Golden Eagles Break Free from Braves in Second Half

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A touchdown early in the third quarter had the Alcorn State University football program threatening for an upset, but Southern Miss was able to shake-off the Braves in a 38-10 final on Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
 
The Braves (0-1) trailed 13-0 at half when they came out and scored on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that was finished by a 15-yard touchdown run by senior De'Shawn Waller. It cut the deficit to 13-7.
 
However, on the ensuing drive, USM (1-0) scored on a 55-yard touchdown bomb on a 3rd and 17 play, which ultimately changed the course of the game. The Golden Eagles then started pulling away late in the third quarter.
 
Senior kicker/punter Corey McCullough became the school's all-time leader in made field goals. In the third quarter, he drilled a 44-yarder which was the 35th of his career.
 
Waller finished with 51 yards and a touchdown. Senior Noah Johnson threw for 143 yards on 17-for-31 passing. Senior Chris Blair recorded 67 receiving yards.
 
On defense, sophomore Keyron Kinsler wrapped up a team-high six tackles. Senior Taurence Wilson grabbed an interception, and senior Javen Morrison both forced and recovered a fumble.
 
The Braves won the time of possession battle 34:07-25:53.
 
The Golden Eagles were led by Jaylond Adams who returned both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown. Jack Abraham threw for 293 yards and a touchdown.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY SUMMARY
USM started the game on a high note after Adams ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown to give the Golden Eagles a quick 7-0 lead.
 
The Braves garnered one first down on their opening drive on an 11-yard completion to Blair, but were forced to punt after being backed up on a pair of penalties.
 
After a short punt, the Golden Eagles started with the ball in Alcorn territory. USM moved it to the Alcorn 3 before the Braves forced a 20-yard field goal, as the Golden Eagles led 10-0 with 7:33 left in the first.
 
Alcorn got-going on its second drive, and crossed midfield on a first down catch by senior Nigel Wood. A first down grab by senior Raidarious Anderson moved the ball to the USM 36, and a first down scramble by Johnson placed it at the USM 25. However, the Braves had to settle for a 40-yard field goal attempt, but it was no good.
 
Midway through the second quarter, the Golden Eagles started at the Alcorn 42 after an interception. On the very next play, the Braves returned the favor with an interception by Wilson at their own 20. The Braves forced another turnover in the half after a big hit by Morrison forced a fumble, but neither turnover resulted in points.
 
Late in the half, the Golden Eagles got the ball back and raced all the way to the Alcorn 7 after a 52-yard reception by to Jordan Mitchell. USM tacked on a 19-yard field goal to lead 13-0 at the half.
 
On the first series of the second half, Johnson connected deep with Blair for 37 yards along the right sideline to put the ball on the USM 30. A quarterback-keeper by Johnson moved the chains at the USM 15. The Braves capped it off with a 15-yard run up the middle by Waller to cut the deficit to 13-7 at the 10:43 mark.
 
USM responded with a big 55-yard bomb for a touchdown on a 3rd and 17 play. It was hauled in by Neil McLaurin after the defensive back fell down. The Golden Eagles converted a trick two-point conversion to go back up 21-7 with 8:28 left.
 
Alcorn started marching back the other way with an 18-yard reception by sophomore Tim McNair, and an 18-yard screen pass to freshman Niko Duffey to the USM 29. Though, the Braves were forced to attempt a 47-yard field goal, which McCullough nailed to become the school's all-time record holder for field goals made. Alcorn trailed 21-10 with 4:54 remaining in the third.
 
The Golden Eagles answered with a 12-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown scramble by Abrams. It increased USM's edge to 28-10 with 15 seconds to go in the third.
 
USM tacked on another early in the fourth quarter on an 80-yard punt return by Adams. He caught it and darted through the center to make it a 35-10 game at the 12:40 mark of the fourth. After an Alcorn fumble, the Golden Eagles tallied a 24-yard field goal to go up 38-10 with 10:52 left.
 
The Braves will play their home opener next weekend when they host Mississippi College at 6 p.m. Saturday. Alcorn has won six straight home openers, and is 16-11 all-time in openers at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium. The Braves carry-over a three-game home winning-streak from last year.
 
NOTES
- McCullough's 35 career field goals surpassed the mark of 34 held by Wilfredo Rosales from 1977-80. McCullough made 17 in both his sophomore and junior seasons, both of which were single-season records at Alcorn. McCullough also blasted a 59-yard punt in the game, which was one yard short of his career-high.
 
- Johnson moved up to No. 7 all-time in career passing yards at Alcorn with 4,161 yards. He surpassed both Marcus Taylor (4,058 yards) and Damion Ford (4,147 yards).
 
- Nine different wide receivers caught a pass in the game including Blair, Waller, Anderson, Wood, sophomore Juan Anthony, freshman Niko Duffey, sophomore Tim McNair, junior LeCharles Pringle and sophomore Jerimiah Green.
 
- The Braves entered the weekend ranked No. 2 in the national HBCU Poll. They also received 85 votes in the FCS Top-25.
 
- Alcorn went up against its former head coach Jay Hopson, who is in his fourth year with the Golden Eagles after coaching the team to three consecutive winning seasons. Also on USM's staff is offensive line coach Ryan Stanchek who served as Alcorn's offensive coordinator last season.
 
- Alcorn's captains were senior Kevin Hall, senior Darrell Henderson and McCullough. The Braves won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"We didn't play well. We had special teams mistakes, and we didn't execute offensively. We didn't pass-protect, we didn't run-block and just all across the board it was bad. The defense played well in the first half, but came out in the second half and made too many mistakes. We couldn't overcome it."
 
On scoring on the opening drive of the second half
"We talked about it at halftime. We needed to come out in the second half strong, and that's what we did. But then we gave up a big play on defense, and another big play on special teams. We also committed a big dead-ball penalty after we got a stop which extended their drive and we paid the price. That kind of stuff you just can't have, and it got ugly quick."
 
On whether the scoring play that made it 21-7 was the turning point in the game
"Yeah it was. Our guy fell down and couldn't get back. It came on a third and long, and then we couldn't create enough first downs on the offensive end to get back in it. Though on defense, not being able to get off the field on third downs was a big issue. We didn't convert on third downs, and we didn't get off the field on third downs."
 
On the what's next
"We need to go back, watch the film and be ready to play next week. Southern Miss played well on defense, but it wasn't anything we haven't seen before. We have to slow ourselves down and expect to see some of these same things in the upcoming games. We have to find a way to get this fixed."
 
Quoting senior Noah Johnson
On his thoughts on the game
"Well, it was good for us to at least see where we're at. There were a lot of mistakes, but I don't think the final score was a true indicator of how the game went. Still, there's a lot of stuff we need to clean-up and get better at. We have to be disciplined, and I feel we'll be just fine."
 
On what hurt the team the most
"We have to be more disciplined and we can't start drives behind the chains. It's always a team effort, and we'll win as a team and lose as a team. We'll get back in the film room, work to get better and come back next week."
 
Quoting senior Corey McCullough
On breaking the school's record for most field goals made
"It was one of the goals I had when I signed to play at Alcorn. I wanted to break records and it felt good to get it out of the way in the first game."
 
On how important the record was to him
"It was very important to me. My parents and I sat down before my career even started, and I talked about achieving greatness. I wanted to be one of the best to ever do it, and it's just a blessing for me to accomplish this."
 
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