FORT VALLEY, Ga. – Kentucky State stayed within striking distance but couldn’t pull out the win Saturday on the road against Fort Valley State, falling 20-13.
Anthony Boykins carried the ball 25 times for 152 yards, including a 70-yard gallop in the second quarter that gave the Thorobreds a 10-7 lead, but Wildcat quarterback Nathanie Samas threw a pair of second-half touchdowns to help give his team the victory.
Samas completed 15-of-31 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Two of those scores went to FVS receiver An’thon Harris, who led all receivers with five receptions for 110 yards.
Cam Lee got KSU on the board early, booting a 25-yard field goal through the uprights to complete a seven-minute opening drive that spanned 65 yards.
The Thorobreds led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wildcats took advantage of a short field set up by a 31-yard punt return by Harris to take the lead on a 10-yard Harris touchdown reception.
Boykins quickly put K-State back on top two plays later with a 70-yard run that made the score 10-7 with Lee’s extra point.
That score stood until the first play from scrimmage in the second half, when Samas threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Harris, which put Fort Valley State up 14-10.
The Thorobreds answered the quick score with a 56-yard drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal by Lee to pull within a point.
But K-State was shutout offensively the rest of the game, and Samas came up with a big fourth-down completion with under four minutes in the game that went 18-yards for the Wildcats’ final touchdown.
KSU quarterback Jerrell Noland was held to 11-of-36 passing in the game for 145 yards.
Kentucky State lost the game despite out-gaining Fort Valley State on offense. The Thorobreds posted 308 yards of offense, while the Wildcats gained 250 yards. Both teams turned the ball over once.
The loss puts K-State at 5-5 on the season and 3-5 in the SIAC. The Thorobreds wrap up the year with a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Lane College in Jackson, Tenn.