Alcorn Falls to No. 20 Arkansas in Lone Non-Conference Game

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Alcorn State University football program rushed for 155 yards Saturday against 20th-ranked Arkansas, but the Razorbacks ended on top 52-10 at War Memorial Stadium.
 
The Braves (1-3, 1-2 SWAC) showed a spark in the second quarter after freshman quarterback Noah Johnson ran up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-7. Alcorn had a chance to further chop into the lead as it had the ball on the Arkansas (4-1, 0-1 SWAC) one-yard line with nine seconds left in the half, but a miscue on the snap led to a fumble which the Razorbacks recovered.
 
Johnson threw for 158 yards and rushed for 80. Junior running back Arron Baker registered a team-high 93 rushing yards on 13 carries. Senior wide receiver Jaborian McKenzie caught seven of the team's 13 passes for 88 yards.
 
Defensively, junior Daniel Franklin recorded a career-high 11 tackles. Senior Eric Foster ended with six tackles, and sophomore LaShaun Ealey and junior Julius Lawrence wrapped-up five tackles apiece.
 
The Razorbacks were led by Devwah Whaley who rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown, and Rawleigh Williams who ran for 126 yards. Quarterback Austin Allen was 13-for-18 in the air with 206 yards and three passing touchdowns. Jared Cornelius caught a pair of touchdowns and etched 106 receiving yards.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY SUMMARY
The Braves opened the game with an onside kick attempt, but it was recovered by the Razorbacks at the Alcorn 43-yard line. Arkansas got a pair of first downs to move inside the 10, but the Alcorn defense was able to hold them to a 25-yard field attempt which was good.
 
Alcorn was forced to punt on its first drive, and a big 33-yard return by Drew Morgan set up Arkansas' second drive at the Braves 29-yard line. The Razorbacks scored on their first play on a pass over-the-middle to Jared Cornelius. Arkansas made it 17-0 after Devwah Whaley rushed for a 75-yard touchdown through the middle on the first play of the Razorbacks third possession.
 
Arkansas added on with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius to increase its lead to 24-0 right at the end of the first quarter.
 
To begin the second quarter, Johnson connected with McKenzie on a 28-yard pass to put the Braves in Arkansas territory. Alcorn moved the chains twice on a pair of third-down runs by Baker to get to the 12-yard line, which setup the 12-yard read-option up the middle by Johnson for the touchdown on the quarterback keeper.
 
On the ensuing Arkansas drive, the Razorbacks went for it on fourth-and-one on its own 45-yard line, but the run got stuffed for no gain after a tackle by sophomore Myshawn Smith. The Braves got pushed back though on their drive and were forced to punt.
 
The Razorbacks attempted a 44-yard field goal on their final possession of the half, but it was no good, leaving Alcorn 1:51 remaining at its own 26-yard line. A completion to McKenzie put the Braves in Arkansas territory, and a bomb to junior Jalen Walker was hauled in at the one-yard line with nine seconds. A bad snap from the shotgun resulted in a fumble that Arkansas recovered, as the Braves went into the half trailing 24-7.
 
The Braves moved to the Arkansas 33-yard line on their first possession of the second half after a pair of first down runs by Baker, but a tipped pass at the line resulted in an interception by Henre Tolliver which was returned 70 yards for a touchdown.
 
After the Razorbacks made it a 38-7 game, Alcorn got into the red zone after a nifty 53-yard run up the middle by Johnson which included jukes left and right. The Braves settled for a 43-yard field goal which was good by McCraney with 3:40 left in the third quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, McCraney attempted a 41-yarder at the 10:36 mark but it was blocked. The attempt was set up after a 46-yard run by Baker through the middle. The Razorbacks scored the final 14 points of the game.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter 
12:11 – 25-yard field goal by C. Hedlund, 7-36-2:49, 3-0 Arkansas
9:03 – 29-yard pass from A. Allen to J. Cornelius (C. Hedlund XP), 1-29-0:09, 10-0 Arkansas
7:22 - 75-yard run by D. Whaley (C. Hedlund XP), 1-75-0:16, 17-0 Arkansas
0:17 – 35-yard pass from A. Allen to J. Cornelius (C. Hedlund XP), 7-82-3:49, 24-0 Arkansas
2nd Quarter
10:44 – 12-yard run by N. Johnson (H. McCraney XP), 9-61-4:33, 24-7 Alcorn
3rd Quarter
9:42 – 70-yard interception return by H. Toliver (C. Hedlund XP), 31-7 Arkansas
5:44 - 26-yard touchdown run by Cody Hollister (C. Hedlund XP), 5-55-2:07, 38-7 Arkansas
3:40 – 43-yard field goal by H. McCraney, 6-49-2:04, 38-10 Arkansas
4th Quarter
13:49 – 10-yard pass from A. Allen to L. Pettway, (C. Hedlund XP) 9-75-4:51, 45-10 Arkansas
6:36 – 5-yard run by T. Hammonds (C. Hedlund XP), 7-95-4:00, 52-10 Arkansas
 
NOTES
- Alcorn entered the game leading the SWAC in rushing yards and accounted for 155 yards on the ground. The Braves have rushed for at least 150 yards in every game this season.
 
- Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between the Braves and the Razorbacks. The last time Alcorn played a team from the SEC was Sept. 7, 2013 at Mississippi State.
 
- It was the first day-game of the season for Alcorn and the first of six consecutive day-games to come.
 
- It was the lone non-conference game of the season after Alcorn's scheduled season-opener against Bethune-Cookman was ruled no contest due to severe weather.
 
- The Braves took on a ranked opponent for the second year in a row after traveling to No. 16 Georgia Tech last season.
 
- Senior linebacker Darien Anderson was named Hero of the Week by HERO Sports on Friday. He was coming off a monster performance against Grambling State which included 12 tackles and a career-high four sacks. Anderson finished the game with four tackles.
 
- Johnson's 53-yard rush in the third quarter was a career long. His previous long was 29 yards last week at Grambling.
 
- Franklin's previous career-high in tackles was seven, set twice.
 
- McKenzie entered the game ranked second in the SWAC with 7.0 receptions per game, and was right on que with seven catches.
 
- Alcorn's captains were seniors LaDarrien Davis and Eric Foster and junior De'Lance Turner. Arkansas won the coin toss and chose to receive.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"Our guys were up for the task that was in front of them. We've played in this stadium before and that helped. We stopped here yesterday for our walkthrough and our guys were ready. Arkansas is a tough team. We did some great things today, but Arkansas was playing at a different speed and at a different strength. We knew coming in that we were going up against an SEC team but our guys fought."
 
On Alcorn's final play of the first half
"I wish we could get that play back. It was a big swing going into the half. It was just a breakdown on what we were trying to do and we couldn't get the snap. It would have been huge going in with 14 points."
 
On resuming conference play next week
"Well I felt we really grew up today. We came here with a lot of guys banged up, but we fought. We'll go back home this week and get ready to continue conference play. Alabama A&M is going to be a tough task for us and we have to make sure we show up ready. We were able to get healthy today, and our guys really worked their butts off, but now we're moving on to the next game."

UP NEXT
The Braves will wrap-up a three-game road swing Saturday, Oct. 8 when they resume conference play at Alabama A&M. Alcorn has won five of its last six SWAC road games dating back to last season.
 
Alcorn is going for its third straight win over the Bulldogs after posting a 44-10 win at home last year and a 41-14 victory on the road in 2014. The Braves have not lost at Alabama A&M since 2008.
 
Alcorn's next home game is homecoming Saturday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. when it hosts Texas Southern.
 
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