Albany State holds on to beat Morehouse

ATLANTA, Georgia - Quarterback Caleb Edmonds was 18-for-29 passing with two touchdowns and rushed 84 yards and another touchdown to help the Albany State Golden Rams negate a potential comeback by Morehouse College. After taking building a large halftime lead, Albany State held its host scoreless in the fourth quarter to secure a 26-21 victory.
 
With the win, ASU improves to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SIAC. Albany State also is 1-0 in the SIAC East Division. The Maroon Tigers fall to 2-5, 1-4.
 
At the 10:10 mark of the first quarter, The Albany State "Dirty Blue" Defense put up the first points of the game when defensive end Monte Taylor sacked Morehouse quarterback Monqavious Johnson in the end zone for a safety. However, ASU could not score additional points on the following drive and turned the ball over to the Maroon Tigers.
 
Morehouse scored its first touchdown of the game with 4:14 left in the period. Bricen Terry ran for a 4-yard touchdown to give the home team a 7-2 edge.
 
The Golden Rams would answer in the early portion of the second period. Edmonds found Quadrey Simmons in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. A successful PAT by Emilio Maldonado gave Albany State a 9-7 advantage. The drive went 12 plays and 75 yards in 5:57.
 
Four minutes later, Edmonds showed Morehouse why he is a dual quarterback. The senior scampered 61 yards to the end zone to conclude a six-play, 78-yard drive that used only 1:38. After Maldonado's PAT, ASU led 16-7.
 
The Golden Rams added two more scores before halftime. Maldonado connected on a 37-yard field goal at the 3:22 mark to give ASU a 19-7 lead. The drive used seven plays and four yards in 3:04.
 
Edmonds combined with wide receiver Ta'Keevian Harris for what would eventually be Albany State's final score. Harris recorded a 9-yard reception from the quarterback to give the team a 26-7 lead going into intermission.
 
In the third quarter, the Maroon Tigers took advantage of ASU's stalling offense. First, Tamarick Vanove caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Kivon Taylor with 8:29 left in the stanza. Then, Lake McGuffie was the recipient of a 4-yard touchdown pass from Taylor during the final seconds of the period, and Albany State's lead was cut to 26-21.
 
In the fourth quarter, neither team could generate points. The Albany State defense prevented Morehouse from advancing on several scoring drives to help seal the win.
 
Michael Green caught four passes for 53 yards, and Simmons had three receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown. Albany State outgained Morehouse total yardage with 354 to the home team's 269.
 
Defensively, Zavondric Shingleton led the way with 10 tackles (four solos), and Nick Scott added eight tackles (six solos). Monte Taylor added eight tackles, a sack and a pass break up.
 
Morehouse was led offensively by Kivon Taylor, who recorded 151 yards and two touchdowns on 10-of-14 passing. Terry rushed 19 times for 51 yards.
 
David Smith tallied a game-high 19 tackles (11 solos) for the Maroon Tigers. He also had 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Joshua Burton added eight tackles and a half sack.
 
Albany State will return to action on Sat., Oct. 22 in its annual homecoming game. The Golden Rams will face the Clark Atlanta University Panthers in a contest that will be broadcasted on Aspire TV. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Albany State University Coliseum.

ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION