The Alcorn State Braves’ (4-2, 3-1) Homecoming didn’t exactly go as planned as they lost a nailbiter to the Grambling State University Tigers (5-2, 5-0) at Spinks-Casem Stadium 35-34.
The first quarter was a defensive battle as the two teams were seemingly feeling each other out. The Tigers got on the board first at the 12:39 mark when Marc Orozco kicked a 15 yard field goal to make the score 3-0, Tigers. But with only 1 minute and 24 seconds elapsing from the previous score Grambling scored yet again when Marc Orozco kicked a 38 yard field goal to make the score 6-0, Tigers. The Braves finally got on the board with 8 minutes and 12 seconds remaining in the first when quarterback John Gibbs Jr. scored on a 9 yard run and with a successful Haiden McCraney point after attempt (PAT) the score to end the first quarter was 7-6, Braves.
The second quarter can simply be defined as a game of back and forth scoring. The Braves scored first at the 12:26 mark as LaMarvin Ashley caught a 4 yard pass from Gibbs Jr. and with a successful McCraney PAT the score was now 14-6, Braves. But the G-Men would not be outdone because at the 9:11 mark Chester Rogers caught a 32 yard pass from quarterback Johnathan Williams to make the score 14-12 and with a successful two point conversion the score now was tied at 14 all. The Braves seemed to catch fire as they scored again at the 5:05 mark when Arron Baker scored on a 3 yard run and with a McCraney PAT being good the score was now 21-14. At this point the Braves offense was clicking on all cylinders because only 1 minute and 28 seconds later Darryan Ragsdale scored on a 10 yard run and with a good PAT by McCraney the score at halftime was 28-14, Braves.
The third quarter belonged to the Grambling State Tigers. At the 13:02 mark Grambling’s Chad Williams scored on a 10 yard pass from Johnathan Williams and with a successful PAT by Martez Carter the score was now 28-21. The Tigers’ offensive machine kept coming as they scored yet again at the 4:35 mark when Chris Bazile caught an 8 yard pass from Johnathan Williams and with a successful Carter PAT the score was now tied at 28.
There was no scoring in the fourth quarter from either team so regulation ended in a 28 all tie which meant overtime. The Braves won the coin flip but deferred to Grambling and the Tigers took ample advantage of the situation. With only 2 plays into overtime Grambling’s Martez Carter scored on a 1 yard run and with a PAT by Carter being good the score was now 35-28. The Braves took advantage of their possession in 6 plays when Gibbs Jr. scored on a 7 yard run but the McCraney field goal was blocked giving the G-Men a 35-34 victory.
The Braves’ next game will be against the Southern University Jaguars (3-3, 3-1) at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 4:00 pm.