SWAC Football Recaps Week 1

Alabama State 26, Tuskegee 20 (OT)

The Alabama State had not defeated in-state Tuskegee in six years and as they trailed for most of the game, it appeared that the streak was headed to a seventh year.

However when the Hornets’ quarterback Darryl Pearson, Jr. scored to tie the contest at 20 apiece with 5:09 remaining in the game. Tuskegee was unable to make anything happen on their subsequent drive and Alabama State got the ball back and ran out the clock to take the game into overtime.

In the extra time, Tuskegee picked up a first down on its first play but then submarined their drive, pushing the Tigers back to the Alabama State 43 yard line. A 17-yard run by Tuskegee quarterback Jamarcus Ezell put the tigers in a position for a 43-yard field goal attempt.

The kick was blocked by Christian Clark and Alabama State would end up taking over in Tuskegee territory. On their very first play, Ezra Gray took a handoff and streaked 25-yards down the left sideline for a touchdown, winning the game 26-20 and ending the streak for Alabama State.

Alabama State has its work cut out for them in their next game when they head to Auburn Alabama to face the no.9 ranked Auburn Tigers. Kickoff time for the game is 6:30 P.M. CST. Tuskegee takes on Albany State next week in the Whitewater Classic in Phenix City, Alabama. Kickoff time is 4 p.m. EST.

Alabama A&M 37, Miles College 0

The offseason hiring of head Connell Maynor generated a bit of buzz not only in Huntsville but throughout HBCU football. Would be able to re-create some of the success he enjoyed during his time at Winston Salem State or would it be the barely above .500, middle of the pack teams he lead during his time at Hampton?

The Maynor administration got off on the right foot, blanking the Miles College Golden Bears 37-0 in the Lewis Crews Classic.

The Golden Bears offense was never able to get on track in the game, with starter Daniel Smith completing only three of his eleven pass attempts for a mere 21 yards. His replacements, Li’Jon Cordier, Malik Campbell, and Joseph Cambridge completed 2 passes combined (and both of those were from Cordier) and accounted for just 14 yards. As an offensive unit, Miles could only muster 115 yards of offense.

Though they Bulldogs scored an early field goal on a 28-yard Spencer Corey field goal,the Alabama A&M offense started to find its way after a slow start, finally reaching the end zone with Jordan Bentley’s 4-yard touchdown run; the Corey extra point would make the score 10-0. The Bulldogs would find the end zone again early in the third quarter on Aqeel Glass’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Bailey to give the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead. Gary Quarles’ touchdown run from 1-yard out would give Alabama A&M a 24-0, a lead they would carry into halftime.

A&M would get back to the scoring in the second half,only needing two plays to go 64 yards, a drive capped off by a 44-yard touchdown pass from Glass to Marceles Clash. Corey missed the PAT, leaving the score at 30-0. The scoring would, for Miles mercifully, end when A&M backup quarterback Dylan Smith threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Octayvious Miles. Corey connected on this extra point to give the Bulldogs a 37-0 lead.

Miles returns to action Thursday September 6 to take on the University of West Alabama. Kickoff time is 6 p.m. CST. For Alabama A&M, they will host North Alabama September 8; the kickoff time is 6:00 p.m. CST.

Georgia Tech 41, Alcorn State 0

From Alcorn State Sports Information:

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.

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

From Grambling State Sports Information:

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.

Morehouse 34, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 30

After spending the entire game trailing and battling to get back in it, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offense found itself, a mere four points down at on Morehouse’s three yard line in position for the go-ahead touchdown after a six play, forty-one yard drive. Then UAPB quarterback Shannon Patrick was sacked by Morehouse’s William Callaway; Shannon fumbled and ball recovered by Morehouse’s Ben Goins, effectively ending the game.

The fumble and turnover dampened what was a monster day for the Golden Lions QB; Patrick completed 17 of 25 passes for 451 yards and three touchdowns. However he was not the only Golden Lion to have a big offensive performance; wide receiver Josh Wilkes hauled in seven passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns.

Despite giving up 579 yards on offense, the Maroon Tigers managed to hang on to win the ball game.

Morehouse struck first in game,scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run form Ronald Bradley that was set up by a 52-yard run from Frank Bailey, Jr and a 29-yard completion by Tremell Gooden.

Morehouse added to their lead in the early part of the second quarter, scoring on a 63-yard wide receiver pass from Tremell Gooden to Tamarick Vanover, Jr.; the PAT made the score 14-0 in favor of the Maroon Tigers.

UAPB would get on the board when Shannon Patrick connected with Josh Wilkes for a 38-yard touchdown pass; the extra point cut the lead 14-7. With a little more than two minutes to go in the half, Morehouse QB Michael Sims found tight end Ryan Edwards on a short pass that Edwards was able to turn into a 57-yard touchdown, with the PAT gave the Martin Tigers a 21-7 lead. In less than 90 seconds, one minute, 27 seconds to be exact, the Golden Lions responded when running back Taeylor Porter took it down the sideline 29 yards to the house to cut the Morehouse lead to 21-14.

Morehouse’s Santo Dunn would keep the offensive back-and-forth going when he broke a 77-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-14 after the extra point.

Thirty seconds later UAPB would respond in the form of a 12-yard touchdown pass from Shannon Patrick to Tyrin Ralph, but the extra point was missed, which proved to be costly, leaving the score at 28-20 heading into halftime.

Offensively speaking, things were quiet in the third quarter, the only scoring was a 31-yard field goal by UAPB’s Jamie Gillian which cut the lead to 28-23.

With 11:28 to go in the game, Morehouse’s Dunn found paydirt once again, this time from 31-yards out. Fernando Sdelam missed the PAT, leaving the score at 34-23.

Patrick and the UAPB offense would continue to fight back, as he found Wilkes again, this time a 77-yard touchdown pass to draw the Golden Lions to within 4 at 34-30. The Maroon Tigers made the biggest play of the game, forcing the aforementioned Patrick fumble to seal the game.

Texas Southern-Texas Permian Basin was ppd at time of report.

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