Surely Eddie Robinson, the late legendary coach who built Grambling State into a football power, must be pleased after the G-Men held on to upset No. 24 Alcorn State 28-21 Saturday in their first home game of the season. The win was the fourth of the season for Grambling (4-3, 4-0 SWAC), and it doubled the G-Men’s total for the previous two seasons combined after they started the season 0-3.
Alcorn (5-2, 4-1 SWAC) entered the game leading the SWAC in virtually every statistical category and having scored 50 or more points four times this season. The Braves trailed 28-7 before putting together a late rally in the final 11 minutes of the game. It was the third time this season Grambling has had to stave off an opponent’s late-game rally.
“We need to continue to work at finishing games and putting people away because everyone has had a chance at the end and we have to make sure we put people away and play extremely hard,’’ Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs said. “Some of that credit goes to our opponents, but some of it is us, too.We have to do a better job.’’
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Grambling scored 21 consecutive points to start the game and led 21-7 at the half. The G-Men extended their advantage to 28-7 early in the third quarter when Johnathan Williams scored on a two-yard quarterback sneak for his second rushing touchdown of the game. He also scored on a two-yard sneak in the first quarter.
“We talk about that all the time starting fast and then starting fast again,’’ Fobbs said. “I thought our defense started fast in the second half then we got the ball and drove down and put points on the board, which was great for us.’’
Neither team had much success containing the other’s offense. Alcorn gained 475 total yards, including 295 on the ground. Four Braves ball-carriers rushed for at least 40 yards each. Arron Baker led the assault with 80 yards. Grambling used a balanced attack to produce 426 yards – 204 rushing and 222 passing by Williams, who also ran for 65 yards. Juwan Martin led G-Men runners with 89 yards.
Other Key Games:
Mississippi Valley State 27, Jackson State 23 – The Delta Devils coach Rick Comegy exacted revenge on his former team and ruined the Tigers Homecoming in the process as they came from behind in the second half to win their first SWAC contest of the season. Comegy compiled a 55-35 record in eight seasons with the Tigers, and he led them to the 2007 SWAC championship.
Jackson State fired him last December after back-to-back losses in the SWAC Championship game. The victory ended a 19-game losing streak for the Delta Devils (2-5, 1-4 SWAC) against Jackson State (3-3, 1-2 SWAC). Mississippi Valley held Jackson State to three field goals in the second half. Jackson State led 17-6 with nearly 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Quarterback Quantavius Peterson and Jeremy Dobson scored on one-yard runs for the Delta Devils and Peterson tossed a 36-yard pass to Joshua Rice for the winning touchdown with 1:43 left in the game. Jackson State quarterback La Montiez Ivy threw for 293 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort, out-dueling his older brother Patrick, who started for Mississippi Valley and completed 10 of 23 attempts for 71 yards.
North Carolina Central 48, South Carolina State 35 – The Eagles overpowered the Bulldogs with a relentless running game en route to a road victory to remain unbeaten in the MEAC. North Carolina Central ran for 290 yards with senior running back Andre Clark contributing 144, his career high, and three touchdowns. South Carolina State was ahead 21-10 in the second quarter, and the Bulldogs appeared to be on the way to repeating the 44-3 shellacking they gave the Eagles last season.
However, North Carolina Central turned the tables and went on to produce the highest point total by an MEAC opponent against South Carolina State in Coach Buddy Pough’s 13 seasons. The Eagles, who amassed 517 total yards, scored 31 unanswered points to take a 41-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Southern 35, Alabama A&M 34 – The Jaguars rallied from a 20-point third-quarter deficit in a SWAC game in Normal, Ala. Alabama A&M (2-5, 1-3 SWAC) led 34-14 midway through the third quarter but was unable to protect the lead. Southern (4-3, 3-1) scored a pair of quick touchdowns before the end of the third quarter to pull close. Quarterback Austin Howard threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Willie Quinn and then teamed up with Justin Morgan on 68-yard scoring play.
Malcolm Crockett scored on a one-yard run with 51 second left in the game to give Southern the victory. The win was marred by an injury to senior offensive lineman Zach Brown, who lay motionless on the ground for several minutes in the third quarter with a neck injury. Brown was strapped to a board, placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Florida A&M 24, Savannah State 14 – A 21-point second-quarter scoring burst powered the Rattlers (1-5, 1-1 MEAC) to their first victory of the season. Savannah State (0-6, 0-3 MEAC) went ahead 7-0 on Richard Williams’ nine-yard run with 3:21 left in the first quarter.
Senior quarterback Damien Fleming caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Spiffy Evans on a trick play with 5:37 left in the first half. Fleming threw a pair of touchdown passes, 19-yards to tight end Zachary Webster and 56 yards to Casey Gines for a 21-7 halftime lead.
Savannah State kept the game interesting as quarterback Tino Smith threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Derek Kirkland with 7:58 left in the game. Chase Varnadore kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:16 remaining to seal the victory.
North Carolina A&T 31, Hampton 14 – The Aggies struck for three big-play touchdowns in their come-from-behind home MEAC victory. Hampton (1-5, 0-2 MEAC), led 14-7 at the half after piling up 234 yards total offense. Quarterback Jaylian Williams staked the Pirates to a 7-0 lead with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Twarn Mixson late in the first quarter.
The Aggies (5-2, 2-1 MEAC) tied the score on their first possession of the second quarter when running back Tarik Cohen and quarterback Hassan Klugh hooked for a touchdown on a 68-yard catch and run. Hampton regain the lead, 14-7, on running back Jorrian Washington’s 15-yard run midway through the second quarter.
North Carolina A&T put the game away with a pair of long scoring plays in the second half. Cohen, who rushed for yards 162 yards, scored a 68-yard run, and wide receiver Desmond Lawrence scored from 64 yards out on a reverse. Cody Jones added a 22-yard field goal for the Aggies’ final points.
Other Results:
MEAC:
Bethune-Cookman 49, Howard 12
Delaware State 13, Norfolk State 10, OT
SWAC:
Prairie View A&M 34, Alabama State 24
CIAA:
Bowie State 39, Chowan 11
Fayetteville State 27, Shaw 26
Saint Augustine’s 31, Livingstone 30
Winston-Salem State 37, Johnson C. Smith 0
Virginia State 41, Elizabeth City State 14
Virginia Union 78, Lincoln (Pa.) 13
SIAC: Albany State 33, Lane 0
Clark Atlanta 1, College of Faith 0
Fort Valley State 36, Kentucky State 21
Limestone 47, Paine 30
Miles 22, Central State 6
Stillman 48, Benedict 36
Tuskegee 49, Morehouse 0
OTHERS:
Bacone 47, Texas College 6
East Stroudsburg 49, Cheyney 11
Jacksonville State 27, Tennessee State 20
Langston 28, Oklahoma Baptist 2
Saint Joseph’s 28, Lincoln (Mo.) 20
Webber International 70, Edward Waters 14
Wesley College 54, Concordia-Selma 0
West Va. Wesleyan 25, West Va. State 22
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