Jackson, TN

As if the activities of Homecoming were not enough to get you excited, the Dragons leading 21-17 going into halftime gave the large homecoming crowd something more to cheer about. Several times during the first half, the Dragons defense seemed to draw extra energy from the fans as they stopped the Marauders from Central State University.

1^st quarter:
After a quick three-and-out by the Marauders, the Dragons marched 73 yards on seven plays to take the early lead as Chris Rini connected with Duke Coleman for a 13-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Marauders answered on a (Michael Wilson) Quarterback-keeper up the middle from one yard out for a 7-7 tie score. Gregory Moore then hauled in a 14-yard strike from Rini with a spectacular one-handed grab to the right corner of the end-zone for the final touchdown of the first quarter and a Dragons 14-7 lead.

2^nd Quarter:
The Marauders tied the score 14-14 with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Aaron Ward as the second quarter got started. The third touchdown of the first half for the Dragons came on a Rini to Jamion Dunning 20-yard connection for a 21-14 lead. One last score in the half came as the Dragons defense once again stopped a drive, forcing the Marauders to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Dustin Bryan for a 21-17 halftime score.

3^rd Quarter:
Starting the second half, the Dragons extended their lead as Rini connected with a wide open Gregory Moore for a second touchdown of the game for 46 yards. The extra point was blocked at the line of scrimmage by the Marauders for a 27-17 score. The next 20 points involved Marauders' quarterback Michael Wilson as he scored rushing touchdowns from 15 and 16 yards while connecting with Wade for a second touchdown, this time from 74 yards all in the third quarter. After the three scores, the Marauders led the Dragons 37-27 at the end of three quarters of play.

4^th Quarter:
The Dragons mounted a comeback effort and scored another touchdown with 2:57 left on the clock. Rini dialed up a quarterback keeper up the middle for the 5-yard touchdown resulting in a 37-34 score. The Dragons hopes for a comeback brought the large crowd to their feet as they had the Marauders on a 3rd-and-11. But Wilson put an end to the excitement as he connected with Isaiah Grooms that was enough for a first down and a final score of 37-34.

On the day, Chris Rini rushed for one touchdown while completing 31 of 49 passes for 3 touchdowns and 340 yards. Gregory Moore hauled in 5 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Jamion Dunning collected 6 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, while Duke Coleman hauled in 8 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Bruce Thomas led the Dragons with 10 total tackles.

The Dragons are now 4-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. They have a quick turnaround as they travel to Fairfield, AL to take on Miles College for a Thursday night game on October 24. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 PM.