Blue Hose run past NCCU Eagles' defense

Photo: NCCU's quarterback Stadford Brown fumbles as Presbyterian College's Brian Leonardi (right) gets the strip and fellow Blue Hose teammate Chris Bowman (top) looks to make the play on Saturday at O'Kelley-Riddick Stadium. The Blue Hose won 34-27.

Attendance: 7,021

By MIKE POTTER, The Herald-Sun

N.C. Central's defense had gained a reputation for wreaking havoc on opponents' passing all season, but the Eagles hadn't seen a running game like the one Presbyterian put together Saturday.

NCCU managed three touchdowns in the final eight minutes, but when it was over the Eagles were looking at the losing end of a 34-27 score at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.

Blue Hose sophomore S.J. Worrell rushed for a career-high 154 yards, while quarterback Tim Webb -- starting in place of starter Grayson Mullins, who did not make the trip for reasons that were not announced -- completed 16 of 23 passes for three touchdowns.

"They played us tough until the very end," Blue Hose coach Bobby Bentley said. "With our No. 1 quarterback out, we decided to put more emphasis on the running game today, and I thought we did a good job."

NCCU quarterback Stadford Brown completed 26 of 47 passes for 372 yards -- both career bests -- and three touchdowns with one interception. Will Scott caught eight passes for 134 yards, both career highs, including two for touchdowns. Freshman Deshawn Spears had season highs of nine catches and 103 yards.

"I'm proud of my team because, once again, we didn't quit," NCCU coach Mose Rison said. "We got behind and knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but we kept playing.

"And I can't say enough about Stadford's game. He's a gutsy quarterback and a good football player."

The game was NCCU's first at home as a member of the Football Championship Subdivision against a fellow FCS member. The two schools are the only members of the NCAA in their first season at this level, and this was the first win against an FCS team for the Blue Hose (2-3). The loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Eagles (4-2).

The Eagles scored on their first drive, going 70 yards in 11 plays as Brown connecting with Spears from 15 yards out. Taylor Gray's kick gave NCCU a 7-0 lead with 9:04 left in the quarter.

Presbyterian tied the score with 14:20 left in the half, as Chetyuane Reeder scored from 6 yards out to complete a 13-play, 70-yard march.

The Blue Hose scored again on their next series, with Reeder going in from the 1 to finish a 15-play, 78-yard drive that included a pair of fourth-down conversions.

But the biggest play of the first half came with 1:57 to go, when the Eagles' Tim Shankle came up short on fourth-and-goal from the Presbyterian 3.

NCCU was deep in Blue Hose territory again late in the third period after Tyrone Williams' 21-yard interception return gave the Eagles the ball at the Presbyterian 49. But Brown was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-6 at the 16.

The Blue Hose responded with a 10-play, 84-yard drive. Webb hit Larry Thomas for a 17-yard scoring pass, helping make it 21-7 with 12:07 left in the game.

Presbyterian scored an important insurance touchdown less than a minute later after Brown fumbled at NCCU's 7-yard line and PC's Antwan Thomas recovered. Two plays later, Webb found Larry Thomas in the back of the end zone, and after Cam Miller's kick was blocked, the Blue Hose led 27-7 with 11:30 to go.

The Eagles scored again with 7:38 as Shankle went in from 2 yards out. Gray missed the conversion kick, and Presbyterian's Chris Robinson covered the onside kick to end the drama.

The Blue Hose took four plays to take the ball 39 yards for a score, with Webb hitting Jordan High alumnus Robert Bumgarner from 17 yards out for the first catch of his career. Miller's boot stretched the lead to 34-13 with 6:05 remaining.

"And [it was] the first touchdown catch of my life," Bumgarner said with a laugh. "It felt pretty good to be the first option and score a touchdown in my hometown.

"Central has a great football team, but our defense made the plays we needed for them to make."

NCCU cut the margin to two touchdowns when Brown hit Brandon Alston from 25 yards out with 4:36 left for the Hillside alum's first touchdown reception. This time, Gray made the point-after kick, and Tyrone Williams recovered the onside kick to give the Eagles life.

The Eagles cut the margin to 34-27 with 3:22 left, as Brown connected with Scott from 43 yards out.

"At least we never quit," Scott said. "No matter what, we don't quit."

Presbyterian recovered the onside kick but ran out of downs at the NCCU 25 with 1:24 left. The result wasn't decided until Antwan Thomas broke up a Brown pass on fourth-and-14 from the Presbyterian 45.

"We just turned it on too late," Brown said. "I'm proud of the way we came back. Both Scott and Spears made a lot of big catches today.

"But the bottom line is we lost. Whether it was by an inch or a mile, we lost."

NOTES -- The Eagles were without one unnamed player, suspended for his role in the fight after last week's victory over North Carolina A&T. The suspended player apparently was not in NCCU's two-deep. ... NCCU will have an open date Saturday before hosting North Greenville for homecoming on Oct. 13. Presbyterian hosts North Greenville on Saturday.

SSU's record on sacks gets busted

By Noell Barnidge, Savannah Morning News

Attendance: 6, 109

FORT VALLEY - Savannah State is no longer No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) in the sacks allowed category.
SSU entered Saturday's game against Fort Valley State having not given up a sack through three games, and the Tigers were tied with Yale, which had not given up a sack through two games.

But FVSU's defense sacked SSU quarterback Greg McCrary five times for minus-44 yards in the Wildcats' 33-2 victory.

"Obviously, we were not ready to come in here and play," SSU second-year coach Theo Lemon said. "We showed that. We didn't play well on either side of the ball, offensively or defensively, or on special teams. We fumbled the ball too many times and we just didn't execute."

Where's Trent?
Trent Newton, who transferred to FVSU after leading SSU in tackles in each of the past two seasons, did not dress for Saturday's game.

Newton, a linebacker from Lakeland, Fla., is being redshirted this season, according to FVSU sports information director Russell Boone.

Ominous trend
When SSU running back Reginald May fumbled during the Tigers' first drive of the game it marked the second consecutive game that SSU has lost the ball to start the game.

SSU quarterback JaCorey Kilcrease fumbled two weeks ago against Bethune-Cookman.

Where's Garrett?
FVSU junior Garrett Williams did not start at quarterback for the first time this season for the Wildcats (4-2).

Williams, who was SSU's starting quarterback in each of the past two seasons, was intercepted four times the previous Saturday in a 34-3 loss at Tuskegee (Ala.) University.

FVSU second-year coach Deondri Clark started Nate Samas, a sophomore from Americus, against SSU.

"He had a better week in practice," Clark said of Samas.
Williams started the second half because Clark said he felt Samas was struggling. FVSU staked a 10-0 lead at halftime.

Lemon said he was not surprised that Williams did not start the game.

"He threw four interceptions last week," Lemon said. "I didn't expect him to start. But I expected to see him at some point in the game, and we did."

Williams ran for a 9-yard touchdown in the third quarter to give FVSU a 16-0 lead. It was his first collegiate rushing touchdown.

NFL-type hit

SSU defensive back Javorris Jackson, whose brother, Grady, is a defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons, delivered the fiercest hit of the season when he leveled FVSU wide receiver Melvin Atueyi to break up a pass in the second quarter.

Jackson, a 6-foot-4, 216-pound junior transfer from Southfield, Mich., hit Atueyi so hard that he sent the 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior's helmet flying. Atueyi needed the assistance of two FVSU trainers in order to hobble off the field.

FVSU's FSU connection

Clark, defensive coordinator Dedrick Dodge, and defensive line coach Carl Simpson all played at Florida State under legendary coach Bobby Bowden.

Clark, a former defensive lineman, helped the Seminoles to a 42-7 record during his four-year career. FSU also won four consecutive bowl games and never finished lower than fourth in The Associated Press poll.

Saturday, Clark wore a bow-tie, his trademark.

Before arriving at FVSU, Clark was the head coach at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. He helped to revive the Bears' football program, which had been dormant from 1979 until 2002. Clark guided Shaw to a 7-3 record in 2003, his inaugural season, a 10-2 record in 2004 and a 4-3 record in 2005.

Last season, his first at FVSU, the Wildcats finished 5-6.

Series record

FVSU is 34-11-4 against SSU. Before Saturday's game, the last time the teams played was 2002 - SSU's final year in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - and FVSU won, 25-6.

SSU has not beaten FVSU since 2000, when the Tigers won, 37-13.

Alabama A&M notebook

Huntsville Times

Bulldogs gobble up ground

Alabama A&M's running game, which was limited to 30 yards rushing in a 31-6 loss last week at Grambling, showed up Saturday afternoon against Texas Southern.

The Bulldogs finished with a season-high 308 yards on 46 carries as five different players had 30 or more yards.

Ulysses Banks led with 112 yards on 17 carries. Anthony Green had 60 yards on nine carries, Generion McWhorter had 40 yards on three carries, Kevin McCants had 39 yards on four carries and quarterback Kelcy Luke had 32 yards on eight carries.

Harris on the move

Thomas Harris, a sophomore wide receiver, was involved in the running game early on.

On Alabama A&M's second play from scrimmage, Harris went 22 yards on a reverse that helped set up Banks' 9-yard touchdown run.

Cummings a force early

Defensive end Dominique Cummings has played behind Chris Traylor for much of his career, but the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder made his presence felt early against Texas Southern.

Cummings had a pass breakup on the Tigers' second possession of the game to force a field goal and later in the first quarter came up with his first sack of the season when he dropped quarterback Tino Edgecombe for a 6-yard loss.

Unfortunately for A&M, the Tigers came back to score on the next play as Edgecombe found B.J. Haith with a 32-yard touchdown pass.

Donaldson swipes pass No. 2

Free safety Al Donaldson took over the team lead in interceptions early in the second quarter.

Donaldson, a junior from Crawfordsville, Fla., picked off an Edgecombe pass early in the second quarter that led to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Luke to Gerald Stockdale.

Donaldson, who had four tackles and three pass breakups, now has two interceptions on the season. He had one in the season opener against Tennessee State that also led to a touchdown.

Luke picked off again

Luke threw his fourth interception of the season on Alabama A&M's first possession of the second quarter.

The Bulldogs had moved from their own 31 to a first down at the Texas Southern 40. Two plays later, facing a third-and-four from the 34, Luke's poorly thrown ball, intended for Rashad Johnson, was picked off by Texas Southern's Chris Salvant.

Luke threw just eight interceptions all of last season.

McWhorter an opportunist

McWhorter, a fullback, hadn't gotten many opportunities through Alabama A&M's first four games, but he had made the most of them.

Going into Saturday's game, McWhorter had only 40 yards on five carries, but was averaging a whopping 8.0 yards per carry. He topped that average in the first half against Texas Southern.

A 5-foot-10, 208-pound redshirt freshman out of Jasper, McWhorter had 40 yards on three carries, including a 27-yard jaunt to help set up Luke's 12-yard touchdown pass to Stockdale midway through the second quarter.

Stockdale scores his first TD

Saturday was a big day for Stockdale.

A 6-2, 223-pound junior from Talladega, hadn't scored a touchdown during his career. However, that all changed when quarterback Luke found Stockdale with a 12-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter.

"I saw the coverage a couple of plays before the touchdown," said Stockdale, who had three catches for 37 yards.

"I knew Kelcy was going to get it to me quick and I had to get in the end zone."

Harper picks off Edgecombe

Not only did defensive tackle Justin Harper make his first start of the season Saturday against Texas Southern, he also got his first career interception.

Harper, who lost his job to Whitney Garrett last spring and underwent surgery during the preseason on his left thumb, had a sack early in the third quarter and then recorded his first interception early in the fourth quarter.

Edgecombe's pass was tipped by defensive end Traylor and Harper was there to pick it off.

"I almost dropped it," Harper said. "It rolled around in my hands, but I finally got a hold of it."

Opponents are ex-teammates

Alabama A&M defensive back Stephan Tucker and Texas Southern's Edgecombe were former teammates during their Pop Warner football days in Miami.

"We were real cool," Tucker remembered.

Tucker was 2-1 against Edgecome entering Saturday's game.

"I just want to win," he said. "I'm not worried about any personal battles. I just want to get this win and go on to the next game."

Tucker forced Edgecombe to fumble early in the third quarter and recovered it. He finished with four tackles. Edgecombe completed 29-of-59 passes for 352 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

However, Tucker came away with a 48-24 victory.

Praise for Bulldogs

Texas Southern quarterback Steve Wilson said Alabama A&M was the best team the Tigers have faced in the Southwestern Athletic Conference because of Luke.

"There's a lot of things you can do with a senior quarterback," Wilson said. "He's the difference. He's a good runner, a good passer and he checks off well at the line of scrimmage.

"As long as they keep him healthy, they'll have a chance."

Furthermore

The 28 points A&M scored in the first half were the most the Bulldogs have scored in the first half this season. ... Luke has thrown at least three touchdown passes in four of A&M's five games this season. ... A&M place-kicker Jeremy Licea has made eight straight field goals dating back to last year's Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.

Reggie Benson

AAMU Bulldogs regain bite, 48--24 over Texas Southern

By REGGIE BENSON, Times Sports Staff

A&M offense roars again for landslide homecoming win

There would be no upset this time around. Alabama A&M's offense made sure of that.

The Bulldogs scored on four of their first five possessions, rolled up more than 500 yards in total offense and simply overpowered Texas Southern on homecoming Saturday afternoon.

When it was over, A&M ran off to celebrate a 48-24 victory before an announced crowd of 13,745 at Louis Crews Stadium and exorcised some demons from two years ago when the Tigers came to town and spoiled homecoming with a shocking 17-7 win.

"We couldn't let it happen," said offensive lineman James Sanders, referring to another homecoming loss. "I wasn't going to let it happen."

Sanders and the rest of his offensive linemates certainly did their part.

A week after managing only 147 yards in a 31-6 loss to Grambling, A&M dominated Texas Southern's porous defense.

How good were the Bulldogs?

A&M finished with 514 yards in total offense and 33 first downs.

Tailback Ulysses Banks finished with 112 yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown.

It is the third time in five games Banks has topped the 100-yard mark this season.

A&M finished with 308 yards rushing on 46 carries as five different players had 30 or more yards. A&M averaged a whopping 6.7 yards per carry.

Quarterback Kelcy Luke completed 19-of-34 passes for 206 yards and an interception, not overly impressive numbers, but he threw four touchdown passes.

Seven players caught passes, including four with three or more.

"We needed this," Luke said. "This puts us back on track. We wanted to show people we are the same team that put up big numbers the first three weeks."

The win lifted A&M to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Texas Southern fell to 0-5 and 0-4.

The Bulldogs started fast.

After forcing Texas Southern to punt on its first possession, Luke engineered an eight-play, 77-yard drive to put A&M on the board.

Banks, who had 45 yards on four carries on the drive, capped it with a 9-yard run less than three minutes into the game.

The Tigers trimmed the margin to 7-3 after Djavan Conway kicked a 30-yard field goal, but Luke found tight end John Smith with a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs up 14-3. A&M extended its lead to 21-3 when Luke hit Thomas Harris with a 20-yard touchdown pass with just less than three minutes left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs had 206 yards in total offense in the first quarter, including 137 yards on the ground. Banks had 82 of them on nine carries.

"We wanted to establish our running game and then put them back on their heels and take advantage of whatever opportunities we had through the air," A&Mcoach Anthony Jones said.

The plan worked perfectly.

Luke found Gerald Stockdale with a 12-yard touchdown pass to put A&M ahead 28-10 midway through the first half. Texas Southern responded with a 15-play, 69-yard drive to pull to within 28-17 at intermission, but couldn't get any closer.

The Bulldogs scored 20 unanswered points in the second half and won going away.

"We got to within 11 before halftime and felt good about that, but they came out and made some more plays," Texas Southern coach Steve Wilson said. "We knew they would be fired up.

"Offensively, they've got a good scheme. Their tight ends did a good job and they converted a lot of first downs.

"That was the difference in the game."

A&M place-kicker Jeremy Licea booted a 32-yard field goal to make it 31-17 early in the third quarter.

Luke found Thomas near the end of the quarter with a 27-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs ahead 38-17.

Licea added another field - a career-long 42-yarder - early in the fourth quarter and fullback Kevin McCants' 30-yard jaunt rounded out the scoring for A&M.

"This gets our hopes up," said Harris, who had six catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns. "This was a confidence builder for us after last week's game."

Banks agreed.

"We needed this win," he said. "That wasn't our team last week."

The win offset a strong effort from Texas Southern's Tino Edgecombe, who completed 29-of-59 passes for 352 yards. He threw three touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.

Wide receiver B.J. Haith had nine catches for 133 yards and a touchdown, and Roland Robins had seven catches for 73 yards.

"(Edgecombe) was as good as he could be," Jones said. "We battered him.

"He made some plays, but we forced him into some bad throws and turnovers."

Strong defense keeps SU unbeaten

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

MOBILE, Ala. — Late in the first half, Alabama State quarterback Alex Engram told Southern strong safety Glenn Bell, after Bell squared him up for a tackle in the open field, the next time would be different.

Bell disagreed. And, it turns out, Bell was right.

Midway through the third quarter, Bell unloaded on Engram as he tried to make a play with his legs around the left end. Engram got 3 yards to the Southern 2-yard line on third-and-goal. But Bell knocked him out of bounds and out for the next play after trainers helped the wobbly quarterback across the field to the Alabama State sideline.

Rahmod Taylor was then stopped at the 1-yard line on the next play and Southern took possession.

That goal-line stand, with 8:42 left in the third quarter, was the exclamation point to a day in which Southern’s defense paved the way for a 21-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference victory over Alabama State Saturday in the 34th Gulf Coast Classic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

“Just before halftime, when I tackled him in the open field, he said, ‘Next time, five, I’m going to run over you.’ I was like, ‘Next time, you won’t get up.’ It just so happened, the next time was on the goal line, and he didn’t get up,” said Bell, named the game’s defensive MVP after totaling 10 tackles and one breakup. Bell wears No. 5.

To his credit, Engram, verified the back-and-forth jawing and gave Bell and the SU defense respect.

“It was a bootleg pass,” Engram said. “I was looking for my guy. He didn’t show up, so I tried to run and make a play. The guy gave me a lick, that’s all. He’s a good athlete. They have a good defense.”

Photo: SU’s Vince Lands (33) and Gary Chapman (39) pressure ASU quarterback Alex Engram.

The clash of SWAC unbeatens was in no way an offensive masterpiece. But it was a day for gritty defense.

Southern (5-0, 3-0 SWAC) turned the ball over four times (getting one back on a wild play in which the Alabama State defender who recovered the initial fumble subsequently fumbled himself) in the first half and five times overall.

Plus, SU had minus-6 yards, with two three-and-outs, an interception and a safety in the end zone in the third quarter. And SU had a first-quarter rushing touchdown wiped out by a holding penalty.

Southern scored twice in the second quarter — on a 21-yard touchdown run by Brian Threat (12:35 before halftime) and a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Lee (4:36 before halftime) — to take a 14-0 halftime lead.

Because of Alabama State’s solid defense, the Jaguars couldn’t get any continuity until deep in the fourth quarter, when the offense flipped field position with a strong drive and iced the game with Lee’s 23-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Gerard Landry.

Lee, who hadn’t thrown an interception in his previous five starts, tied a career high with three Saturday, but he still threw for 242 yards and one touchdown. And running back Darren Coates, the game’s offensive MVP, ran for 67 yards and had a career-best 119 receiving yards. His 51-yard catch set up Lee’s TD pass to Landry.

“I’m proud of the effort of my football team,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said. “We had to play hard for 60 minutes. We knew they had won quite a few games in the second half, so we had to stay with our game plan.”

Alabama State (4-1, 3-1), meanwhile, alternated quarterbacks because of a staphylococcus infection to the right knee of Chris Mitchell, who had started the previous three games. Mitchell was 2-for-19 for 17 yards and two interceptions, while Engram was 6-for-14 for 67 yards. SU broke up 10 passes, including five by linebacker Gary Chapman, whose fourth-quarter interception ended Alabama State’s last possession.

Alabama State running back Jay Peck, a first-team All-SWAC selection last season who leads the conference in rushing, had 35 yards on 16 carries — his lowest total since last season’s opener against Troy, when he had 20 yards and had yet to make a name for himself.

“We had to shut down that running back,” Richardson said. “We played a lot of eight-man fronts.”

All told, Alabama State, the team that had made four fourth-quarter comebacks, outscoring foes 46-23 in the period, had zero points for the first time all season. Alabama State’s only points came one play after SU’s goal-line stand, with linebacker Leland Jones Jr. tackling Coates in the end zone with 8:37 left in the third quarter.

SU played without its top tackler, linebacker Johnathan Malveaux (high ankle sprain), who didn’t make the trip. The Jaguars defense has allowed just two second-half touchdowns this season. It was the second time this season that the Jaguars defense could claim a “moral shutout.” Previously, the unit had underscored a 12-2 victory over Prairie View.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Landry said. “They played their heart out every down. They didn’t quit. Things didn’t go their way, but they kept fighting, kept fighting. The offense, we kept going three-and-out, but they didn’t complain. I can’t say enough.”

“The defense pumped us up, and we got it done,” Lee said.

Alabama State fumbled at the SU 31 and missed a 22-yard field-goal try in the second quarter. Then, the Hornets offense held the ball for 11 minutes in the third quarter and came away empty — turning the ball over on downs at the Southern 1 and SU 16 with 4:22 left in the third quarter and at the SU 18 with 12:26 left in the fourth quarter, with Chapman making his interception on the last Alabama State possession.

“I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t really have a great week of practice,” SU defensive coordinator Terrence Graves said. “We talked with them (Friday night) and told them the practice week was over; we have to go out and set the tone.”

A week earlier, SU’s defense gave up a series of big plays as the Jaguars fell behind by 21 points. But the offense came alive and the defense clamped down as SU went on to a 41-34 victory over Tennessee State.

“We’re a team,” Bell said. “Last week, we weren’t playing too well, and the offense caught our slack. ... We play together as a team, and that’s why we win.”

“It was just a testament,” Graves said. “They made the determination they weren’t going to let those guys score. All the credit goes to those guys.”

SOUTHERN 21, ALABAMA STATE 2: Southern shuts down Hornets

Photo: Southern's Brian Lewis brings down Alabama State's Rahmod Trayloy during the 34th annual Gulf Coast Classic football game in Mobile.

Gulf Coast Classic: Attendance - 16,130

Special to the Montgomery Advertiser

MOBILE -- Before the season, Alabama State head football coach Reggie Barlow chose the theme: "Push it to the Limit," which turned out to be quite apropos, as each of the first four games came down to pivotal plays in the final few minutes.

In the Gulf Coast Classic -- against a formidable Southern defense -- the Cinderella season hit its first bit of adversity as ASU simply ran out of magic dust and fell 21-2 to Southern on Saturday.

"It was a tough game," Barlow said. "We were really bad on offense. We moved the ball, but we couldn't take advantage of the opportunities."

Alabama State quarterbacks Alex Engram and Chris Mitchell combined to go 8-of-33 for only 84 yards and two interceptions. Southern's Bryant Lee, who had not thrown an interception in 183 consecutive attempts, tossed three picks during a 16-of-29, 242-yard performance.

Between the teams, there were 14 punts and eight turnovers.

Still, the Jaguars made just enough big plays to get an important SWAC win. However, the ASU defense would get none of the blame from Barlow.

"Those guys (ASU defense) are great," he said. "They play so hard, but we just didn't get them any help from the other side of the ball."

Rechard Johnson tallied 10 tackles, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and broke up a pass. Not to be outdone, Leland Jones had his breakout game of the season with seven tackles -- including two for loss -- forced a fumble, broke up a pass and picked up a quarterback hurry. Also, his third-quarter tackle of Chad Harris in the end zone accounted for the Hornets' only points of the night.

"We don't care what happens, we are one team," Jones said. "If one side of the ball is struggling, it's our responsibility as teammates to pick them up. That's what we do for each, and that's what we'll do this week as we get ready for Jackson State."

The Hornets will travel to Jackson, Miss., to take on the Tigers at 3 p.m.

Late field goal lifts Grambling to victory over Prairie View A&M

State Fair Classic - Attendance: 55,878

DALLAS — Senior kicker Tim Manuel nailed a 19-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter as the Grambling State Tigers held off a furious second-half charge by Prairie View A&M for a 17-14 victory Saturday night.

The game remained scoreless for most of the first half until Grambling State (3-1) mounted a 12-play, 71-yard drive that had an interesting ending.

The Tigers drove to Prairie View's 3 but came up short after quarterback Larry Kerlegan was stopped at the 3. On fourth-and-goal with the team lined up in field goal formation with 1 second left, GSU gambled and executed a perfect fake field goal capped off with a Kovarus Hill shuffle pass to John Carter.

The Tigers went up 14-0 margin at the 7:36 mark in the third quarter when quarterback Brandon Landers found wideout Clyde Edwards in the end zone for a 41-yard score.

Then Prairie View (2-2) rallied.

Quarterback Mark Spivey passed 38 yards to Shaun Stephens to cut the deficit to 14-7 early in the quarter. On GSU's next drive, Gary Hicks intercepted a Landers' pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

The Tigers then went into ball- control mode and rode the backs of freshmen running backs Cornelius Walker and Frank Warren. The duo, who set up Manuel's game-winning field goal, combined to lead the Tigers on a 16-play, 76-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock.

Prairie View had a chance to tie but Nigel Copeland blocked a 57-yard field goal attempt to seal the victory.

Grambling's Cornelius Walker rushed for 109 yards, and Brandon Landers passed for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Clyde Edwards, who caught seven passes for 100 yards, hauled in a 41-yard TD from Landers that put the Tigers ahead 14-0 midway through the third.

Mark Spivey threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Shaun Stephens that brought Prairie View within 14-7 with 11:02 remaining.

Less than a minute later, Gary Hicks intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.

Grambling then drove for the winning score by converting all three of its third down conversions on a 76-yard drive.

Walker's 23-yard run to the 3 set up Manuel's game-winning kick.