Grambling Tigers capture second consecutive SWAC Championship

HOUSTON, Texas -- The Grambling State University football team scored 28 unanswered second-quarter points as the Tigers held on and survived a late Alcorn State rally to capture their second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship, 40-32, on Saturday night at NRG Stadium.

"We played exceptionally well in the first half, except of the muff punt we had," Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs said. "We didn't play as well as I would have liked in the second half. Alcorn State has a tremendous program and I knew they would keep fighting. That is what champions do. Now we get two weeks to rest our players and get prepared for the Celebration Bowl."

Grambling State (11-1) began with the football and started its opening drive at 10, but a delay of game penalty backed the Tigers up five yards to the 5-yard line.

GSU went to work as Kincade connected with Martez Carter for eight yards and on third down to Calif Samon for 21 yards. After Carter was stopped for no gain, Quintin Guice caught a 46-yard pass from Kincade to set up shop at the Alcorn State 20. Two plays later, Kincade scored on a 15-yard run to give the Tigers a 7-0 advantage with 12:06 left in the opening quarter.

Alcorn State, which went 80 yards in eight plays, answered the opening Grambling State drive by using the ground game as the Braves punched the ball in from the 2-yard line on a rushing touchdown by De'Lance Turner to tie the game at 7 with 7:50 remaining in the first.

After going three-and-out on the next series, the Tigers punted the ball, but got it right back after Alcorn State's Jalen Richardson muffed the kick as Bryce Williams recovered the loose ball at the Braves' 34.

Grambling State was unable to move the ball as Marc Orozco booted a career-long 48-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 5:28 remaining.

After stopping the Braves on their next series, the Tigers turned the ball over as Malik Route fumbled trying to scoop up a punt and Alcorn State's Damien Anderson recovered at the Tigers' 40. The Braves cashed in off the turnover as Corey McCullough kicked a 21-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 with 1:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The Tigers appeared to go three-and-out on their next offensive series, but Miguel Mendez faked the punt and rushed eight yards for a first down at the Grambling State 41. The Tigers capitalized on the fake punt and went 59 yards in 10 plays as Carter scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give Grambling State a 17-10 advantage with 11:27 remaining in the first half 31-10 with

After forcing an Alcorn State punt, Grambling State went to work at its own 39 and the Tigers marched 61 yards in eight plays as Kincade connected with Jordan Jones for a 15-yard touchdown pass to extend the advantage to 24-10.

Grambling State was just getting starting as the De'Andre Hogues forced a Braves fumble and the Tigers went right back to work. Kincade hit the spin button and dove for the end zone to complete a four-play, 46-yard drive. Kincade was initially ruled down on the play, but after review of the replay, the play was overturned as the Tigers led 31-10 with 4:42 remaining.
After forcing a punt by Alcorn State, Grambling State took over at its own 25 with 3:08 remaining in the first half. The Tigers proceeded to march 75 yards in six plays as Guice caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kincade to give the Tigers a commanding 38-10 lead right before the break.

Alcorn State twice had an opportunity in the third quarter to cut the deficit, but the Braves turned the ball over on downs and McCullough's 21-yard field goal banked off the left upright and away to keep the Tigers advantage at 28 points.

Grambling State put the final touches on the night just five seconds into the fourth when Turner was tackled in the end zone by Brandon Varner for a safety as the Tigers pushed the advantage to 40-10 with 14:55 remaining.

The Braves (7-5) added a 34-yard touchdown as Lenorris Footman connected with Norlando Neals for the score with 12:53 remaining to cut the deficit to 40-17.

Alcorn State scored two more touchdowns and converted a two-point conversion to cut the margin to 40-32. The Braves had one more final opportunity to attempt to tie the game, but Footman's hail may fell short as the Tigers escaped with the win.

Turning Point
The second quarter provided to be the biggest difference in the game.

Grambling State and Alcorn State were tied at 10 at the beginning of the quarter, but the Tigers dominated the second with 28 unanswered points.

It can be said that the biggest turning point in the game came on a special teams play. With the two teams tied at 10 late in the first quarter, punter Miguel Mendez rushed eight yards for a first down. That play spun the momentum into the direction of Grambling State as the Tigers went on to get a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Martez Carter to give GSU a 17-10 lead with 11:27 left in the second quarter.

Alcorn State could never recover from the momentum swing as Grambling State finished with 363 total yards in the first half and Kincade was 14-of-23 passing for 223 yards.

Jordan Jones and Quintin Guice caught touchdown passes and Kincade scored on a 27-yard touchdown run as Grambling State took a controlling 38-10 lead into the half.

Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State finished with 19 first downs.
· The Tigers registered 439 total yards, including 268 through the air.
· Alcorn State tallied 21 first downs and 502 total yards, most of them coming in the second half.
· Devante Kincade was 14-of-24 passing for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
· Devante Kincade led the Tigers in rushing with 11 carries for 75 yards and two scores.
· Kobe Ross had four receptions for a team-high 87 yards.
· Darrell Clark added four catches for 30 yards.
· Marc Orozco was 1-for-1 on field goals.
· Grambling State recorded a safety for the fourth time this season.
· De'Andre Hogues finished with seven tackles, including four solo stops, one sack and one forced fumble.
· Lenorris Footman was 20-of-34 passing for 307 yards and one score.
· De'Lance Turner added 134 yards on 20 carries to pace the ground attack for the Braves.
· Marquis Warford finished with131 yards on seven receptions.
· Terry Whittington led Alcorn State defensively with 10 tackles.
· The Tigers were 8-of-16 on third-down conversions.
· The Braves were 5-of-13 on third downs.
· Devante Kincade and De'Andre Hogues earned the SWAC Offensive and Defensive MVPs.
· Devante Kincade has thrown a touchdown pass in 10 of the 12 games played this season.
· Since the season-opening loss to Tulane, the Tigers have trailed for just 18 minutes and 40 seconds (Jackson State, Clark Atlanta, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern).
· The Tigers scored on their opening drive for the seventh time this season.

News & Notes
· Grambling State came into the game ranked No. 12 in the FCS Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 13 in the STATS FCS Top 25 Poll, No. 1 in the SBN Sports Network Black College Football Poll and No. 2 in the BOXTOROW Coaches and Media Poll.
· Grambling State wore its black jersey's with black pants and improved to 6-2 during the Broderick Fobbs era.
· Grambling State has led at the half in 11-of-12 games this season.
· Saturday's SWAC title game marked the third consecutive year the two teams met for the championship.
· Broderick Fobbs improved to 6-1 all-time against Alcorn State.
· Grambling State improved to 46-21-3 all-time against Alcorn State.
· GSU came into the game ranked No. 1 in the FCS and SWAC in team sacks.
· The Tigers placed 12 student-athletes on the All-SWAC Football Teams.
· Broderick Fobbs was named the SWAC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season.
· Devante Kincade was selected the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, the "Big Ben" Award winner (first two-time winner) and is a finalist for the Black College Football Player of the Year.
· De'Arius Christmas earned the SWAC's Defensive Player of the Year honor.
· The Tigers have won 11 straight after losing to Tulane to begin the season.
· Grambling State is the defending HBCU National Champions.
· Grambling State is seeking back-to-back SWAC Championships.
· Saturday's game was broadcasted live on the ESPNU.
· Grambling State is 8-2 all-time in SWAC Championship games.
· Saturday's championship marked the 19th and final SWAC title game.
· In the summer of 2017, the SWAC announced the end of the Conference Championship Football game, with the final game to be played on Dec. 2.
· The SWAC Championship has been played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. (1999-2012) and at NRG Stadium/Reliant Stadium (2013-2017).

Up Next
With the SWAC Championship victory, Grambling State received a berth to the 2017 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The Tigers will meet the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champions, North Carolina A&T State. The Aggies, ranked No. 7 in the FCS Top 25 Poll, won the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration are just one of two undefeated teams in the FCS with an 11-0 mark. The game will begin the bowl season live on ABC with an 11 a.m. (central) kickoff.

Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathetics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.

BOX SCORE



GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS