A&M Lone Unbeaten...Week 4 Recaps
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HOUSTON -- Deaunte Mason accounted for five touchdowns, throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for three scores to lead Alabama A&M to a 42-13 win over Texas Southern. With the win, the Bulldogs remained the only unbeaten team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at 4-0. A&M also improved to 3-0 in SWAC play.
Mason followed a six-touchdown effort against Prairie View A&M with another big game. He was 17-of-24, including a 61-yard touchdown to Torey Smith and an 11-yarder to Terrance Pride. Mason had only 24 yards rushing, but that included a 14-yard scoring run and two 1-yard TDs.
Brendon Johnson added 84 yards rushing and Terrell Badie had 53 and a score for the Bulldogs (4-0, 3-0 SWAC), who improved to 8-2 all-time against the Tigers (1-3, 1-2). Pride led all receivers with four catches for 75 yards.
E.J. Perkins-Loving ran for 73 yards to lead Texas Southern, which struggled in the passing game. Dantavious Parker and Rudy Johnson each threw a touchdown pass but combined for just 12 completions and three interceptions.
Southern 28, Jackson State 21
JACKSON, Miss. -- Jackson State overcame a week of turmoil to take their first win under interim head coach Dawson Odums, beating Jackson State in the Boom Box Classic.
Southern quarterback Dray Joseph passed for 249 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way.
The Jaguars (1-2, 1-1) took the early lead when Jaleel Richardson returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.
Joseph then connected on two touchdown passes, 25 yards to Michael Berry and 4 yards to Tomas Jackson, giving Southern a 21-0 halftime lead. Berry finished with 117 yards and two scores on five carries.
Jackson State (1-3, 1-1) was forced into two turnovers. Anthony Balancier intercepted Tigers starting quarterback Clayton Moore and D'Mekus Cook intercepted his backup, Dedric McDonald.
After a 60-yard touchdown pass from Joseph to Berry extended the Jaguars' lead to 28-0 entering the fourth quarter, McDonald connected with Rico Richardson for the Tigers' first points of the game.
McDonald led two more Tigers scoring drives late in the fourth, but it was not enough.
#1 North Dakota State 66, Prairie View 7
FARGO, N.D. -- Brock Jensen threw for 192 yards Saturday afternoon as North Dakota St. (3-0) easily beat Prairie View 66-7.
Jensen was 13 of 15 attempts for the Bison, connecting with Zach Vraa for two touchdowns, including a 69-yard pass, in the first quarter.
The Bison scored 28 points in the second quarter with touchdowns from Nate Moody, John Crockett, Sam Ojuri, and Taylor Nelson, and kicks by Adam Keller. In the third quarter, Deveon Dinwiddie took over the scoring on the ground.
The Panthers (0-4) were scoreless until the fourth quarter when D.J. Harris caught a 7-yard pass from Jerry Lovelocke, followed by an extra point from Chris Barrick, to put Prairie View on the scoreboard.
Prairie View, which ends its nonconference stretch, is seeing its worst start since 2002 when it was 0-6.
The Bison are ranked No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Top 25 and have won eight straight games since a loss to Youngstown State in November.
Northwestern State 45, Mississippi Valley State 14
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Mississippi Valley State’s second trip to Louisiana didn’t end the way the first one did. The Delta Devils, who upended Southern University last Thursday, were dealt a 45-14 defeat Saturday night at the hands of Northwestern State.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
MVSU (1-3, 1-2 SWAC) stayed on the Demons’ trails early in the game using a 23-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Javaris Fritz that tied the game at 7 with 6:56 left in the opening period.
But Northwestern scored twice more before the end of the first quarter to distance themselves from the Delta Devils. Phillip Harvery returned the ensuing kickoff following MVSU’s score 97 yards for touchdown that gave NSU a 14-7 advantage. Brad Henderson connected with Louis Hollier on a 23-yard scoring strike to give NSU a 21-7 first quarter lead.
NSU went into halftime with a comfortable 28-7 lead after Henderson threw his second TD pass of the night – this one to Chris Dever Jr.
Yet, the Delta Devils never gave up. A 25-yard run by MVSU’s Trey Bateaste and a 23-yard catch from Julian Stafford were the key plays of the Delta Devils’ final scoring drive of the game. Bateaste capped off the drive with a 2-yard TD plunge, his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.
The Demons controlled the rest of the game, connecting on a 27-yard third quarter field goal and two additional touchdowns in the fourth.
Brandon Stansell led MVSU with 87 rushing yards on 16 carries while Bateaste chipped on 51 yards and a TD on 13 attempts.
MVSU quarterback Garrick Jones played in his first game since the Delta Devils’ season opener against Concordia. The Memphis native finished 6-of-17 for 64 yards.
Kenneth Dabney had three catches for 31 yards for the Delta Devils.
The Delta Devils outgained the Demons 177 to 161 on the ground.
Arkansas State 56, Alcorn State 0
JONESBORO, Ark. - Arkansas State scored early and often, cruising to a win over Alcorn State (1-3). The Red Wolves led 14-0 after a quarter and 42-0 at halftime.
The Braves were held to 11 first downs and 130 total yards. Meanwhile, Arkansas State piled up 634 total yards, including nearly 400 on the ground (396).
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 24, Alabama State 21 (Thursday)
MONTGOMERY - A late
rally by Alabama State came up short as Arkansas-Pine Bluff held on for a
24-21 win on Thursday night at Cramton Bowl in front of live national
television audience on ESPNU. UAPB improved to 3-1 and 2-1 in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference, while Alabama State slipped to 2-2 and
2-1.
UAPB led 24-14 after a 39-yard touchdown run by Justin
Billings in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter. Alabama State
drove 69 yards with less than five minutes left to pull to within a
fieldgoal. Greg Jenkins’ 17-yard touchdown pass to Justin Robinson cut
the Hornets’ deficit to 24-21 with 3:19 to play.
After holding
the Golden Lions to a three-and-out on their next possession, the
Hornets regained possession with 2:06 to play. ASU drove 43 yards in
eight plays to get into field goal range, but Bobby Wenzig’s 44-yard
attempt with 56 seconds to play went wide right.
Billings led
UAPB with 115 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Benjamin Anderson
connected on 17-of-30 for 220 yards and a touchdown. Lardarius Eckwood
caught five passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, while Thomas Winters
finished with six receptions for 42 yards.
Alabama State
quarterback Greg Jenkins rushed for 102 yards and passed for 187,
completing 16-of-31 passes. He also had a touchdown strike.
Both
teams were plagued by penalties. UAPB was flagged 17 times for 164
yards, while Alabama State committed 13 penalties for 115 yards.
Billings
got the Lions on the board in the first quarter, plowing over from a
yard out with 8:09 left. ASU tied the game on their second drive of the
second quarter, driving 77 yards in eight plays, taking less than three
minutes off the clock. Isaiah Crowell capped the drive on a 4-yard
touchdown run, tying the score at 7-all with 5:07 to play until
halftime.
With less than a minute left in the half, UAPB
reclaimed the lead Anderson hit Eckwood on a 27-yard touchdown strike
with 54 seconds left. The hookup gave the Lions a 14-7 lead at halftime.
Opening
the second half down 14-7, the Hornets begin the third quarter with a
10-play, 82-yard scoring drive. Malcolm Cyrus' 13-yard run tied the
score at 14-all with 10:26 to play in the third quarter. But, with the
5:24 left in the third, Tyler Strickland nailed a 50-yard field goal to
put UAPB back on top 17-14.