ANDERSON, S.C. — Anderson (1-1) defeated Keiser (0-1) 21-14 on Saturday at Melvin & Dollie Younts Stadium. The Trojans scored 21 unanswered points across three scoring drives from the third quarter into the fourth quarter, moving from a 7-0 deficit to a 21-7 advantage. The defense intercepted four passes, and AU finished with 254 rushing yards and all three touchdowns on the ground.
Head coach
Bobby Lamb credited the Trojans' win to the full group, saying, "First of all, let me say how proud I am of this football team." Lamb added, "That was a team win," while pointing to the preparation and effort behind the result: "The coaches do a great job with the game plan, and I just couldn't be more proud of the effort that was out there tonight." He also recognized the atmosphere around the game, saying, "I wanna thank the fans and especially the student body." Looking ahead, Lamb said, "Very proud to sit here and be the head coach of this football team moving forward," and added, "I really think we got something special this year."
Zaidon Gunn rushed 14 times for a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns and added an 8-yard reception.
Carter Wit recorded 12 tackles and added an interception with a 10-yard return. Wit has made at least one interception in two consecutive games.
Alex Ledford finished with four tackles and two interceptions.
Darren Lloyd added 46 rushing yards on 12 carries and scored one touchdown.
The Trojans' biggest first-quarter sequence came defensively, as
Jimyll Lundy dropped the Seahawks for a 2-yard loss on third down in the red zone and
Kendall Chapman blocked and recovered the ensuing 33-yard field goal attempt at the AU 20 with 2:30 left. Earlier, AU's opening possession stalled after a sack, but the defense answered by limiting KU near midfield, with
Cross Killen and
Cade Eavenson combining on a third-down stop before a punt. Starting at its 8 on the next possession, the Black and Gold moved out of trouble behind Lloyd's 12-yard run and a Seahawks personal foul, then got a 5-yard
Zay Williams run and a 4-yard
Wilson Edwards completion to Williams before punting from its 44. After the blocked kick, Gunn's 22-yard run gave AU an immediate first down, but the quarter ended after a later sack with the game scoreless at 0-0.
The Trojans opened the second quarter by turning away the Seahawks' first scoring threat, with
Zack Ramsey hurrying an incompletion and Eavenson making a third-down stop before a missed 30-yard field goal at 12:46. The AU offense answered with its longest possession of the quarter, as Edwards found
Zay Williams for 13 yards and Gunn converted fourth-and-1, but the drive stalled near midfield. KU later moved 84 yards and scored on Jontay Hais' 20-yard run at 4:42, with the extra point making it 7-0. The Black and Gold prevented another late scoring chance when
Tre Rodgers broke up a pass and Ledford intercepted it at the AU 11 with 15 seconds left, and
Darron Parry followed with a 12-yard run before the quarter ended with the Seahawks ahead 7-0.
AU turned the third quarter with
RJ Gibson's interception at the AU 45, a 21-yard return to the Seahawks 34 that followed Ramsey's quarterback hurry and led to Gunn's 22-yard touchdown run and
Ross Burnette's tying PAT at 7-7. The defense kept KU from answering on its next three possessions, allowing only one first down in the quarter and getting stops that included Ramsey's 2-yard tackle for loss on third down. The Trojans also flipped field position with Samuel Mullis punts of 36 and 50 yards, both downed inside the 20, before
Zay Williams returned a Seahawks punt 52 yards to the 2. Williams established a career-high longest punt return of 52 yards. Gunn scored from there on the next play with 30 seconds left, Burnette added the PAT, and the Black and Gold finished the third quarter ahead 14-7 after outscoring KU 14-0.
The Trojans closed out a 21-14 win with a late fourth-down stop, as
Daniel Williams and
Trevion Graham tackled the Seahawks after a 9-yard completion on fourth-and-10 from the KU 47 with 10 seconds left. Earlier, Ledford intercepted a pass at the AU 31, and the offense followed with a Gunn 37-yard run before the Seahawks recovered a fumble. The Black and Gold answered later with a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that began with Gunn's 43-yard run, included Edwards' third-down conversion, and ended with Lloyd's 19-yard scoring run and Burnette's extra point for a 21-7 lead. Wit added another interception and 10-yard return at the AU 15, but KU recovered an AU fumble and scored with 57 seconds left to make it 21-14 before the Trojans' defense finished the game.
Up next, the Trojans travel to Wise, Va., to face UVA Wise on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2 p.m.
