CHICAGO -- Statistics are often a barometer of what happened in any athletic contest. A look at one stat from Miles' game against Morehouse will show that the Golden Bears did not trail for one second against the Maroon Tigers during the 21st Chicago Football Classic.
Unfortunately, for Miles, what that statistic did not take into account was the 39-yard touchdown reception by Tremell Gooden as time expired to give Morehouse an improbable 23-21 win Saturday at Soldier Field. The Golden Bears (0-4), who held the lead for all but 80 seconds of the game, were stunned as the Maroon Tigers (4-0) celebrated in the north end zone.
Miles led 21-17 when
Maxel Wells (five tackles) intercepted a Mike Sims pass with 1:29 left. After running three plays, forcing Morehouse to use all of their remaining timeouts, The Golden Bears punted and the Maroon Tigers got the ball at their own 16 with 70 seconds remaining. Morehouse converted a 3rd-and-12 for a first down, then picked up two more first downs that moved the ball to the Miles 39 before the final play.
Sims heaved a pass towards Tamerick Vanover, who had gotten free in the back corner of the end zone but it appeared that the ball was not going to get to him. Enter Gooden, who trailed the play and jumped between two defenders to make the catch and set off a wild celebration.
Before that play, Miles was mostly in control. Quarterback
Daniel Smith scored on the game's fourth play from scrimmage, running 49 yards to paydirt to give the Golden Bears a 7-0 lead just 80 seconds into the contest. Smith would connect with
Leonard Tyree for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 3:40 left in the first quarter as the lead escalated to 14-0.
The Golden Bears would lead 14-10 at halftime and extended the lead late in the third quarter when Smith and Tyree connected for the second time this game (and the sixth in the past three games) on a 35-yard scoring pass that gave Miles a 21-10 advantage. Morehouse would score on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 21-17.
N'Ktavious Floyd would intercept a Sims pass early in the fourth quarter and Miles would start its longest drive of the season, a 13-play, 50-yard jaunt that stalled inside the 10-yard line. But
Jackson Spradlin's 23-yard field goal would hit off the left upright to keep the Maroon Tigers in the contest.
Smith passed for 137 yards and rushed for another 36.
Santee Marshall led the Golden Bears with 44 yards rushing and Tyree had a game-high 62 yards receiving. Defensively,
Austin Stephens had 13 tackles and a sack. Other standouts included Floyd (10 tackles, two tackles for loss, interception),
Kendrell Walker and
C.J. McClelland (nine tackles each) and
MarQuel Shelton (four tackles, sack).
Miles is back in action Saturday when it opens Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on the road at Albany State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
