GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Corey Moraux‘s school-record 90-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner as Tusculum held on for a 30-28 South Atlantic Conference win over Anderson Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
The victory was the first for Pioneer head coach Billy Taylor as Tusculum (1-6, 1-5 SAC) snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season. The contest was a thriller with the lead exchanging hands on four occasions as TU scored back-to-back touchdowns in the last 5:35 to take a 24-14 at halftime.
Jojo Restall ran for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns as he led a TU rushing attack that generated 204 yards on the ground. Anderson (3-5, 1-5 SAC) edged the Pioneers by a 398-397 margin in total offense with TU averaging 7.1 yards per play.
Anderson quarterback Tyler Wesley passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns with his two favorites targets being Kenneth Brown (6 catches, 109 yards) and Jalon Warthen-Carr (5 receptions, 112 yards).
Tusculum quarterback Matthew Palazzo recorded his seventh career win under center as he went 11-for-17 for 193 yards with zero interceptions.
Restall posted 10 carries on the afternoon for his 80-yard performance while Jalen Hunt tallied 72 rushing yards on his 13 attempts including a touchdown.
AU running back Bryson James tallied 78 yards on 19 carries including a touchdown.
Dayquan Liston and Rashad Watson accounted for seven tackles apiece, while Malachi Jim-Lawson finished with six stops for the Pioneers. Aidan Dark tallied four tackles including three for loss with a sack, while Deven Brantley had four hits with a sack.
Anderson’s Jerrod Woods led all players with his nine tackles with a sack which caused a fumble as the Trojans’ Colton Smith recovered the loose ball and scored the touchdown early in the second half.
Tusculum marched 58 yards on 13 plays on its opening possession as John Aiden Pittman connected on a 34-yard field goal as TU led 3-0 at the 8:30 mark of the first quarter.
The Trojans responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive with James getting seven touches on the series including a 24-yard rush, followed by a one-yard plunge up the middle for his first TD run of the season. Ross Burnette’s kick made it a 7-3 Anderson lead with four minutes left in the quarter.
On the first play of the ensuing TU drive, Palazzo ran for a five-yard gain before lateraling the ball to Otasowie Dion who sprinted 58 more yards to the AU 26. A 10-yard completion to AJ Hill, followed by a nine-yard pass to Ethan Stinnett put the Pioneers at the one-yard line. Restall punched it from there as TU retook the lead at 10-7 at the 1:10 mark of the quarter.
Anderson answered early in the second quarter as Wesley completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Warthen-Carr to cap a nine-play, 91-yard scoring drive as the Trojans led 14-10 with 10:40 left in the first half.
Tusculum’s Ashton Hagans pulled in a 29-yard reception to move the Pioneers into scoring position. Hill made a five-yard grab followed by an 11-yard completion to Moraux for a first down at the AU 14. Restall posted runs of three and eight yards to set up Hunt’s three-yard touchdown as Tusculum led 17-14 with 5:35 on the clock.
After an Anderson punt, Restall posted five straight runs including a career-long 45-yarder to get to the seven-yard line. He would finish off the drive with a two-yard run with 24 seconds on the clock as TU led 24-14.
A face-mask penalty on the kickoff gave Anderson great starting position at the AU 49. Wesley completed a 27-yard pass to Dylan Manders to get to the TU 24. Zaidon Gunn got the outside for a 14-yard gain and ran out of bounds at the TU 10 with three seconds left. Burnette attempted a 27-yard field goal but his kick was wide right as the Pioneers led at the break.
The Tusculum defensive forced a three-and-out on Anderson’s first possession of the second half. Palazzo was sacked in the backfield by Jerrod Woods. While Palazzo was being dragged down the ball came free and was kicked backwards and was scooped up by Terrill Hopkins a the TU 8. He went three yards before Jojo Restall stripped the football again, but Smith picked up the ball at the TU 2 and returned the fumble for the touchdown. The kick made it a 24-21 TU lead with 12:51 left in the third quarter.
The teams would exchange punts before TU took over at its own 19. The Pioneers converted a first down, but on the fourth play of the series, Anderson’s Cade Eavenson recovered a Tusculum fumble at the TU 36.
The Trojans looked to have the momentum but the drive would stall and Burnette’s 36-yard field goal was wide right as the Pioneers maintained the 24-21 advantage.
The score would remain that way heading into the fourth quarter. Anderson punter placed a perfect 42-yard kick which was downed at the TU 4. On third down and four, Palazzo connected with Moraux on the longest-play from scrimmage in program history for a 90-yard touchdown. Pittman’s kick was no good as the Pioneers led 30-21 with 12:28 left in the game.
The teams exchanged punts as Anderson took over at their own 43 with 5:31 remaining. The Pioneers held on the first three plays but a roughing the passer penalty on third down extended the drive. A big moment in the game happened on second down from the TU 24 as Wesley rolled out and was being brought down by Dark as the pass fell incomplete. On the play TU was whistled for defensive pass interference. The Tusculum staff buzzed down to Coach Taylor to challenge the play, saying Wesley’s knee was down before he got off the pass. The call on the field was overturned setting up third down and 16 yards to go. The Trojans would try and 50-yard field goal, which went wide left as the Pioneers took over at the TU 32 with 3:16 remaining.
The Pioneers ran two running plays to get to the two-minute timeout. A third running play was stopped as Anderson called its final timeout with 1:55 to go. TU punter got off a 59-yard punt as Anderson started at its own 11 with 1:40 left on the clock.
Wesley completed a 35-yard pass to Bray Simons to get to midfield and on third down and long, Wesley connected with Warthen-Carr on a 22-yard pass to the TU 36. Brown hauled in a 16-yard catch to get to the TU 20 and three plays later, Wesley went to Brown again as he jumped high in the air to grab a 20-yard TD with 18 seconds left as TU led 30-28.
Tusculum tight end Reginald Hunter would haul in the on-side kick to seal the victory for the Pioneers.
Forbes averaged 51.5 yards on his four punts which is the fifth-best single-game average by a Tusculum punter.
The Pioneers finished the game with 32:06 of possession and tallied 13 first downs. The Trojans tallied 22 first downs including three on Tusculum penalties as TU was flagged seven times for 77 yards.
Tusculum will be on the road next week when they travel to UVA Wise for a 2 p.m. contest.
