Tigers Close Season With AME Classic Win Over Allen

By Press release submission

Nov 15, 2022

The 2022 season for the Edward Waters football squad was capitalized with a statement win on Saturday evening, defeating fellow African Methodist Episcopal institution and SIAC rival Allen, 38-12 in the 3rd Annual AME Football Classic at Glover Community Field and Stadium. With the victory, Edward Waters closes the season on a four-game winning streak, their longest winning streak in a season since the 2007 season, when the Tigers won three straight games. The Tigers 5-6 record this season is their best record since the 2012 campaign, when EWU had an identical 5-6 mark and their 4-4 SIAC record is good enough for sole posession of 4th place in the East Division after being picked to finish 6th in the league to start the year. EWU also improved their record by one game this season, after finishing 4-7 following the 2021 campaign.

Edward Waters (5-6, 4-4 SIAC) and Allen (1-8, 0-6 SIAC) traded three and outs to start the contest, before the home team was able to crack the scoreboard in the late stages of the first quarter. Freshman placekicker Jake Bandy connected on a 24-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead with 2:38 remaining in the first. On their ensuing drive, Allen took the first lead of the afternoon when Jacksonville native and former Riverside HS quarterback Daniel Plummer found Armone Harris on a 23-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was blocked by senior DT Quintorio Powell, keeping the score at 6-3 with 1:02 remaining in the quarter.

The Tigers began a scoring barrage at the 11:08 mark of the second quarter, when senior transfer QB Jyron Russell found senior transfer WR Chris Green, Jr. on his first receiving touchdown of the season from 24-yards out, allowing the Tigers to retake the lead at 10-6. Just under six minutes later, the duo hooked up again, this time on a 24-yard TD to extend the Tigers advantage to 17-6, a score that would remain at halftime.

The third quarter saw just one score, but it belonged to the Purple & Orange. On a 4th down and long, Russell found senior RB De'Shaun Hugee in the left corner of the endzone on a 24-yard TD reception to push the EWU lead to 24-6 with 5:47 remaining in the third.

Edward Waters piled on more in the fourth when graduate RB Spencer Carter, playing in his final home contest of his collegiate career, scored on a 35-yard TD run, giving the Tigers a 31-6 lead with 11:49 remaining. Russell passed for his fourth touchdown of the evening at the 7:23 mark when he found senior WR Damaris August on a five-yard TD to give the Tigers a 38-6 lead. Allen did score one more touchdown at the 5:08 mark of the fourth when Plummer found Jayden Horace on a 21-yard TD, but the damage was already done as Edward Waters earned the victory. With the win, the Purple & Orange also extend their series winning streak over Allen to eight straight games overall and their third in the AME Football Classic format, keeping the Bishop's Trophy in Jacksonville for one more season.

EWU had one of their most balanced games of the season with 461 yards of total offense, with 237 on the ground and 224 through the air. The Tigers "Super Gremlin" defense racked up an amazing seven turnovers in the game, recovering four fumbles and three interceptions.

Jyron Russell finished the contest going 18-32 passing for 221 yards and four touchdowns. De'Shaun Hugee led the Tigers rushing attack with 12 carries for 68 yards, while Tyler King chipped in with 10 carries for 65 yards. Chris Green, Jr. ended up leading Edward Waters through the air with three receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, junior LB Widmyer Garçon led the Tigers with seven tackles, including a tackle for loss and his second interception in as many games. Graduate DB Derrian Hall wrapped up his final collegiate contest with an interception and junior DB Dartrell Rolle added to his team and conference leading interception tally with his fifth pick of the season.

Edward Waters will head into the offseason with momentum after closing the year with a four-game winnings streak, with the goal of winning the SIAC title squarely on their minds in the 2023 season.