The Tigers are coming into a new era under head coach Alex Golesh and their showing at A-Day was the first glimpse at what is to come under the new regime. The Tigers’ offense would win the game 66-43 while allowing a good rotation of players to get action in the game.
“It was great,” head coach Golesh said about A-Day, “certainly to get a game day environment. I can only imagine what it’s going to be like with 88,000 in there, but for our guys, especially guys that have not been here, to get that environment and to be able to play in front of people is priceless for us.”
The competition for this year’s A-Day was between the offense in navy and the defense in white, so the points system was very nontraditional. The offensive scoring was normal for the most part with a touchdown, extra point, field goal, and two-point conversion all counting for their standard points but in addition an explosive play over 20 yards and a first down both counted for one point. The defensive scoring consisted of interceptions, fumble recoveries, and fourth down stops counting for four points, while a defensive touchdown counted for seven. Other minor point opportunities came from sacks which counted for two while a 3-and-out counted for three points
The leading rusher for the offense was Jeremiah Cobb who had 57 yards while the leading receiver was newcomer DeShawn Spencer who amassed 93 yards on nine receptions. The quarterback room was headlined by Byrum Brown who had 85 yards passing with two interceptions and Tristan Ti’a who had 179 yards passing with one touchdown in the air, one on the ground, and one interception.
The leaders on the defensive side of the ball would be AnQuon Fegans and Fred Gaskin III who both had six total tackles each while the four different players had an interception to contibute.
The offense got the scoring started early with a few big plays and a touchdown from Ti’a to wide receiver Duke Smith but the defense quickly answered back with some action of their own as they had a fumble recovery from a bad snap and an interception off of the redshirt freshman Ti’a courtesy of Jacoby Mathews.
On the following drive after throwing their first interception the offense continued to struggle as they gave up an interception to sophomore defensive end Jared Smith.
Following some first downs, defensive stops, and some other minor scoring the Tigers would go back and forth on offense and defensive until the third quarter when the defense got another interception from Bryce Deas this time off of first string quarterback Byrum Brown. The offense would answer with their second official touchdown of the game when NyKahi Davenport had a solid seven-yard rush for a touchdown.
Much of the action from scoring subsided for the rest of the game outside of the final touchdown on the ground coming from Ti’a.
Overall coach Golesh and his squad had an eventful day showcasing the talents that the new retooled roster has in store for this upcoming season. There is much excitement on The Plains around what could be in store for this new staff and another new season in 2026 that we will just have to wait to see the results of in the Fall.
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Reid is a sophomore majoring in accounting. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @ReidFarris2
