ALBANY, Georgia -- Albany State University rallied from a one point halftime deficit to earn a 34-10 Homecoming victory over Morehouse College before a national audience Saturday afternoon at ASU Coliseum.
With the victory ASU extends its win streak against Morehouse to nine games.
The Maroon Tigers fall to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in SIAC play while the Golden Rams raise their mark to 5-2 and 3-0 in SIAC play.
Both defenses pitched impressive performances on Saturday, especially in the first half where the two teams combined for just 107 yards of total offense. The Maroon Tigers ran 33 plays for just 36 yards while the ASU offense had 25 plays for 71 yards. Albany State and Morehouse made a concerted effort and was successful at shutting down the other team's running game as each finished with just 5 yards on the ground in the first half. Additionally the defenses accounted for their team's first touchdown of the afternoon.
The defensive units also kept the pressure on the game's signal callers; ASU and MHC quarterbacks were sacked a combined 13 times in the contest. The Golden Rams were led by Marquez Thomas' 12 tackles (7 solo) 2 sacks (loss of 15 yards) and two quarterback hurries.
After trailing 10-9 at the intermission the Golden Rams held Morehouse scoreless in the second half. The ASU defense did not allow a third down conversion over the third and fourth quarters and in the final 15 minutes the Golden Rams had two takeaways while limiting the Maroon Tigers to -3 yards rushing.
With 4:47 left in the third quarter, Albany State reclaimed the lead on a 10 play, 66 yard drive with a 3 yard TD pass from Chancellor Johnson to Quadrey Simmons. The Golden Rams broke the game open with an 18 point third quarter, beginning with a 73 yard rushing score by Kelan Fraise with 7:05 remaining. ASU padded their lead, after a two point conversion on a Johnson pass to McKinley Habersham, at 24-10. The Albany State defense forced a fumble on Morehouse's ensuing possession and 2 plays and 25 seconds later Habersham broke for a 49 yard scoring run giving the Golden Rams a 31-10 advantage.
The visitors coughed it up again on their next drive and the Golden Rams capitalized with a 39 yard field goal from Gabriel Ballinas with 2:18 left for the final point spread.
The frenzied finish was antithesis of the first half of play where neither offense could gain any ground, mostly due to the respective teams' defenses. With the exception of a 35 yard field goal from MHC's Fernando Sdelamora at the 4:31 mark of the second quarter, the rest of the first half scoring came from defensive play and a miscue on special teams.
BOX SCORE
Jaylin Boyd took a 57 yard interception to the house for the game's first score, before Sdelamora's field goal made the score 7-3 in favor of ASU.
At the 14:06 mark and the Maroon Tigers in punt formation against their own goal line, the snap went out the back of the end zone for a safety and a 9-3 Golden Ram lead. That lead was short-lived however when two plays after they received the free kick, Cameron Mill picked off a pass by Chancellor Johnson and 59 yards later found his way to the end zone to put his team in front 10-9.
Albany State will return to action on October 21st as they travel to take on Clark-Atlanta for the Panthers' Homecoming. The game, which will be broadcast on ESPN3, is scheduled for a 2pm kickoff. Follow us on Twitter @ASUGoldenRams and visit www.asugoldenrams.come for up-to-date information on Albany State Athletics.
ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICAITONS
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