Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Alabama A&M turns to big play


By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

Defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alabama A&M has carved a solid defensive reputation for itself.

So what were the Bulldogs — after losing so many offensive players from last season’s team — doing Saturday night when they put up 49 points?

“In the second half, our kids made some big plays,” said Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones as the Bulldogs beat Tennessee State 49-23. “We kept going and kept going.”

A&M had four touchdowns of 25 yards or more. Plus, after Tennessee State closed to 14-13 three minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs pulled away with three TDs in a 5-minute span.

A&M, with 147 rushing yards and 303 passing yards, had its best scoring output since a 52-6 decision over Jackson State in November 2005.

“Everything we saw Saturday, we saw at one point during training camp,” Jones said.

A&M had lost running backs Nic Luke and Ta’Mar Scott, three of its top four receivers and three senior offensive linemen, with three linemen making their first starts. Only one player, fullback Kevin McCants, had a collegiate carry until Saturday — and McCants didn’t get a touch anyway.

The Bulldogs still have senior quarterback Kelcy Luke.
“Kelcy Luke played very good football, and our offense just exploded on them,” Jones said. “And our defense, in the last three quarters, played excellent football.”

Luke was 18-for-29 for 261 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception. He ran for 37 yards and another touchdown.

“He’s going to use what he has. He makes very few mistakes,” Jones said. “He helped some guys grow up. He let them get their first catch, their first run. Guys responded well. Our team speed has improved.”

The former Auburn transfer has been A&M’s No. 1 quarterback for the last two seasons (after alternating in 2004).

“He’s the leader of this team. He’s the team captain, again,” Jones said.

Sophomore wide receiver Thomas Harris had 100 yards and one TD, a 44-yarder. Last season, he totaled 327 yards and two TDs.

Freshman Anthony Green, not listed on the team’s two-deep chart, had the most carries among the running backs, getting 41 yards on 10 touches. He scored from 25 yards and 1 yard.

Two-time All-SWAC tight end Charles Moody, a senior, also had three catches for 43 yards.

“To be able to score 49 points, the defense gave us short field to work with (including free safety Al Donaldson’s 45-yard interception return),” Jones said.

The sticking point, to A&M, is Luke has never been All-Southwestern Athletic Conference despite leading the Bulldogs to the SWAC title game each of the last two seasons.

“I don’t know how well (Luke is known in the conference), because he can’t get any honors,” Jones said.

As for the defense, which had eight starters back but also had to replace linebacker Johnny Baldwin, strong safety Marcus Black and defensive lineman Kevin Lockhart, Jones said he liked the improvement as the game progressed.

“They had to get used to the game speed,” Jones said. “We made mistakes in the early going, bent but not broke.”

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