Sports

Weaknesses are exposed

Scott Chancey

In the wake of 16th-ranked Tuskegee’s 40-28 win against Albany State on Saturday night, the aftereffects for Rams fans, coaches and players will likely be hard to shake off during the first part of the week.

And it was easy to tell from the way Albany State’s players slowly walked from Albany Municipal Coliseum’s field Saturday night, this loss was a devastating one. It not only put Albany State’s hopes for a fifth consecutive conference title in jeopardy, it puts an even bigger emphasis on winning the rest of its games against Morehouse and Fort Valley State, which remain close behind the Rams in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region poll.

Morehouse, coincidentally, is Albany State’s Homecoming opponent this Saturday, so winning that game will have an even bigger urgency.

Coach Mike White’s Rams still have a lot to play for. If they don’t win the conference, they could at least reach the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Since Tuskegee, if it wins the SIAC, chooses not to participate in the postseason because of an annual Thanksgiving game, the Rams could still reach the postseason because the highest-ranked SIAC team among the region’s top 10 is awarded an automatic bid.

Although Albany State has that to look forward to, the Rams have a lot of improvement to do, and Tuskegee showed that. A young, inexperienced Rams secondary yielded 262 yards passing, many of which happened in crucial situations. The biggest play was a third-and-18 completion by Tuskegee’s Jacary Atkinson which led to the game-clinching score.

The Tigers, as early as their first drive, victimized the Rams’ defensive backs. Atkinson completed a 51-yard pass to Jason English on the second play while he was being defended by defensive backs Isaiah Gay and Mario Fuller.

Albany State, earlier this season, had trouble containing Stillman quarterback Charles McCullum who was as elusive as Atkinson, but McCullum’s receivers were not reliable.

On Saturday, however, English had five catches for 156 yards, and Lorenzo Crawford had two for 89, including the catch that converted that third-and-18 play.

And once again, the Rams point-after kicking attempts floundered. One of Tory Torstenson’s attempts was blocked and then Patrick Cuff — who made a 37-yarder earlier in the game — missed two point-after kicks in a row after replacing Torstenson.

The Rams were unable to establish the run for the first time this season, and they had to rely on a seldom-used passing game. Although quarterback Kisan Flakes threw two interceptions, he also passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Lamontray Williams had four catches for 87 yards and Joshua Johnson is coming along, making three for 55.

With that in mind, the Rams’ next two games are winnable. If they reach the postseason, however, playoff teams will do exactly what Tuskegee did — try to exploit the secondary; and if the opposing quarterback is a mobile one, that just compounds Albany State’s problems.

The need to mature and improve in those areas is growing.

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