2008 Woodie Awards
Tigers' huge first quarter seals victory
LaVonte Young
Senior Staff Writer
Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: Sports
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The Tigers scored on three of the first four possessions of the game. The Tigers first score was set up by Dominique Rodger-Cromartie, who blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt. The Tigers put the ball into their workhorse's hand, Javarris Williams. The junior running back drove the Tigers down the field 85 yards on four carries. Williams would score on an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0.
The Tigers' defense forced a three and out on the Racers second possession to force a punt. Chris Johnson took the punt to the house for a 77 yards touchdown to put the Tigers up 14-0.
"The blockers set up the block and I hit the crease," Johnson said. "I always cease the opportunities as they come."
Getting on the board again when Cromartie picked off a Jeff Ehrhardt pass for a 71-yard touchdown, the Tigers were now at 21-0. This was Cromartie's second pick of the season. His first one came in the Tigers' last game against Eastern Illinois.
Webster felt the fast start showed the character of his team.
"This tells you two or three things," Webster said. "They were focused. They were excited about playing and (knew) that it was important for them to win."
The Tigers would score again to make it 28-0 with 11:07 left in the second quarter. The key play of the drive was a 35-yard pass from freshman quarterback Calvin McNairl to Williams to set up first at the four-yard line. Williams would score from four yards out.
The Racers would put points on the board with 7:01 left in the second quarter. The Racers drove 65 plays on nine plays. Quarterback Ehrhardt hit Rod Harper for a 31-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 28-7.
In the third quarter, the Racers would take advantage of a Terrence Wright fumble. Off the turnover, the Racers drove the ball down 38 yards on six plays for a score. Ehrhardt would call his own number for a five-yard touchdown run to cut the Tigers' lead in half 28-18.
However, the Tigers would put the ball back into the hands of their workhorse, who ran for 45 of the Tigers' 69 yards on their way to the end zone. Williams would score from 18 yards out in large part to the offensive line that made a huge hole.
"You have to give the offensive line a lot of credit," Webster said. "They did a great job."
The Tigers score again to make 42-14 in the beginning of the fourth quarter on quarterback sneak by McNairl.
The Racers would rally and score too late to make the score respectable.
The Tigers took advantage of the Racers' defense that gives up 236 yards per game. The Tigers ran for 280 yards on the ground. The running attack was led by junior running back Williams, who rushed 155 yards on carries 20 and three touchdowns. Terrence Wright also had a good game rushing for 103 yards on 18 carries.
With the running attack being as affective as it was, it took the pressure of McNairl. McNairl went four of four passing for 65 yards, and on the ground he rushed for 21 yards on four carries.
"Calvin did a great job managing the game," Webster said.
The Racers offense was led by Ehrhardt, who led the Racers to 528 yards of total offense. Ehrhardt was 36 of 46 passing for 330 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also led the Racers ground attack rushing for 104 yards on 30 carries.
"We had a lot of guys playing in different positions," Webster said. "The defensive coaches did a great job putting it all together."
The Tigers next game will be Thursday at Samford at 5 p.m.
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