Golden Bears fall in Labor Day Golden Classic
Box Score Miles started well and had a reasonably good ending Sunday against North Alabama in the Labor Day Golden Classic. But in between, the Golden Bears could not muster much offense while a couple of crucial mistakes helped the Lions take a 34-17 season-opening win in front of 21,834 at Legion Field.
David Whipple came off the bench to score two rushing touchdowns for the Golden Bears (0-1), but the 15th-ranked Lions did even more damage on the ground. Running back Lamonte' Thompson rushed for 173 yards and two scores as the Lions (1-0) racked up 427 yards of offense. Miles had just 224 yards on offense, much of it coming after UNA had taken control of the game.
Things looked good early for Miles as NIck Christiansen booted a career-long 53-yard field goal with under a minute left in the first quarter as Miles took a 3-0 lead. The Golden Bears were on the verge of tossing a first-half shutout but UNA found the end zone twice in the last three minutes of the half. Thompson scored on a 9-yard run with 2:39 left to take the lead, then, after a
Vincent Davis interception was returned deep into Miles territory, Luke Wingo found Dre Hall in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard scoring toss with nine seconds left and UNA went to the locker room with a 14-3 advantage.
Miles' defense bent but did not break in the third quarter but when Wingo scored on a 1-yard sneak early in the fourth quarter, UNA led 27-3 and the Golden Bears looked done. But the duo of
Ger'Kerry Jackson and
David Whipple came off the bench to put a charge in the offense. Jackson (four carries, 57 yards) did the bulk of the work on a 73-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard plunge by Whipple with 6:09 remaining.Â
The Golden Bears then recovered the ensuing onside kick and three plays later, Whipple broke the pocket and took off running, scampering 33 yards for a score and bringing Miles to within 27-17 with 4:31 to go. Miles would recover the next onside kick as well. But an offside penalty negated the recovery and UNA would ultimately take possession. Thompson would then cap off his night with a 29-yard touchdown run that provided the final score.
Rodrick Holloman (nine tackles) and
Braysean Jones (eight tackles, two for loss) led the team in tackles while
Jibril Cox had seven solo tackles and an interception that he returned 37 yards.
Devin Brown had a team-high four catches for 49 yards.
Miles is back in action Saturday when they travel to face No. 2-ranked West Georgia. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
