Courtesy of Dr, Earnest Brown, Albany State Athletics
The Dirty Blue defense led the charge as the Albany State Golden Rams defeated the Savannah State Tigers (15-12) in the Inaugural Coastal City HBCU Classic held on Saturday afternoon at the Glynn County Stadium in the city of Brunswick, Georgia.
With the win, the Albany State Golden Rams improved to (2-2) overall and (2-0) in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) while the Savannah State Tigers fell to (2-2) overall and (1-1) in the SIAC.
In the 1st quarter, the Tigers went up (3-0) after Kenneth Lockhart connected on a 28-yard field goal after a 7-play drive that covered 42 yards.
The Golden Rams tied the score at (3-3) after an Eli Mashburn 25-yard field goal with 2:34 remaining in the 1st quarter. It was the first of three field goals in the 1st half for Mashburn.
With 11:51 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Mashburn connected on a 33-yard field goal to give the Golden Rams a (6-3) lead.
Mashburn also kicked a 20-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter to give the Golden Rams a (9-3) lead at halftime.
The Tigers cut the Golden Rams lead to (9-6) after Kenneth Lockhart connected on a 25-yard field with 7:17 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Golden Rams scored the game’s first touchdown when Isaiah Knowles connected with Ralph Lovett on a 5-yard touchdown pass to give Albany State a (15-6) lead in the 4th quarter. The 2-point conversion failed.
The Tigers responded when Quavien Bell caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jadon Adams to cut the Golden Rams lead to (15-12) with 1:41 remaining in the game. The PAT was blocked.
The ensuing onside kick by the Tigers was recovered by the Golden Rams.
The Golden Rams offense finished with 20 total first downs, 147 yards rushing and 208 yards passing.
Isaiah Knowles was 17/34 for 208 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Frederick Gaines rushed 11 times for 63 yards. Ralph Lovett caught 5 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Devonte James led the Golden Rams with 9 tackles (6 solo). Roderick Welch had 2 sacks for the Dirty Blue defense. Draylen Jones blocked a PAT and finished with 2 tackles for a loss. Ahman Ross also had 2 tackles for a loss.
Gilbert Brown punted 4 times with an average of 41.5 yards and a long of 58 yards.
The Tigers finished with 11 total first downs, 122 yards rushing and 153 yards passing.
Jadon Adams was 15/24 for 153 yards with a touchdown. Shamarcus Poole rushed 9 times for 67 yards to lead the Tigers. Brent Carr caught 2 passes for 57 yards.
Tavare Brewton led the Tigers with 10 total tackles. Nathaniel Chisolm finished with 2.5 sacks while Xavier Esquillen had 1.5 sacks. Deandre Creary also had a sack.
The Golden Rams will play Kentucky State at 1:00 pm on Saturday, September 30, in Frankfort, Kentucky.
