Braves Fall to Grambling on the Road

GRAMBLING, La. – Grambling State forced seven turnovers to top the Alcorn State University football program 41-14 Saturday at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.
 
Despite the loss, Alcorn remains in first-place in the SWAC East Division standings. The Braves, who are 5-3 overall, are tied with Alabama A&M with 3-1 SWAC records.
 
Senior De'Lance Turner highlighted the Braves offense with 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Braves ran for 195 yards as a team.
 
Alcorn used both of its quarterbacks for the second consecutive game. Senior Lenorris Footman and sophomore Noah Johnson combined for 168 passing yards and 40 rushing yards.
 
Senior Jalen Walker caught four passes for 76 yards and junior Charles Hughes grabbed three passes for 49.
 
Defensively, senior Michael Brooks paved the way with nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and a sack. Sophomore Javen Morrison turned in seven tackles, 1.0 for a loss, an interception and a forced fumble.
 
Sophomore Travelle Ware, junior Trae Ferrell and senior Ramonte Bell each registered a sack. Ferrell is the reigning SWAC Defensive Player of the Week winner.
 
The Tigers (6-1, 3-0 SWAC) forced four fumbles and three interceptions.
 
Devante Kincade threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 15 yards and a touchdown. Martez Carter notched 115 yards rushing.
 
On the first play of the game, the Tigers aired it out and completed a pass of 57 yards to Carter. On the very next play, Kincade ran for a 12-yard touchdown through the middle which put GSU up 7-0 early.
 
On Alcorn's first possession, the Braves were looking at a 2nd and 20 after a holding penalty when Footman connected with Walker for a gain of 43 on a seam route in the middle. Penalties on Grambling set up a first and goal from the four-yard line, but the Tigers made a goal line stand and garnered a stop on 4th and goal from the 1.
 
Near the end of the first quarter, the Tigers were driving into Alcorn territory when Morrison made a leaping one-handed interception on a high pass. It was his third pick of the season.
 
Looking to cash-in on the turnover, Footman completed a pass to Hughes for 28 years which put the Braves in the red zone. A 13-yard scramble by Footman on 3rd-and-7 resulted in a first and goal from the GSU 5. Alcorn tied the game 7-7 on a five-yard run by Turner through the left side with 13:01 left in the second quarter.
 
The Tigers responded with a 53-yard touchdown pass to go back up 14-7 at the 11:15 mark in the second quarter. The throw from Kincade was caught by Calief Samon who had one-on-one coverage on the left side.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, a big return by junior Marquis Warford through the middle got the Braves started at the GSU 30. Though, on a 3rd and 1, a bad snap resulted in a fumble which the Tigers recovered to end the threat.
 
The Braves got a stop on third down after a hard hit by Brooks, but the Tigers jumped on a muffed punt to keep the offense on the field at the Alcorn 25. GSU extended its lead to 21-7 with 6:00 remaining in the second quarter after an 18-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Kaigler.
 
GSU tacked-on a 40-yard field goal right before the end of the half, as the Tigers took a 24-7 advantage into the break.
 
Early in the second half, Johnson entered the game and completed his first pass to Warford near midfield. Though after the drive stalled out, the Braves attempted a fake punt as sophomore Corey McCullough tried to run for the first down but was stopped a yard short.
 
The Tigers upped their edge to 27-7 with 5:12 left in the third quarter after a 33-yard field goal by Orozco. It ended a 10-play drive which included a 37-yard completion to Devante Davis on a 3rd-and-18.
 
An interception returned 51 yards for a touchdown by Dedrick Shy made it a 34-7 game in favor of GSU with 43 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, a four-play drive for the Braves was highlighted by a 47-yard touchdown run by Turner who broke tackles and got to the outside. It cut the deficit to 34-14.
 
Alcorn then used a surprise onside kick to get the ball back as freshman LeCharles Pringle secured it along the right sideline. After a sack, the Braves faced a 4th-and-15 when they decided to go for it, and Johnson completed a 16-yard pass to Hughes for a first down at the GSU 29. Alcorn again was situated with a 4th down, a 4th-and-8, but this time the Tigers recorded an interception by Deontae Hatter.
 
GSU posted a final tally late after a fumbled punt was recovered by Quintin Guice and returned for a five-yard touchdown.
 
The Braves have a bye week coming up next weekend. They're back in action Saturday, Nov. 4 when they host AAMU at 2 p.m. at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium. Alcorn has won nine consecutive games against SWAC East Division opponents.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn saw its four-game winning-streak come to an end. The Braves were 3-0 in conference for the third time in the last four years. Alcorn also wrapped-up a three-game road winning-streak which dated back to last season.
 
- Turner entered the game leading the FCS in rushing yards. He was just over his average of 112.6 yards per game. Turner scored two touchdowns for the second time this year after he did it against Southern on Sept. 23.
 
- Pringle hauled in his first career reception. It was a 25-yarder in the fourth quarter.
 
- Morrison's seven tackles matched a career-high, previously set against Southern.
 
- McCullough punted three times for 134 yards. All three of his punts landed inside the 20. His 44.7 average was above his 41.6 mark entering the game which was 22nd in the FCS. McCullough did not have a field goal opportunity, but has made 10 on the year and is chasing the single-season school record of 13 set by Wilfredo Rosales in 1980 and David McConnell in 2003.
 
- Alcorn won the time of possession battle 32:00-28:00.
 
- The Braves were without their leading tackler sophomore Solomon Muhammad due to injury for the third consecutive game.
 
- Alcorn's captains were Footman and Turner. The Braves won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"We can't have seven turnovers. We emphasize securing the ball every day, but we didn't do that. It was everything from simple exchanges from the quarterback to the running back, to muffing punts. We don't allow that, and especially against a good football team. My hats off to Coach Fobbs as he does a great job with that team. When you're playing against a team of that quality, you can't have these turnovers."
 
On what was said at halftime to try and rally the team
"Well the biggest thing was we came out today as if we've never seen a football before. It's like our guys didn't know what formation to be in. These are things we do every single day but we couldn't get set or lined down. That's inexcusable."
 
On the bye week coming up
"We have to find a way to get better before our next game. The bye week couldn't come at a better time for us. We're going to get some of our bodies healed, and we're going to go back to the basics. We didn't execute or do many things right. We just played bad football today and that's on the head coach."
 
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