Dominant First Half Lifts Alcorn to 24-10 Win over Alabama State

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For the second straight week, the Alcorn State University football program used a quick start to pick-up a win on the road. The Braves shutout Alabama State in the first half and finished on top 24-10 Thursday evening at ASU Stadium.
 
It marked the third win in a row for the Braves (4-2, 2-0 SWAC) who held a huge advantage in total yards through two quarters, 330-10. It was also Alcorn's third straight road victory dating back to last season.
 
Alcorn, which won the time of possession battle 32:04-27:56, was run-heavy in the second half and effectively burned out the clock. The Braves bundled it with key defensive stops in the red zone in the second half to secure the win.
 
The Braves recorded a pair of 100-yard rushers as senior De'Lance Turner notched 169 yards and senior Lenorris Footman 122.
 
Footman ended with a pair of rushing touchdowns and one throwing. He threw for 160 yards including 97 to senior Norlando Veals.
 
The Hornets (0-5, 0-2 SWAC), who were coming off a bye week, were led by Ezra Grey who rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown, and registered 30 yards receiving.
 
Alcorn quickly got on the board with a highlight-reel 50-yard touchdown run by Footman on the opening series of the game. He busted through the middle, broke tackles and carried a defender into the end zone to put Alcorn up 7-0 at the 13:15 mark. Footman rushed for 66 yards on the drive.
 
The Braves tacked on a 32-yard field goal by sophomore Corey McCullough to lead 10-0 with 5:50 left in the first quarter. The drive was setup by runs of 16 and 21 yards, respectively, by Turner.
 
Early in the second quarter, Alcorn marched down the field again and scored on a 21-yard pass to Veals after Footman got out of the pocket on the right side. It capped a 12-play, 84-yard drive which included catches by Veals and junior Charles Hughes as the Braves were on top 17-0.
 
Alcorn put together another long drive midway through the second quarter of seven plays, 71 yards, which resulted in a touchdown. The big plays were a 27-yard reception by Veals as he was able to shake loose for a first down on a 1st and 20, followed by a 28-yard run by Turner through the right side. The scoring playing was an eight-yard scramble by Footman to the right to increase the advantage to 24-0 at the six-minute mark.
 
The Braves carried the 24-0 edge into the intermission.
 
The Hornets moved the ball offensively for the first time in their opening drive of the second half. They got all the way to the Alcorn four-yard line, but hurt themselves with penalties. What was once a 1st and goal from the 4-yard line turned into a 4th and goal from the 41-yard line after a sack by senior Michael Brooks on third down, and ASU was forced to punt.
 
Though on its next series, ASU got on the board with a 52-yard touchdown rush through the middle by Grey. It cut the deficit to 24-7 with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The Hornets further chopped into the lead 24-10 after a 27-yard field goal by Hunter Hanson with 14:17 left in the fourth quarter. ASU had the ball on the Alcorn one-yard line, but after a false start penalty and a sack by sophomore Travelle Ware, the field goal unit came out.
 
ASU tried to make a late comeback, but turned the ball over on downs with 2:01 left in the game. The Hornets were faced with a 4th and 19 at the Alcorn 38 when they had to go for it, but a pass break-up by sophomore Javen Morrison ended the drive.
 
Up next, Alcorn returns to Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium to host Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m. next Saturday on homecoming. The Braves are 40-15 all-time against the Panthers with a point differential of 1639-975 (+664).
 
NOTES
- Alcorn beat Alabama State for the fourth straight year and have held the Hornets to under 20 points in every game over that span. The Braves are now 23-18 all-time against ASU.
 
- The Braves won their ninth straight game against a SWAC East Division opponent. Alcorn has gone undefeated against division foes in back-to-back years.
 
- Alcorn is 2-0 in league play for the fourth time in the last five years.
 
- Junior Isiah Thomas, the reigning SWAC Defensive Player of the Week winner, tallied a pair of tackles. He turned in a career-high 13 tackles, including 3.0 tackles for a loss and also had an interception last week in Alcorn's 24-17 victory over Texas Southern.
 
- Footman moved up to No. 7 all-time in Alcorn history in both career rushing yards and career passing touchdowns. His 1,896 rushing yards surpassed Darryan Ragsdale's mark of 1,874. Footman's 30 touchdown passes tied Marcus Taylor's mark in seventh. Footman is also No. 10 in career passing yards with 3,705, and is looking to catch Tony Hobson in ninth who threw for 3,917 yards.
 
- The Braves entered the game leading the league in total offense (452.8 ypg) and submitted 471 yards. They out-rushed the Hornets 311-163, and out-passed them 160-75.
 
- Turner entered the game ranked top-five in the FCS in yards per carry with 8.6. He was just under par with 7.7 yards per carry on 22 attempts. Turner was also the league-leader in rushing yards with 111.8 coming into the game, and will improve upon his tally with 169 yards.
 
- Veals averaged 13.9 yards per catch as he hauled in seven passes for 97 yards. He entered the game ranked third in the conference in both receptions per game (4.8) and receiving yards (85.4 ypg).
 
- The Braves were without their leading tackler, sophomore Solomon Muhammad, due to injury. Muhammad ranks top-five in the league in both tackles (8.6 per game) and tackles for a loss (5.5 per game). His status is week-to-week.
 
- Alcorn's captain was Footman. The Hornets won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"We've played three games in 13 days and still came out and played as well as we did in the first half. In the second half, we were leading 24-0 and came out lackadaisical. We weren't executing offensively and we have to get better at finishing. Even when our legs are about gone, we have to put forth more of an effort."
 
On the defense
"Those guys really did their job. They really got after it and came up with some big red zone stops. We're playing sound defensively and I'm proud of the job we're doing on that side of the ball."
 
On the second half
"The biggest thing is just staying focused and doing the things that we're supposed to do. We did have some key first downs and were able to run the ball and take some time off the clock. We moved the chains when we needed to a few times, but the biggest thing is just executing."
 
On getting three wins in 13 days
"We take pride in the things that we do. I was so excited when we came out and scored on the first drive, and then we kept scoring in the first half. As we said though, in the second half we have to find ways to finish off plays."
 
Quoting senior quarterback Lenorris Footman
On his 50-yard touchdown run
"Coach made a great play call, and I just saw the hole open up and tried to get through it. I just knew I had to get to the end zone and tried to fight hard to get there."
 
On the second half
"Coach said it well, we just came out flat. That's happened to us the past few weeks in the second half, but we have to find a way to come out stronger."
 
On the defense getting stops
"They always play hard. Those guys always back us up when the offense isn't playing its best. The defense did an awesome job tonight and got the job done."
 
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