COLUMBIA, S.C. — COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers remained undefeated by outscoring Kentucky State 26-7 in the second half and defeated the Thoroughbreds 40-14 on Saturday night in Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.
The Tigers broke away from a 21-14 game at the end of the third quarter by scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to improve to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the SIAC. Kentucky State falls to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in the SIAC.
"I'm just proud of our football team and our staff," said Benedict head coach Chennis Berry.
"We started off slow. We didn't play our best football in the first half. And the guys really picked it up in the second half. They came out with the right mindset and were able to finish the game. Ultimately, at the end of the day we are 1-0, and that's all we want to be every week."
The Tigers were able to break open the game in the second half with some big plays, including a 45-yard pass from Eric Phoenix to Reginald Harden, which set up a 23-yard touchdown run by Noah Zaire Scotland as Benedict broke a 14-14 tie to take the lead for good.
Phoenix then completed fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 42 yards to Tayven Grice, 13 yards to Nicholas Sowell and 5 yards to Steven Campbell. Phoenix finished the game with 14 completions on 24 attempts for 188 yards and four touchdowns. John Lampley added two completions on four attempts for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Scotland finished with 91 yards rushing on 12 carries and one touchdown.
Benedict dominated the fourth quarter, holding the ball for 8:28 and out-gaining Kentucky State 148 yards to 12 yards in the final quarter.
The Tigers will travel to Fort Valley State, also 4-0, in a battle of undefeated teams next Saturday in Fort Valley, Ga. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
