Benedict Football Still Looking For First Win

COLUMBIA, S.C. (BC SID) — The Benedict College Tigers may have dropped all three non-conference football games this season, but coach James Woody sees a clean slate as the Tigers open SIAC play against the Fort Valley State Wildcats on Saturday. “We’re looking at this thing that we’re 0-0. We’re excited about the first conference road game and hopefully we can get this one,” Woody said. “It’s a long season. There’s still a lot of football in these guys and these guys are excited about the opportunity and conference play about to start.” The 0-3 Tigers go on the road to face the 2-1 Wildcats. Fort Valley is 1-0 in the SIAC, beating Clark Atlanta 26-3 last week. Kickoff is 6 p.m. and will be televised on a Fort Valley area local cable channel. The game will not be available in the Columbia market. The game will be broadcast on Kiss 103.1 FM in the Columbia area. Live stats will also be available on the Benedict Tigers athletic website. After giving up a pair of long touchdown passes and five plays of 20 or more yards in the loss to Virginia State, the Tigers focused this week on defensive assignments. “We worked on a lot of tackling with the defense and being in the right place defensively,” Woody said. “We went back to tackling drills. We’ve got to be able to tackle and not let them score the easy touchdowns.” Defensive coordinator Maurice Johnson said the focus this week is making sure players know their defensive assignments and stop giving up those big plays. “We’re trying to eliminate the big plays and put guys in position to make plays. That’s what we’ve been breaking the huddle with all week – being accountable,” Johnson said. The Tigers defense will have a challenge this week. The Wildcats are one of the top teams in the SIAC in total offense, averaging 317 yards per game. The Wildcats rank fourth in the conference in passing offense and third in rushing offense. “Coach (Donald) Pittman is a good offensive-minded guy. He’s going to come out throwing the football and we’ve just got to be ready and get some pressure on that quarterback and make him do some things he doesn’t like to do,” Woody said. Senior quarterback Antonio Henton has thrown for 517 yards and three touchdowns, but has been intercepted six times. His top target is Christopher Slaughter, a first-team All-SIAC receiver last year, who has eight catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns. “He is one of the best receivers we’ll face this year,” Johnson said. “We’ve just to try and jam him up and keep him contained. One thing we’ve been working on all week is to make sure we make the tackles when we’re in position.” Woody said a key for the Tigers against the Wildcats will be establishing their running game. The Tigers rushed for a season-high 103 yards last week against Virginia Union. Woody said the young Benedict offensive line is improving and starting to jell. “We’ve got to establish the running game and Fort Valley is going to play a pressure type defense,” Woody said. “That’s just the style they play. You’ll see eight, nine, 10 in the box. We’ve got to be able to protect, we’ve got to be able to throw, and we’ve got to be able to run. Our offensive line is getting better and building some continuity. I see them jelling at the right time.” Defensively, the Wildcats lead the SIAC in tackles for loss. Last week, Fort Valley State held Clark Atlanta to -49 yards rushing. But the Wildcats also gave up 63 points in a loss two weeks ago to Valdosta State, ranked 20th in the nation at the time. “They are a very experience football team. They’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast and it’s a challenge for us,” Woody said. “We look forward to the challenge and hopefully we come out of there with a victory.