Alcorn State Braves Break Stadium Scoring Record in Lopsided Home-Opener over Louisiana College

span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LORMAN, Mississippi  – The Alcorn State University football program posted the most points in the history of Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium in a 78-0 victory over Louisiana College on a rainy Saturday evening.

The Braves (1-1) took full control early in the game, led LC (0-1) 21-0 at the 10:33 mark of the first quarter and never looked back. It started on a blocked punt by senior Johnathon Hauer which resulted in a touchdown return by senior Alvin Wilson.

Alcorn then scored on its very first offensive play on a 54-yard pass from senior Noah Johnson to junior Raidarious Anderson.

The Braves used nearly their entire depth chart for the second week in a row. All four quarterbacks on the roster played and scored a touchdown. Alcorn's quarterbacks combined for five passing touchdowns and two rushing scores.

Johnson got the start and went 7-for-9 throwing for 95 yards and two touchdown passes. He also rushed for 39 yards and a score. Sophomore Felix Harper threw for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

BOX SCORE
 
Alcorn's offense spread it around as 12 different student-athletes recorded a carry and 10 different wide receivers caught a pass. Touchdown runs were tallied by Johnson, freshman Jyron Russell, senior P.J. Simmons, freshman Trey Turner and sophomore Jamaskian Chapman. Touchdown passes were hauled in by Anderson, senior Dayall Harris, junior Tavares Johnson, junior Chris Blair and sophomore LeCharles Pringle.
 
The Braves spread out the tackles defensively. Junior Solomon Muhammad was at the top of the scoresheet with 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Senior Derrian Meminger also notched 1.5 sacks. Senior Isiah Thomas pulled in an interception.
 
LC quarterback Skyler Bonneau was limited to 8-for-26 passing with an interception. Julius Johnson stood out defensively for the Wildcats with a game-high 13 tackles.
 
As a team, the Braves outgained LC 629-36 in total offense. Alcorn rushed for 381 yards and passed for 248. The Braves were a perfect 8-for-8 in red-zone scoring.
 
LC had the ball first but was forced to punt after a three-and-out. It included a sack by Muhammad on third down. On the punt, Hauer came dashing in from the right and cleanly blocked it, as Wilson scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown.
 
After another three-and-out by the Alcorn defense, the Braves scored on their first offensive play. It came on a bomb pass as Noah Johnson aired it out and found Anderson behind the secondary for the score. Alcorn led 14-0 at the 11:16 mark of the first quarter.
 
To start LC's third possession, the Wildcats kept it on the ground on the first play when senior Trae Ferrell stripped LC running back Melvin Young for a fumble and Muhammad recovered at the 9-yard line. Alcorn scored on the ensuing play on a 9-yard sprint by Simmons to the right to lead 21-0 at the 10:33 mark.
 
The Braves increased their advantage to 27-0 with 5:18 left in the first after Noah Johnson connected with Blair in the back of the end-zone for a 14-yard touchdown. The key moment of the series was a 20-yard rush by Johnson on a 2nd-and-25, followed by a 6-yard run by Simmons to keep the drive moving. The extra-point missed wide-right.
 
Alcorn upped its edge to 34-0 early in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Noah Johnson. The Braves started the drive with good field position and moved into the red-zone after an 18-yard reception by Anderson and a 10-yard catch by Blair.
 
The Braves blocked their second punt of the game when junior Allen Bruce raced in and got a hand on the ball deep in LC territory. It resulted in a 20-yard field goal by junior Corey McCullough to go up 37-0 with 7:11 to play in the half.
 
With 1:10 left, Alcorn scored on a 6-yard pass from Harper to Harris to make it a 44-0 game. It capped a 10-play, 55-yard drive which included a 15-yard rush by Turner.
 
An interception by Thomas near the very end of the half gave the Braves another chance to add-on before the intermission. Alcorn cashed-in on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Harper to Tavares Johnson which changed the score to 51-0.
 
Alcorn scored on its first possession of the second half to lead 58-0. The scoring play was a 9-yard run up the middle by Turner. The drive started with runs of 20 and 13 yards, respectively, by freshman Marquise Forman.
 
Sophomore quarterback Thaddeus Peyton entered the game at quarterback midway through the third quarter and the Braves marched right down the field for the score. Peyton kept it himself for a 14-yard rush to start the drive and then handed it to Turner for a 20-yard carry to near midfield. The Braves scored on a 49-yard pass to Pringle as he outran the defense to increase the lead to 65-0.
 
The Braves continued to pour it on early in the fourth quarter, as Chapman broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown rush up the middle. Junior Kevon Marsh also had an 11-yard first down run on the series. The two-point conversion failed, but Alcorn led 71-0 at the 14:50 mark.
 
Alcorn's final score came on a 4-yard quarterback-keeper by Russell with 4:19 remaining. Russell started the drive with a 21-yard pass to Hauer. The Braves then handed the ball to freshman Jonathon Bolton and sophomore Javon Franklin who rushed down the field and into the red-zone.
 
The Braves will remain at home next weekend when they host Texas Southern in a 6 p.m. non-conference game. Alcorn will seek its seventh consecutive victory over TSU.
 
NOTES
- The previous record for most points scored and most lopsided victory at Spinks-Casem Stadium was a 66-0 win over Prairie View A&M on Oct. 11, 2003.
 
- The 79 points scored were the second-most in school history and the most since 1967 when the Braves beat Paul Quinn 101-0.
 
- Alcorn won its home-opener for the sixth year in a row. The Braves are now 16-11 in home-openers at Spinks-Casem Stadium.
 
- The Braves extended their home winning-streak to five games which carried over from last season. The program is now 75-52 all-time at Spinks-Casem Stadium which is in its 27th season as the home of the football program.
 
- Alcorn is now 2-0 all-time against Louisiana College. The only previous meeting came in 2014 when the Braves won 52-10. Alcorn went on to become National Black Champions that season.
 
- LC did not have a red-zone opportunity. The Braves ranked top-five in the nation in red-zone defense last year, letting up scores on just 64.5 percent of trips inside the 20.
 
- Alcorn held LC to negative 26 rushing yards.
 
- The Braves are now 7-0 when leading at halftime over the last two seasons.
 
- Alcorn's captains were seniors Sterling Shippy and Matthew Stewart, and junior Mustaffa Ibrahim. The Braves won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"It was a big game being here in front of our home crowd and receiving all of the support we get. We have a great fan base. I thought the guys came out real fast and executed the offense well. The defense played an excellent ball game. I also thought we played really well special team tonight. We have to continue to improve, and there are some things that we didn't do very well too."
 
On who stood out
The biggest thing is the offensive and defensive efforts, even the special teams. You can't just say one guy stood out. All phases of the game stood out to me the most. We did a great job of executing on offense and our defense did a great job of keeping them off the scoreboard. Corey [McCullough] did an excellent job of punting. Ole John John [Hauer] here is a special teams demon. We did a great job of blocking the punt which we've worked on during practice. The team effort was great tonight."
 
On how he used last week's game as a teaching moment
"When you come back from playing a team like Georgia Tech and play a Louisiana College team in their first game, I think it helps a lot with the speed of the game. It really played a great role in what we did tonight and being able to play physical."
 
On being a part of the most lopsided win in the history of the stadium
"it's always great to be a part of history. This team deserved to be a part of every bit of it, considering the effort they put forward tonight. Just being a part of something like this makes you feel good."
 
On limiting LC's total yards
"I was proud of our defensive effort last week and it carried into today. What they did against Georgia Tech was stunning. They played really well. Tonight, they were relentless, they played fast and they played with a lot of excitement. That's the thing that coach [Cedric] Thornton does. Every day during practice he gets them to play hard and play fast. With this defense we have here the best is yet to come."
 
Quoting junior quarterback Noah Johnson
On his performance tonight
"There's still a lot I need to work on. As an offense we definitely bounced back well from last week. We got back to playing our type of football. We scored a lot of points and pushed the ball all night. Overall, I think we did pretty well. I feel like we can score like this all the time. I have a lot of confidence in the offense and as long as we execute we can put up a lot of numbers."
 
On being a part of a historic game
"It a blessing to be a part of this historic scoring game. We're going to continue to work hard every day and hopefully we can make history again. This week we needed to slow the game down. The game was moving kind of fast last week. I work on it all week at practice and it showed in the game that we worked hard."
 
Quoting senior wide receiver Johnathon Hauer
On whether his blocked punt got the team started on the right foot
"We've been taught to start off hard, start off fast and to finish every play. When I was blocking the kick all I thought about was go hard, go fast and stay focused. As long as we do that we can continue to win as we did tonight."
 
On whether he enjoys blocking punts or catching passes more
"I like playing both positions equally. I love the game. Most people lose the heart for the game but I love it so much it doesn't matter where they put me. I'm going to go out there and do whatever you ask me.