On Saturday, September 21st, the Alcorn State University (ASU) Braves (0-0, 1-3) faced off against the McNeese State University (MSU) Cowboys (1-0, 3-2) at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana which ended in a 42-14 loss for the Braves.
The Cowboys came out strong against the Braves’ defense early in the first quarter with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Quarterback Clifton McDowell to Wide Receiver Kameran Senegal. The Cowboys would go on to score again with a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Running Back Johnson Barbie. Late in the first quarter they tacked on another touchdown with a punt return by Jaylen Jackson to put them up 21-0 over the Braves to end the first quarter.
The Braves managed to get on the board with a 32-yard pass by Quarterback Xzavier Vaughn to Wide Receiver Tyran Warren late in the second quarter. However, the Cowboys would continue to dominate with rushing touchdowns by Running Backs D’Angelo Durham and Clifton McDowell to extend their lead to 35-7.
This wouldn’t stop the Braves as Vaughn came back with a 25-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 35-14.
A 5-yard passing touchdown by Cowboys’ Quarterback Clifton McDowell to Wide Receiver Jer’Michael Carter late in the third quarter would be the nail in the Braves’ coffin making the final score 42-14.
Vaughn would end the day with 331-yards of total offense (204 passing, 127 rushing) and 1 rushing and 1 passing touchdown. Wide Receiver Damien Jones would play a big role in the passing game as he led receivers with 7 catches for 105-yards with the longest reception of the day for the Braves being 42-yards.
One area that the Braves did outperform the Cowboys in was with the rushing game. Alcorn finished with 217 total rushing yards while McNeese finished with 211. Vaughn accounted for 127 of those rushing yards and Cowboy Running Backs Jacorian Sewell had 75 rushing yards on 13 carries with Brandon Rodgers rushing for 24-yards on 9 carries.
For the Braves’ defense, Defensive Back Bakari McCall led the team in tackles with a total of seven. Linebackers Kayvon Henderson and Stemarion Edwards were right behind McCall as Henderson had six tackles and Edwards had five. Defensive back Edwin Summerour snagged an interception in the first quarter of the game for the Braves.
Despite the loss, the Braves hope to bounce back Saturday, September 28th as they travel to Itta Bena, Mississippi to play the Mississippi Valley State University Delta Devils (0-0, 0-4) at 6:00 pm at Rice-Totten Stadium.