Fourth quarter rally not enough, as Rams suffer first defeat 35-40

The Rams first loss of the season came in exciting fashion as Winston-Salem State fell short in a 35-40 loss to  the St. Augustine's Falcons.

The Rams are 6-1 (4-1) and the Falcons are 5-1 (4-0) following this contest Sept. 9.

This loss puts the Rams in third place in the Southern Division behind Bowie State and St. Augustine's.

The game didn't start the way the Rams wanted by throwing an interception in the first six seconds of the game giving the Falcons the ball and momentum.

"The turnover was a shocker to the defense since we didn't expect to be on the field so soon," said defensive tackle Colby Morris, a senior from Elizabeth City, NC.

The Falcons then used six plays to travel 50 yards and score a touchdown on a 34-yard run by Walter Sanders, running back.

The Rams didn't let the quick score get them off track as they put together a long nine -play 68-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Kameron Smith to junior running back Cedric Hickman. That pulled the game to a 7-7 tie.

The Rams defense gave up a 68-yard touchdown pass to end the first quarter trailing 14-7.

During second quarter, the Rams turned the ball over three times which lead to 16 points for the Falcons. By the half, the Falcons led 30-7.

"We were like what is going on," Morris said.   "We know we can play better against them.   "They were celebrating like they had won the game and it was only halftime."

Head football coach Connell Maynor told  his team they needed to come out and play Ram football.  "That means stop giving up big plays and limiting our turnovers," Maynor said.

The Rams started the second half giving up a touchdown on a drive that took more than six minutes off of the clock.

After falling behind 37-7 the Rams offense kicked into high gear by scoring quickly on a 5-yard pass from Smith to redshirt junior tight end Brian Wynn. The Rams defense forced a three and out and finished the third quarter down 37-14.

The Rams were right back to business in the fourth quarter with a 9-yard touchdown carry by redshirt junior running back Nicholas Cooper, his 10th on the season.

The Rams defense proved to be too much for the Falcons again as they forced another three and out.

After the defensive stop, the Rams offense committed another turnover with the fifth interception thrown on the evening by Smith.

The Falcons offense couldn't score off of the turnover, and the Rams got the ball back and scored on a 51-yard touchdown strike from Smith to sophomore wide receiver Dominique Fitzgerald.

The Rams completed a pass to redshirt freshman fullback Tyrone Goldston on a two-point conversion attempt to bring the score to 29-37.

The Falcons made a field goal on their next drive that would put them ahead 40-29.

Even with the clock playing against them, the Rams refused to give up. They struck quickly on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Smith to freshman wide receiver Tehvyn Brantley. That score would not prove to be enough as the Rams fell short in their remarkable comeback attempt 35-40.

"The performance in the second half showed that we have a lot of heart and that if we played four quarters of football instead of two we could have won this game," Maynor said.

This loss brings the all-time record against the Falcons to 11-11-2.