The Alcorn State University (ASU) Braves (6-3, 4-1) went into Grambling, Louisiana to take on the Grambling State University (GSU) Tigers (5-4, 3-2) on Saturday, November 9th at Eddie Robinson Memorial Stadium (The Hole) at 2:00 pm knowing that their opponent would be a tough Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) team to beat and they were right.
There was no scoring in the first quarter as the two teams were feeling one another out offensively and defensively.
The second quarter was a different story as Alcorn got on the scoreboard first at the 14:55 mark when Kicker Corey McCullough kicked a 20 yard field goal to make the score 3-0, Braves. The Tigers were not to be outdone when their Kicker Miguel Mendez nailed a 32 yard field goal right down the middle of the uprights to tie the score at 3. GSU took the lead at the 7:57 mark when Wide Receiver Dequarius Thomas scored on an 11 yard pass from Quarterback Geremy Hickbottom and with a successful extra point by Mendez the score was now 10-3, Tigers. ASU answered Grambling’s score at the 2:10 mark when Quarterback Felix Harper threw a touchdown strike to Wide Receiver Raidarious Anderson and with a successful McCullough extra point attempt the score was tied at halftime at 10.
The third quarter was a battle of wills as the Braves came out swinging and scored first at the 11:44 mark on a McCullough 40 yard field goal to make the score 13-10, Braves. ASU added yet another field goal at the 1:34 mark when McCullough added a 41 yard field goal to make the score 16-10, Braves.
The fourth quarter was extremely intense as the Tigers scored with only 1:07 left in the game when Wide Receiver Kobe Ross caught a 29 yard pass from Quarterback Charles Wright to tie the game at 16 but due to a failed point after attempt (PAT) by Mendez the game ended in regulation as a 16 all tie which meant overtime.
After some back and forth possessions between the two teams, Mendez was able to successfully kick a 45 yard winning field goal for GSU to make the final score 19-16, Tigers.
Offensively for the Braves, Quarterback Felix Harper completed 24 passes for 269 yard with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Running Back Niko Duffy rushed for 106 yards averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Wide Receiver Raidarius Anderson had 103 receiving yards while Chris Blair had 56. On the defensive side of the ball, Line Backer Soloman Muhammad led all players with 14 tackles and 1 sack.
The Braves’ next game will be against Division rival Alabama A&M (6-4, 3-2) on November 16th at Spinks-Casem Stadium at 2:00 pm. You can hear the game on WPRL 91.7 FM.