HOUSTON – Down by 30 in the fourth quarter, the Alcorn State University football program stormed back to make it a one possession game, but ran out of time as Grambling State ended on top 40-32 Saturday at NRG Stadium.
Senior running back
De'Lance Turner broke the Alcorn single-season rushing record and finished with 1,357 yards on the year. He needed 64 yards to surpass the mark of 1,286 set by Rodney Thomas in 1998. Turner, an All-Conference First-Team selection, ran for 134 yards in the game.
The Braves (7-5, 5-2 SWAC) trailed the Tigers (11-1, 7-0 SWAC) 40-10 in the fourth quarter. They scored three touchdowns and a two-point conversion to make it a 40-32 game with under two minutes left. Alcorn got the ball back with less than a minute and had to go the entire field with no timeouts, but ran out of time after passing midfield. A last-second Hail Mary attempt landed incomplete along the right sideline.
Turner rushed for two touchdowns. Senior quarterback
Lenorris Footman threw for 307 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for a score.
Junior wide receiver
Marquis Warford caught a career-high 131 receiving yards on seven receptions. Senior
Norlando Veals, an All-Conference First-Team honoree, registered 85 receiving yards and a touchdown.
As a team, the Braves outgained GSU in total offense 502-439 and rushed for 195 yards. Senior offensive linemen
Timothy Gardner and
Kenyon Brantley were tabbed to the All-Conference First-Team, and sophomore
Mustaffa Ibrahim on the All-Conference Second-Team.
On the defensive side, sophomore linebacker
Terry Whittington wrapped up a game-high 10 tackles which was also a career-high. He tallied 2.5 tackles for a loss.
The Tigers were guided by quarterback Devante Kincade who threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for two scores.
Grambling got on the board first with a 15-yard touchdown run by Kincade on their opening drive. The big play of the series was a 46-yard completion to Quintin Guice which moved the Tigers into the red zone.
The Braves responded with a drive of eight plays, all runs, capped by a two-yard sprint by Turner through the right side to tie it 7-7 at the 7:50 mark. The series included four first downs with dashes of 33 and 21 yards, respectively, by junior
P.J. Simmons.
On the ensuing drive, GSU was forced to punt, but the Braves muffed it and the Tigers recovered at the Alcorn 34. The Braves defense stayed strong again and forced a 48-yard field goal by Marc Orozco that was good. GSU led 10-7 with 5:28 left in the first.
The Tigers returned the favor on Alcorn's next drive as a muffed punt was recovered by freshman Damien Anderson at the GSU 40. The Braves took over and completed a 13-yard pass to Warford, followed by a 17-yard catch by Veals to the GSU 10. Alcorn evened the score 10-10 after a 21-yard field goal by sophomore
Corey McCullough with 1:30 to go.
At the end of the first quarter, Grambling faced a 4th-and-8 when it faked a punt as the punter Miguel Mendez took off for an eight-yard run to the right to move the chains. The Tigers were then situated with a 3rd-and-10 when Kincade ran up the middle for 23 yards to the Alcorn 5. GSU scored on a five-yard run to the left by Martez Carter to go up 17-10 at the 11:27 mark in second quarter.
The Tigers extended the lead to 24-10 midway through the second. The scoring play was a 15-yard catch to Jordan Jones which ended an eight-play, 61-yard drive.
GSU took over again after forcing a fumble on a running play at the Alcorn 46. The Tigers cashed-in with a 27-yard touchdown run to the left by Kincade to make it a 31-10 game with 4:42 remaining.
Late in the half, the Tigers were on the move after completions of 42 and 27 yards, respectively, to Kobe Ross. GSU scored on a four-yard pass to Guice to carry a 38-10 advantage with 19 ticks left.
On the very last play of the half, Turner ran eight yards to break the school's single-season rushing record. It gave him 69 yards of rushing in the game at the time.
Alcorn got the ball first in the second half and started moving downfield after a 15-yard completion to junior
Charles Hughes, an 18-yard run by Turner and an 18-yard catch by Veals. A 15-yard grab by Turner setup 1st-and-goal from the 9. The Braves got to the four-yard line when they decided to go for it on fourth down, but Turner was tackled short of the goal line on a run for a turnover on downs.
After a three-and-out, the Braves took over at the GSU 39 after a short punt. Alcorn got backed up after a sack and attempted a 41-yard field goal, but it hit the post no good.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Tigers put two points on the board after a tackle in the end zone was made for a safety. Alcorn was pinned deep in its own territory after a punt was downed inside the five-yard line, followed by a holding penalty. It changed the score to 40-10 at the 14:55 mark.
GSU had the ball on the Alcorn 42 when senior
Ramonte Bell recorded a strip-sack, and sophomore
Travelle Ware picked it up and ran it to the GSU 34. On the very next play, Footman connected with Veals who darted through the secondary for a 34-yard touchdown reception which cut the deficit to 40-17 with 12:53 to go.
The Braves were marching again midway through the quarter as Footman found Hughes open for a 19-yard gain. Footman then hit Warford for a gain of 36 on fourth down to move Alcorn inside the 20. A 14-yard run by Turner setup first-and-goal at the four, and Footman finished it off with a four-yard run up the middle. Alcorn trailed 40-24 with 6:11 remaining.
Alcorn attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Tigers.
The Braves got the ball back with 2:51 left at their own six-yard line with one timeout left. On the first play, Footman bombed it to Warford over the secondary for a gain of 65. Turner followed it up with a 19-yard run, and then a six-yard touchdown scamper up the middle. The two-point conversion was a success as Footman threw to Veals in the back of the end zone to trim the deficit to just 40-32 at the 1:50 mark.
Alcorn attempted another onside kick, but GSU recovered on a short-hop. The Braves only had one timeout left, but were able to run the Tigers out of bounds to save time on second down. Alcorn got a stop on third down and called their final timeout with 54 seconds left.
The Braves took over at their own two-yard line 52 seconds left and no timeouts. Footman scrambled for seven yards out of bounds on first down, but his next two passes were incomplete. On fourth down, Footman passed to Veals for a first down and Alcorn spiked it with 24 seconds left at its own 24-yard line. Hughes hauled in a pass for 24 yards, and the Braves again spiked it with 13 seconds left at their own 48. After an incompletion, a quick pass was caught by Hughes and he got out of bounds with two seconds at the GSU 43. On the final play, Footman threw a Hail Mary pass but it fell incomplete out of bounds along the right sideline.
NOTES
- The Braves became the first team in the history of the league to play in four consecutive SWAC Championship games. They are the four-time defending SWAC East Division champions.
- Turner ended his career ranked fifth all-time in school history in rushing yards with 2,121 after three seasons. He holds the longest run in school history with an 88-yarder in the season-opener against Miles College.
- Footman completed his career ranked sixth in school history in passing yards with 4,234, seventh in passing touchdowns with 31 and eighth in rushing yards with 1,963.
- With one made in the game, McCullough drilled 17 field goals on the year which set a single-season school record. McCullough earned a spot on the All-Conference Second-Team. The career record for field goals made at Alcorn is 34 by Wilfredo Rosales from 1977-80.
- Warford's 131 receiving yards surpassed his previous best of 102 against Concordia in 2015. He also set a career-high with 252 all-purpose yards which topped his previous high of 190 against Miles College.
- Veals entered the game leading the SWAC in receiving yards with 81.6 per outing. He was just above his average with 85 yards.
- Whittington's previous career-high in tackles was nine against FIU on Sept. 8, 2017.
- Alcorn's captains were Footman and Turner. The Braves won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- Saturday marked the 19th and final SWAC Championship game. The conference office announced over the summer that it would forgo the championship game after this year.
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"First off, I want to take my hat off to Grambling and Coach Fobbs and his staff. They played an excellent game, and you can't afford to make mistakes against a team like that. We didn't do so great of a job of tackling and we let the quarterback get out of our containment. Though, I was pleased with our second half and the way this team fought back. If we could delete the second quarter then this was a great ball game for us, but unfortunately, we can't do that. We continued to fight and we were able to make a ball game out of it. We've had tremendous leadership the entire season out of our seniors and you can't say enough about them and their character. We'll miss this whole senior class and hope that the things they've done over the years will rub off on the underclassmen. It was an excellent game today and Grambling deserved to win. I wish them well in the celebration bowl. For us, we have to keep bringing in kids that fit our program and get better next year."
On the resiliency of Alcorn in the fourth quarter
"That's something we talk about day-in and day-out, and that's finishing. Our team did a great job of fighting until the end today. I've never questioned the resiliency of this team. Any time there's time left on the clock there's a chance. Our guys never gave up, and that's something we instill in our program. We fought until the end but we just ran out of time."
On what he told the team when they were trailing
"It didn't matter how far we were down, I just kept telling them that we still have a chance. We just told them to keep fighting, keep pushing. We fought until the end."
On the football program moving forward
"It's going to be tough losing seniors like these guys. We have to go on the recruiting trail and find some guys that will continue the way this program is going now. My goal when I took over this program was to keep it in championship form, and that's what we're building towards. When we leave here tonight and go back to Alcorn, we'll sit down as a coaching staff and grade the recruits that we have. It will be tough to replace the seniors that we have, but we'll find some guys who will fit our program."
Quoting senior quarterback Lenorris Footman
On what it means to have been a part of this Alcorn program
"It means a lot. When I first came here, they took me in right away as if I'd been here the whole team. The coaches instilled in us that they were trying to build a winning program, and when the previous seniors left I took it upon myself to try and lead the team. I wanted to keep the tradition going to the guys younger than me and show them that this is what we have to continue. Playing for Alcorn means a lot - it is one big family."
On what he was trying to tell the guys when they were down by 30
"I told them the same thing that Coach McNair said, it's not over until the time runs out. We've been fighting all year, and that's what we tried to do tonight. I just told the guys to keep fighting and let the chips fall the way they do. I tried to lead by example and fight back, and do whatever I could to keep the team fighting."
Quoting senior running back De'Lance Turner
On breaking the single-season rushing record at Alcorn
"I'm just honored to be mentioned along the Alcorn greats. The team put in a lot of work this season, the O-line, quarterbacks, wide receivers - I have to give thanks to everyone for the way they block downfield. This honor is about everybody and not just me."
#FearTheBrave
