ALCORN ST. RALLIES PAST HORNETS
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MONTGOMERY, ALA. – It was a promising start to the season home opener for the Alabama State football team, but Alcorn State turned it on with a strong all-around performance in the second half for a 31-14 SWAC win at the new ASU Stadium on Saturday night.
For the second consecutive week, the Hornets (0-2, 0-1 SWAC) had a lead that they were unable to make stick.
Alabama State took the lead twice on touchdown drives in the opening half, but the Braves (1-1, 1-0 SWAC) had a follow-up answer to combat the ASU attack.
Alcorn took a 17-14 lead into halftime on a 29-yard field goal by Haiden McCraney and with a big edge in time of possession.
It’s all the points they would need.
Braves senior quarterback John Gibbs Jr. completed 26-of-33 passes for 306 yards, threw for a touchdown and ran for another.
The complexion was different early as ASU outscored the Braves 14-7 in the first quarter.
“To see that much support and that many fans cheering the team on, that’s a really good feeling,” said ASU head coach Brian Jenkins.
“The one thing that I’m going to take out of this tonight is that our fans and our alumni are behind our program. They stayed right there all the way until the end. That really touched me. I can’t say thank you enough to them. There are no words to express how I’m feeling about that. We are going to keep working as team and I hope they continue to support us like they are doing now. We’re going to get it right and fix the things that we need to fix. But I wanted to say that we are very grateful for their support.”
ASU marched right down the field on their first possession, capping a six-play drive for 70 yards in 2:12 on a 37-yard touchdown scramble by redshirt sophomore Ellis Richardson, who was making his first career start.
Richardson completed 9-of-18 passes for 59 yards and he also added 46 yards on the ground with a score.
On the Hornets’ next series, the quick strike offense was at it again.
Largely on the strength of their running attack, ASU went on a 12-play drive for 76 yards in 3:01.
Junior Khalid Thomas showcased some shiftiness on a cut back touchdown run of seven yards to put the Hornets back on top 14-7 late in the first quarter.
Freshman running back Alex Anderson had an efficient eight carries for 40 yards (5.0 yards per carry) with a long run of 12 yards.
The Braves had answers though.
Alcorn State came directly back with a 14-play drive for 90 yards in 6:12 on a Gibbs Jr. three-run touchdown run to lock up the score are 14-14.
In the third quarter, Braves’ running back Darryan Ragsdale broke through for a 25-yard score to help push the lead to 10.
The biggest play of the night came when Gibbs Jr. connected with Tollette George, who streaked down the near sidelines for a 62-yard touchdown with 1:12 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 17 after the PAT.
The Hornets had an opportunity to get back into the game when local product Ed Murray (Montgomery, Ala. / Jefferson Davis High School) recovered a fumble on a punt return at the Alcorn 32-yard line.
But, ASU was unable to convert the opportunity into any points as a sack on a fourth and four situation turned the ball over on downs.
The Hornets threatened again when Thomas returned the kickoff to the ASU 48-yard line, a 42-yard return for one of his longest of his career.
However, ASU’s offense stalled.
Individually, the Hornets’ defensive players had big days.
Cornerback Bradley Street, free safety Trey Jenkins , and linebacker Dominique Jackson all set new career highs for most tackles in a game.
Street had 12 tackles while Jenkins and Jackson had nine tackles apiece.
Kourtney Berry had an enormous first half with 12 tackles.
Berry finished with 15 tackles for the game.
Next, Alabama State will host SWAC foe Grambling State on Saturday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
