Alcorn State University (7-2, 5-1) took on Prairie View A&M University (3-5, 2-2) Saturday, October 28th at Blackshear Field in Prairie View, Texas at 2:00 pm as both teams looked to increase their playoff chances with a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) win. The Braves entered the matchup following two straight wins, while the Panthers were looking to bounce back after an embarrassing 38-0 loss to Southern University a week earlier.
The contest started negatively for Alcorn. On the opening kickoff, the Braves fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Panthers’ Corner back Aaron Townsend. The fumble gave Prairie View excellent field position, but Alcorn’s defense forced a missed field goal to neutralize momentum. The Braves’ offense was quickly forced to punt the ball back to the Panthers. At the 8:04 mark of the first quarter, Prairie View notched the first points of the game with a 22-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Alcorn State then answered back with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Quarterback Noah Johnson to Wide receiver Chris Blair. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter the Braves held a 7-3 lead. The special team’s problems continued for Alcorn on the ensuing kickoff. The Panthers were able to return an 81-yard kick return for a touchdown to immediately regain their lead at 10-7. The Braves then responded behind the leg of Kicker Corey McCullough’s 40-yard field goal as the first quarter concluded. At the end of the first quarter, the game was tied at 10.
In the second quarter, both defenses shined. No points were scored in this quarter until over 10 minutes had been drained from the clock. When points were scored, it was Alcorn State doing the scoring. First with another field goal by McCullough with 3:50 remaining in the half, then with only 24-seconds left on the clock Wide receiver Dayall Harris caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Johnson. As the game entered halftime, the Braves held a 20-10 edge over the Panthers.
The third quarter featured nothing but defense. The Braves were able to hold Prairie View scoreless for the second consecutive quarter, but Alcorn was unable to score in the third quarter as well. As the game entered the final period, Alcorn held a 20-10 lead.
In the fourth quarter, both defenses continued to outlast the offenses. This was the case until Prairie View made a 31-yard field goal to cut into the Alcorn lead with 5:46 remaining in the game. After the made kick, the Braves held a 20-13 lead. Alcorn quickly went into conservative mode by looking to run out the clock. The Braves were able to execute a long drive which ate up over four minutes of the game clock. This long drive was capped off with a 26-yard touchdown run by the Braves’ leading rusher, Running back De’Shawn Waller. The game ended with the final score being 27-13, Braves.
Alcorn State was lead by Johnson who tallied 361 total yards and added two touchdowns. Waller gained 122-yards on 20 carries, and he also added a touchdown. Braves’ Linebacker Solomon Muhammad lead the defense with seven solo tackles, and nine total tackles.
On Saturday, November 3rd the Braves will travel to Las Cruces, New Mexico at Aggie Memorial Stadium to take on New Mexico State (2-7) in this non conference matchup.