Late Offensive Push, Strong Defensive Effort Not Enough for Alcorn at McNeese

LAKE CHARLES, La. – A late comeback attempt fell just short for the Alcorn State University football program as the Braves ran out of time in a 17-14 defeat at McNeese State on Saturday at Cowboy Stadium.
 
After a slow offensive night through three and a half quarters, Alcorn (1-2) scored twice on the Cowboys (1-2) in the final four minutes of the game. After a blocked punt by sophomore Calvontay Key setup the Braves in the red zone, they scored on a 13-yard pass from junior Felix Harper to senior Chris Blair with 3:56 left.
 
The Braves got the ball back and quickly pushed it down the field. They ended up scoring on a 14-yard pass from Harper to freshman Niko Duffey, which cut the deficit to 17-14 at the 1:21 mark.
 
Alcorn attempted an onside kick, which took a wicked hop, but the Cowboys recovered and the Braves were also offsides. With just one timeout for Alcorn, McNeese was able to kneel it out to end the game.
 
The defense for the Braves shutout the Cowboys in the second half. Junior Daimen Anderson turned in a career night with a career-high 12 tackles. The Alcorn defense held McNeese to a 1-of-15 mark on third down conversions.
 
A couple key injuries hindered Alcorn offensively for most of the night. Both seniors Noah Johnson and De'Shawn Waller left the game due to injuries and did not return. Johnson left in the second quarter, and Waller early in the third.
 
Harper ended the night with 132 passing yards and two touchdowns in relief. Waller rushed for 77 yards, while Duffey ran for 41 yards and hauled in 54 receiving yards.
 
Total yards in the game were nearly even, as McNeese held a slight 324-318 edge. The Braves outrushed the Cowboys 154-133. Alcorn also carried the time of possession edge 32:05-27:55.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY SUMMARY
The Braves registered one first down on their opening drive on an 18-yard run by Johnson, but were forced to punt. However, they quickly got the ball back after McNeese fumbled on its first play from scrimmage as the quarterback mishandled the ball, and senior Darrell Henderson pounced on it.
 
The turnover led to a 44-yard field goal attempt, but it was missed wide-left to remain scoreless.
 
McNeese got on the board with 6:27 left in the first quarter to lead 7-0. The touchdown came on a 19-yard pass to Cyron Sutton as he caught it in the open field and made a man miss to get in. It came after a 23-yard pass to Trevor Begue which put the Cowboys in the red zone.
 
At the start of the second quarter, the Braves fumbled a handoff exchange and McNeese recovered at the Alcorn 25. The Cowboys capitalized with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Begue to lead 14-0.
 
McNeese tacked on a 37-yard field goal midway through the second to go up 17-0. It came after a 10-play, 52-yard drive.
 
Near the end of the half, Johnson had to come out of the game after getting hit in the backfield. He walked off on his own, but did not return. Harper quarterbacked the final two series of the half, but the Braves trailed 17-0 at the intermission.
 
Alcorn neared midfield on its first possession of the second half as Harper connected with junior LeCharles Pringle for 14-yards, but the drive stalled out after a tackle for a loss, followed by a sack.
 
On Alcorn's next series, it approached midfield after a 16-yard run by Waller. Though, on the very next play Waller came off the field limping after a three-yard gain and did not return. Duffey came in and ran for a first down at the McNeese 47, but the series ended there and the Braves punted on 4th-and-7.
 
As the third quarter came to an end, the Braves were on the move after a pair of 14-yard completions to Duffey, and a 17-yard grab by Pringle. Alcorn started the fourth quarter with first down at the McNeese 35. Though, the Braves didn't advance further and were forced to punt on 4th-and-14.
 
With 6:09 left, senior Taurence Wilson punched out a fumble on a quarterback-keeper and junior Juwan Taylor recovered to setup the Braves at the McNeese 33. However, Alcorn ended up settling for a 49-yard field goal attempt, but it was missed wide left.
 
The Braves were setup again with great field position after Key blocked a punt as he came in clean from the right edge, and Alcorn took over at the McNeese 13 with 4:02 remaining. The Braves scored on the very next play as Harper found senor Chris Blair wide-open in the back-left corner of the end zone. Alcorn trailed 17-6 after the snap on the extra point was botched.
 
After a defensive stand and a poor punt, Alcorn got it back with at its own 43 with 2:22 to go. A 14-yard completion to Pringle, and an 11-yard reception by Duffey advanced the ball in a hurry. Alcorn scored on a 14-yard pass to Duffey out in the flat as he was able to outrun the defense. The Braves converted the two-point conversion on a pass to Pringle to cut the deficit to 17-14 with 1:02 left.
 
Alcorn attempted an onside kick, but was called for offsides and McNeese also recovered. The Braves only had one timeout remaining, and the Cowboys were able to kneel out the clock.
 
The Braves will open conference play next weekend when they host Prairie View A&M in a 5 p.m. game at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium. The game will be streamed for free on ESPN3. Alcorn defeated PVAMU last season 27-13 on the road to spoil Homecoming.
 
NOTES
- Anderson's 12 tackles shattered his previous career-high of two, set five times. It was the first time in his career that he led the team in tackles.
 
- Sophomore Keyron Kinsler matched his career-high with eight tackles. He previously did it at New Mexico State on Nov. 3, 2018.
 
- Duffey has now scored four touchdowns in the last two games after he tallied a trio in the team's 45-7 win over Mississippi College last weekend.
 
- The Braves remained perfect on the season in red zone scoring after going two-for-two in the game. They've now scored touchdowns on all five trips inside the red zone this year.
 
- Alcorn has outscored the opposition 28-17 in the fourth quarter this season.
 
- The game was a showdown between two teams that were on the cusp of the national FCS Top-25 Rankings. Alcorn was receiving 46 votes, while McNeese was receiving 35.
 
- Alcorn dropped to 11-6 in night games under head coach Fred McNair, who is in his fourth season at the helm.
 
- Alcorn's captains were seniors Darius Davis, Darrell Henderson and Corey McCullough. The Braves won the toss and chose to receive.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"There was too much inconsistency tonight. We made too many mistakes, and obviously need to be more consistent on offense. We didn't execute, and the overall effort wasn't there for 60 minutes. We won't win ball games with the way we played tonight, especially with the turnovers. Just too inconsistent."
 
On the team's fight in the final four minutes
"Well, our guys are never going to just give up. Our guys showed fight, but if we would have done that from the first quarter until the end then we would have had a better result. This team needs to mature a lot. We need to show up to the fight from the beginning and play a full game. We didn't get it done tonight."
 
On the defense shutting out McNeese in the second half
"I don't have anything bad to say about the job Coach [Cedric] Thornton has done and the way they came out in the second half. The defense did an excellent job, and we need to help them out on the offensive side. We need to be able to sustain drives and score points, which we haven't been able to do consistently yet. If we play to our potential, then we can be a great team."
 
On what needs to be done this week in practice to be prepared for Prairie View A&M
"We need to be a lot more focused. We need to grow up as a team and everyone has to look at themselves in the mirror. This is a team effort and everyone needs to do their part. We need our leaders to step up this week and guide this ball club."
 
Quoting Daimen Anderson
On his career-high in tackles
"I just went out and did what Coach Thornton told me to do. There really wasn't anything more to it. The defense did what the coaches were telling us to do, and we just lined up and ran our calls."
 
On the defense shutting out McNeese in the second half
"We really buckled down at halftime and said to ourselves that we have to do everything in our power to stop them. We still have areas where we need to improve on, and we will work on those things this week in practice as we prepare for Prairie View. We need to get better as a team and get healthier."
 
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