North Carolina A&T tops Alcorn 64-44 to claim third straight Celebration Bowl

From meacsports.com:

ATLANTA, Ga., Dec. 21, 2019–Behind six touchdown passes from Kylil Carter and two touchdown runs from Jah-Maine Martin, North Carolina A&T State upended Alcorn State 64-44 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday to win the program’s third straight Celebration Bowl.

The Aggies (9-3) have won four of the bowl game’s five installments. Their 64 points are the most in the short history of the Celebration Bowl, and their 20-point win also marked the largest margin of victory.

Carter, a redshirt senior, tied the program record with his six touchdown passes — two of which went to Elijah Bell, while another pair went to Korey Banks. He totaled 364 yards in the air, completing 18 of his 30 passes — while also running 13 times for 96 yards.

For his part, Martin ran 16 times for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns — including a 75-yard run to open the second half that set the stage for a wild third quarter. After the first quarter, Alcorn State held a 3-0 lead, but Carter threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to give North Carolina A&T State a 24-10 lead at the half.

In the third quarter alone, the two teams combined to score 49 points, and the Aggies led 52-31 after 45 minutes.

Twice the Braves tried to come back in the fourth quarter, and they scored with 4:36 left to cut the lead to 55-44. But a bad snap on the PAT turned into two more points for the Aggies, as Amir McNeill returned the ball 98 yards to make the score 57-44.

A 4-yard Martin run ended the scoring and extended the Aggies’ run of Celebration Bowl success.

* Featured Photo by Kayla MaDonna, ESPN Images

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