Sunday, September 13, 2009

Alabama A&M Bulldogs 31, Hampton Pirates 24

A&M makes key stops down stretch

Alabama A&M's defense, under pressure for most of the second half Saturday night against Hampton University, thought it had come away with a game-saving stand with less than two minutes remaining. The Bulldogs had stopped the Pirates, giving the ball back to their offense. However, running back Ulysses Banks fumbled on the ensuing play and Hampton recovered it, forcing A&M's defense to come up with yet another stop. Jeremy Maddox, who had been held in check for much of the game, came to the Bulldogs' rescue.

A 6-foot, 263-pound All-Southwestern Athletic Conference defensive end, Maddox had managed just one sack and a tackle for loss against the Pirates. However, with the game on the line, he broke through and sacked Hampton quarterback David Legree, and the Bulldogs hung on for a 31-24 victory before an announced crowd of 6,377 at Louis Crews Stadium. "I missed three sacks," said Maddox, clearly upset with himself, "but I got the one that counted. I knew we had to make a stop for us to win. I think we got a little ahead of ourselves and didn't play as well in the third quarter, but we came together and stepped it up in the fourth quarter and got the win."

Finally, Segura has some good news for Mom

New Orleans native is an A&M starter after three years of injuries, disappointments. Raymond Segura calls his mother back home in New Orleans almost nightly. Unfortunately for Segura, the Alabama A&M weakside linebacker hasn't had much to offer his mom, Angela Waxter, concerning his football career. Truth be told, Segura's first three seasons have been filled with one injury after another. The list includes shoulder, back, foot and knee injuries. "I've dealt with just about every injury you can have," Segura said. Still, despite all of his ailments, Segura kept the faith and, because of an injury to one of his teammates, was inserted into the starting lineup last week against Tennessee State. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound redshirt junior didn't disappoint. He had plenty to tell his mother after the game.

Mitchell:Study in perseverance

Losing two years to ineligibility fails to faze A&M receiver. Anthony Mitchell was headed for stardom. A 6-foot-2, 197-pound receiver, Mitchell was supposed to team with Thomas Harris to give Alabama A&M one of the best tandems in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Unfortunately, eligibility issues got in the way. Mitchell was the team's third-leading receiver in 2006 as a sophomore when A&M downed Arkansas-Pine Bluff to win the SWAC championship. With quarterback Kelcy Luke back along with a number of returning offensive starters, the Bulldogs were expected to repeat the following year.
However, Mitchell, who had 20 catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns during A&M's championship year, wasn't there to participate, having been ruled academically ineligible for the 2007 season. Jackson State beat A&M late that season and went on to win the SWAC title.

A & M holds off Hampton

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Over and over, Alabama A&M quarterback Kevin Atkins dropped back to pass and scanned the field for wide receiver Thomas Harris. The Hampton University defense could do nothing to stop it. Harris caught 10 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns, and the Bulldogs held on to beat the Pirates 31-24 Saturday night at Louis Crews Stadium. It was the first loss for Hampton coach Donovan Rose, whose Pirates fell to 0-5 on the road against Southwestern Athletic Conference schools.

"Defensively, we've got to find a way to stop the pass," Rose said. "They threw the ball something like 36 times in the first half, and I'm still waiting on our guys to recover. We've got to find a way to stop that and give our offense the ball. Thirty-one points and 24 points in two games, defensively, we've got to find a way to stop that."Twelve seconds into the game, it appeared as if the Pirates could name their score. Senior running back LaMarcus Coker took the A&M kickoff at the 13, cut up the middle, faked his way past a couple of Bulldog defenders and returned the kick 87 yards for a touchdown. Jordan Stovall's extra point gave Hampton a 7-0 lead before the echoes of the national anthem had died down.

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