Football Recaps: Sept. 1
Alabama State 26, Tuskegee 20 (OT)
MONTGOMERY, ALA. – Alabama State ended a six-year drought when Ezra Gray took a handoff and outran everyone down the left sideline to give Alabama State a 26-20 overtime victory over rival Tuskegee in front of 26,222 fans on Saturday night.
The Hornets, who trailed most of the game, sent the game into overtime when Darryl Pearson, Jr. scored on a quarterback keeper with 5:09 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 20-all. Alabama State (1-0) stymied the Tuskegee offense and forced a punt, before running out the clock to force overtime.
Tuskegee (0-1) picked up a first down on its first play from scrimmage before committing three consecutive penalties, pushing the ball back to the Alabama State 43-yard line. After a 17-yard run by quarterback Jamarcus Ezell, the Golden Tigers lined up for a 43-yard field goal attempt. The attempt was blocked by Christian Clark, giving the Hornets the ball for their possession in overtime.
Alabama State wasted little time getting into the end zone, as Gray took the hand off from Pearson and outran three defenders down the sideline for the score. The score sent students and alumni alike over the barriers over the field as the Hornets claimed a win over Tuskegee for the first time since 2011.
--Alabama State Strategic Communications
Alabama A&M 37, Miles College 0
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. – It was a successful head coaching debut for Alabama A&M’s Connell Maynor as the Bulldogs secured their first shutout victory in nearly six years.
It was their first shutout since Oct. 6, 2012 at Mississippi Valley State in a 35-0 win.
Sophomore quarterback Aqeel Glass completed 11-of-18 passes for 185 yards with two touchdowns and gained another 40 yards on the ground as the host Bulldogs racked up 419 total yards of offense in the rout.
After a bit of a slow start, the Bulldogs picked it up from there by finding the end zone for the first time with 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a Jordan Bentley four-yard rushing touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead after Spencer Corey’s PAT.
Senior wide receiver Octayvious Miles had three receptions for 66 yards and a 34-yard touchdown from backup quarterback Dylan Smith. Marceles Clash caught a 44-yard touchdown, Isaiah Bailey had an 18-yard score while Gary Quarles had rushing touchdown.
In preserving the shutout, Yurik Bethune made two and a half tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and made three total tackles with a quarterback hit. Armoni Holloway had four tackles including one for a loss and added a sack. As a unit, the Alabama A&M defense held Miles to just 10 first downs and 115 total yards of offense.
Georgia Tech 41, Alcorn State 0
ATLANTA, GA –Nearly the entire roster played for the Alcorn State University football program as it dropped a 41-0 decision to Georgia Tech on the road Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Alcorn (0-1) saw seven different student-athletes carry the ball and 10 different wide receivers caught a pass. Senior
P.J. Simmons, the SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, led the way with 10 rushes for 47 yards (4.7 ypc) and also caught three passes for nine yards.
The Braves used both junior
Noah Johnson and sophomore
Felix Harper at quarterback. Johnson tallied 51 yards passing on 10-of-15 attempts, while Harper was 5-for-8 for 18 yards. Johnson also rushed for 21 yards on six carries.
Defensively, senior
Alvin Wilson led the Braves with eight tackles including four solo. Senior
Trae Ferrell notched seven tackles including one for a loss. Junior
Taurence Wilson grabbed an interception to end GA Tech's (1-0) two-minute drill at the end of the first half.
The Braves forced two fumbles in the game and they were recovered by junior
Brelion Hollis and freshman Keyron Kinsler.
Alcorn limited GA Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall to just 9-of-18 for 104 yards throwing with an interception. The Braves out-tackled GA Tech 71-46.
On special teams, junior
Corey McCullough booted nine punts for a career-high 372 yards (41.3 ypp). He cranked a long of 51 yards and four of his punts landed inside the 20.
The Yellow Jackets rushed for 439 yards, including 85 and a touchdown by Jordan Mason. KinVonte Benson scored two touchdowns to go along with 75 yards.
--Alcorn State Sports Information
No. 16 TCU 55, Southern 7
FORT WORTH, TX – The Jaguars received their lone touchdown on a 55-yard strike from quarterback John Lampley to Cameron Mackey in the second quarter, but were outgained in total yards of offense 499 to 185 as the Horned Frogs were able to score touchdowns on five of their first six possessions at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson was 17-of-24 for 185 yards with three touchdowns and added 45 yards on the ground with two rushing scores.
Lampley completed 5-of-14 passes for 101 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Mackey finished with three receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Trey Smith made a catch for 41 yards as well. Senior defensive back Demerio Houston made a team-leading six tackles for Southern.
Southern Mississippi 55, Jackson State 7
HATTIESBURG, MS – Headed by former Alcorn State head coach and SWAC champion Jay Hopson, the host Golden Eagles racked up 457 total yards of offense in their season opener.
Southern Mississippi wide receiver Quez Watkins reeled in eight receptions for 138 yards with three receiving touchdowns and scored a fourth touchdown on an 81-yard punt return. Quarterback Jack Abraham completed 21-of-27 passes for 242 yards with four touchdowns as the Golden Eagles captured a 41-0 lead by halftime.
Quarterback Jared Hayes completed 7-of-8 passes for 56 yards with a touchdown to Kobie Gates for the Tigers’ lone score.
Louisiana 49, Grambling State 17
LAFAYETTE, LA. –
The Grambling State University football team got an early 22-yard field goal by Garrett Urban, but the Tigers could not sustain the lead as Louisiana used a 21-point first quarter in picking up a 49-17 victory on Saturday night at Cajun Field.
After Louisiana went three-and-out on its first possession, Grambling State set up shop at its own 43. On the very first play from scrimmage for the Tigers offense, Geremy Hickbottom connected with Quintin Guice for 47 yards to set up first-and-goal from the 10.
However, GSU (0-1) could not punch in the touchdown and settled for three points as Garrett Urban booted a 22-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead with 11:57 left in the opening quarter.
Louisiana (1-0) answered on its next drive as the Ragin’ Cajuns marched 81 yards, including 53 on the ground, in eight plays as Trey Ragas punched in a four-yard run to give UL a 7-3 advantage with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter.
After a Grambling State punt, Louisiana went 70 yards in six plays as a Andre Nunez connected with Ja’Marcus Bradley in the corner of the endzone to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a 14-3 lead with 4:22 left in the quarter.
The Ragin’ Cajuns took advantage of a short Tigers punt and used just 1:45 off the clock as Jamal Bell caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Nunez to cap a five-play, 39-yard drive, giving Louisiana a 21-3 lead with 1:40 remaining in the quarter.
Louisiana continued to add to the lead early in the second quarter as the Ragin’ Cajuns marched 62 yards in five plays as Bradley caught hit second touchdown pass of the night from Nunez, an eight-yard score, as UL extended the margin to 28-3 with 13:05 left in the first half.
After falling behind, 28-3, the Tigers put together a 10-play drive as Hickbottom carried the bulk of the load with a 52-yard run, which set up first-and-goal from the Ragin’ Cajun 3-yard line. Hickbottom completed the 75-yard drive with a seven-yard score with 8:28 remaining.
Louisiana added one more score before halftime as Nunez scored on a four-yard keeper to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a 35-10 advantage.
--Grambling State Sports Information
Morehouse 34, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 30
Texas Southern-Texas Permian Basin was ppd at time of report.