ITTA BENA, Mississippi | Three Hunter Hanson field goals and a late interception by Ronnie Scott helped Alabama hold on to defeat Mississippi Valley State 16-10 Saturday afternoon at Rice-Totten Stadium.
"The game was played exactly how I was afraid of how it would be," Alabama State interim head coach Donald Hill-Eley said. "They played so high against Grambling State, coming in here lulls you to sleep. It's a tough place to play."
The win by Alabama State (4-6, 4-3 SWAC), coupled with an Alcorn State loss to Jackson State later in the day, allowed the Hornets to tie the Braves with the best record in the SWAC East Division. However, due to their head-to-head matchup earlier in the season, the Braves will represent the division in the SWAC championship game due to one-game difference in overall conference record.
With adverse weather conditions throughout the game, the Hornets struggled to move the ball offensively in the first quarter as they went against winds that were gusting into the mid-20s. They took advantage a Mississippi Valley State special teams miscue as punter Ruben Piraquive had his knee touch when fielding a snap to set Alabama State up at the 15-yard line. Five plays later, Darryl Pearson, Jr. ran the ball in from three yards for a 7-0 lead with 3:59 to play in the opening quarter.
"We were able to move the ball," Eley said. "You move the ball into plus territory and we need a play here or three, and we start moving backwards. That is the stuff we can't do, we have to find a way to make those plays. We left a lot of points and a lot of plays out there on that field."
The lead was extended to 10-0 in the second quarter, when Hanson drilled the first of three field goals through the uprights. His first field goal was a new career long of 48 yards with 10:32 to play in the first half.
Mississippi Valley State trimmed the lead to 10-3 on a field goal with 5:15 remaining, but it was Hanson again with one minutes to go in the half with a 40-yard field goal to extend the lead to 13-3 heading to the locker room.
The freshman kicked his final field goal with 7:37 to play it the third, this one a 39-yard field goal to push the lead to 16-3. However, Mississippi Valley State (2-9, 1-6 SWAC) trimmed the lead to 16-10 with 11:19 to play on Quinn McElfresh touchdown reception.
"Much needed," Eley said of Hanson. "We figured we had the win on the extremely long one and ended up getting a low snap that threw us off all together. But he did his job and got us some points."
That was as close as Mississippi Valley State would get as the Hornet defense would not allow the Delta Devils any closer than their 19 yard line. On fourth down, Scott stepped in front of a pass intended for McElfresh for the interception to help seal the game.
Alabama State held Mississippi Valley State to 179 yards of total offense, with 168 of those coming through the air. They also forced two turnovers and recorded four sacks, as well as 11 tackles for loss. Jeffrey Hill and Andrew Wilson each recorded seven tackles for the Hornets in the win.
"They got after us today," Eley said. "That is what you expect when you have team that is playing their last game, every trick and every fake we could see today. The defense has been steady all year, and the only things that kept them on the field were penalties but they did their job like they have been doing."
Meanwhile, offensively, Alex Anderson led the rushing attack with 46 yards on 11 carries, while Pearson added 38 on 11 carries. The Hornets ran the ball 43 times for 161 yards on the day.
Alabama State returns to action Thanksgiving Day as they face Edward Waters in the Turkey Day Classic at ASU Stadium, with kickoff set for 2 pm.
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