RALEIGH, N.C. – Saint Augustine’s University ended the regular season in thrilling fashion.
Brian Richards (R-Jr./Waldorf, Md.) caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Alex Munro (So./Ashburn, Va.) with no time remaining as the Falcons rallied for a 43-42 CIAA football victory over their crosstown nemesis Shaw University before 2,500 fans at Saint Augustine’s University Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bears and gave the Falcons (6-4 overall, 4-3 CIAA) their second winning record in three seasons. The Falcons also stayed unbeaten at home on campus in three games.
The Falcons drove nearly the entire length of the field to snatch victory away from the Bears (4-6, 3-4 CIAA), who led the entire game until the final score. The game-winning drive started on the Falcons’ 2 with 1:07 remaining in the contest and no timeouts. Aided by two Shaw penalties and a 50-yard catch by Falcon standout Tyron Laughinghouse (Sr./Greenville, N.C.), the Falcons were in striking distance.
The Bears were flagged twice more for holding Laughinghouse on pass plays which put the ball on the Shaw 15 with three seconds left. Munro, subbing in the fourth quarter for an injured Teddy Bacote (Jr./Hampton, Va.), was cool as a cucumber under immense pressure on the final play as he found Richards in the end zone. Richards was draped by a Shaw defender but clamped on to Munro’s pass as he fell in the end zone for the winning score. Seconds later, teammates mobbed him on turf as the Falcon fans roared in jubilation in the stands. Moments later, several players doused Head Coach Michael Costa with water in the traditional victory bath.
It was a fitting ending to a wild game. Both teams provided offensive fireworks as they combined for 911 yards. The Falcons set season highs in points and total offensive yards (469). Both Munro and Bacote combined for 307 passing yards and three passing touchdowns while Laughinghouse had seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in his final regular season game as a Falcon. Roderick Davenport (Orangeburg, S.C.) rushed for a career high 112 yards and two touchdowns while Jermaine Jones (R-Jr./Wilmington, N.C.) and Rowdy Batchelor (R-Sr./Jacksonville, N.C.) each scored a touchdown.
The Falcons relied on an explosive offense to offset the Bears’ passing attack. James Stallons threw for 412 yards and six touchdowns on 27 of 54 passing to keep the Bears ahead until the final play. Nick Jones had eight receptions for 104 yards, but the Falcons held standout freshman rusher Marquise Grizzle to minus one yard. The Bears amassed 442 offensive yards.
Victory appeared to be in the Bears’ grasp when Stallons found David Jordan on a short pass for a 42-30 lead with 3:52 left., the Bears second 12-point lead in the contest. The Falcons answered quickly with a Munro touchdown pass to Jones with 1:36 left.
Trailing by five points and needing the ball back, the Falcons forced the Bears to punt on the ensuing drive. Stallons, who doubled as a punter, pinned the Falcons with a nice punt near the Falcons’ own goal line. Needing a touchdown, the Falcons faced a tough task with no timeouts but Munro engineered the seven play, 98-yard drive for a great Falcon win over their rival on Senior Day.
Both Laughinghouse and defensive end Javarous Faulk (Jr./Macon, Ga.) achieved milestones during the game. Laughinghouse, the university’s all-time leader in reception yardage, became the school single-season touchdown leader (16), and Faulk recorded a sack to share the school single-season mark (13) with former Falcon great Alex Hall.
The sack capped an outstanding game for Faulk, who is hearing impaired. He tied for team-high honors with six tackles including two tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries. Linebacker Carlton Butts (So./Thomasville, Ga.) also had six tackles in addition to a forced fumble. Both Chaz Robinson (Jr./Hampton, Va.) and Bryan Jones (R-Jr./Warner Robins, Ga.) each intercepted a pass. For Shaw, Quintero Long totaled a game-high 12 tackles and Keith Lomon added 11.
Before the contest, ten football seniors were honored. They were defensive back Jermaine Browne (St. Croix, US Virgin Islands), defensive end Romeo Deloatch (Redshirt Jr./Hampton, Va.), offensive lineman Stedman Gardner (Gastonia, N.C.), wide receiver Franklin James (Hampton, Va.),center Rory Nixon (Hampton, Va.) defensive end Joe Reed (Anderson, S.C.), running back Deonte Toliver (Gaithersburg, Md.), defensive back Derrick Manning (Waldorf, Md.), Laughinghouse and Batchelor.
— Sports Information Office
