisy broke free of a Hornet defender and gathered in sophomore quarterback Raymece Savage's only touchdown pass of the game. Foisy finished with 3 catches for 69 yards including the 59-yarder from Savage.
The Majors defense held up to it's reputation as the one of the best in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference allowing 77 yards rushing to the Hornets. Senior linebacker Emmitt "EJ" Johnson and sophomore safety Ray Kline led the Majors with eight tackles each. Both had seven solo tackles and Kline had two tackles-for-loss for 11 yards. Johnson also forced a fumble and broke up a pass with a big hit.
Sophomore linebacker Ronnie Wheat had seven tackles, sophomore tackle Casey Younger had six tackles and one sack for five yards. Senior Sherwood Collette had three tackles including a nine-yard sack and one tackle-for-loss. Sophomore end Cedric Lawrence had a big game, before being removed due to injury, with a nine-yard sack, a fumble recovery, and a pass-break-up. Senior end David Cutter and sophomore linebacker Cannan Farris had a tackle-for-loss each.
Defensive Coordinator Mike DuBose and his defense made a statement on the second play of the game when freshman cornerback Marcus Harris intercepted a Ken Johnson pass. Junior cornerback Josh Hanna broke up three passes and had an interception. Junior safety Bryan Villa had a pass-break-up and freshman lineman Pete Ridley had one tackle and a pass-break-up. The Hornets were led by Jeremiah Turner with 11 tackles.
The Majors finished with 301 yards of total offense compared to 344 from a big and fast Hornets team. The Majors had 208 yards total rushing from Lorino, freshman Anthony Parker (8 carries for 12 yards), and Savage (12 carries for 43 yards). The Majors offensive line did not allow a sack.
Parker had 50 yards on three kick returns and Majors punter Todd Rhoden had three punts inside the 20-yard line. Rhoden could arguably be the player of the game for continuously pinning the Hornets deep in their own territory. Rhoden's longest kick was 59 yards and he averaged 38.3 yards per kick.
Neither team did well on third down conversions with the Majors converting two of 14 and the Hornets just one of 13. The Hornets had 14 penalties compared to seven from the Majors. The Hornets fumbled the ball five times losing four of them
The Majors leading rusher from 2004 Tyson Roy, aggravated a nagging injury and was replaced in the first quarter after rushing for 15 yards.
