RED TAILS CLASSIC: Beal balls in Tuskegee comeback win over Winston-Salem
Senior quarterback Raequan Beal led the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee to a win over Winston-Salem State, earning the MVP trophy on Sunday at Cramton Bowl. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Tuskegee’s offense didn’t inspire a lot of confidence among its fans in the first half of the fifth annual Red Tails Classic at Cramton Bowl on Sunday night.
Through 30 minutes, the Golden Tigers had just five first downs, nearly half as many penalty yards (40) as total yards (84) and had failed to convert any of their six third-down opportunities.
Still, they trailed Winston-Salem State just 10-3.
“I feel like in the first half, we weren’t sticking to what we know, the little things,” said senior quarterback Raequan Beal, a Detroit native who transferred to Tuskegee from Faulkner University. “We preach that every day. The little things can make you win games; they can also make you lose games. So I felt like in the first half, we were too much in our heads. Little mental mistakes. I made some bad reads. We had some missed assignments and dropped balls. And all those things are not us. Throughout (preseason fall) camp, that wasn’t us. That was never our identity.
“We said, ‘Hey guys, settle down, first half, we’re only down seven.’ That was the great part. Our defense was playing a hell of a game. We just came out in the second half with a different mentality. We were going to punch them in the mouth and play ‘Skegee football.”
The Golden Tigers rallied with a pair of Beal touchdown passes in the second half and a Lorcan Ryans’ field goal provided the game-winning points as Tuskegee won the Red Tails Classic for the second time in three years with a 20-17 victory on Sunday.
And while Tuskegee’s offense didn’t just flip a switch and turn into a different unit, the Golden Tigers were more efficient in the final 30 minutes, thanks in large part to their quarterback who kept his teammates focused throughout the game.
“I feel like he’s always confident,” tailback Johnny Morris said. “That’s why we look at him as a leader. He’s always going to be the same way, even keel.”
Tuskegee coach Aaron James praised Beal’s ability to continue to focus on the game plan and attention to detail even when things weren’t going as planned in the first half.
“The guys’ play in the first half wasn’t our style of football,” James said. “We came out for the second half and I told them, hey, we’ve got to have this. We put in all the work from the spring to the fall camp for a reason.
“Like I told him, you’ve got to have a short-term memory, you’ve just got to get to the next play. And he did that. Once he sees the ball come out of his hands and his receivers catch it, he can play lights out. His competitiveness is through the roof.”
Beal was 8 of 20 for 65 yards and an interception in the first half, accounting for much of the Golden Tigers’ 84 total yards. After going 0 for 6 on third down conversions in the first half, Tuskegee went 6 of 8 in the second half, converting their first on a Beal keeper with 12:40 remaining in the third quarter that seemed to provide the spark the offense was needing.
He went on to complete 10 of 13 passes for 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the second half, part of a 156-yard performance that wasn’t spectacular but was certainly necessary if the Golden Tigers wanted to win the football game.
His efforts earned him the Most Valuable Player award for the game. As he reflected on the season opening victory, he recalled a pointer from offensive coordinator Harry Williams.
“One of our sayings from Coach Harry is, ‘So goes the head, so goes the body,’” Beal said. “I feel like when you start mentally getting in your head, your body follows. I think we did a very good job in the second half calming down and going, ‘Hey guys, we’re right there.’ Little mistakes is the reason we’re down seven points. I feel like we could have had 28 to 35 points in the first half. So it’s coming out in the second half and we punted the ball, what, maybe one time? And we ran the ball well in the second half. We just controlled the game and played ‘Skegee football. That’s all.”