Alcorn State 27, Hampton 23

Hampton University (HU) coach Joe Taylor is known for being a hard-nosed disciplinarian. Yet, penalties and turnovers undermined his Pirates as the Alcorn State Braves (ASU) rallied for a 27-23 win at the New York Urban League Football Classic.

The game started well for the Pirates as junior return man Terrance Patrick took the opening kickoff 100 yards to give the Hampton Pirates a 7-0 lead. It appeared a rout might be on when Alcorn?s first three possessions resulted in a partially blocked punt, an interception and a fumble.

However, the resilient Alcorn defense kept the game competitive. After senior cornerback Albert Jones set up Hampton on the Alcorn 14 yard line with his 31 yard interception return, the Braves? defense forced a 31-yard field goal miss by place kicker Tellis Bolden.

Alcorn gave the ball back to Hampton four plays later when Braves? quarterback Donald Carrie mishandled the center exchange. Hampton started at the Alcorn 33 yard line but was again unable to obtain a first down. On fourth and 1, Alcorn senior linebacker Omega Logan slammed the door on the Pirates? Rian Thompson.

Frustrated by his offense, Taylor inserted sophomore quarterback Kerry Dixon and senior tailback Carlton Morant. Both players shifted the Pirates? offense to an option attack. The move reaped early rewards.

Dixon led Hampton on a 16 play, 93-yard touchdown drive, punctuating the drive with a one-yard scoring run. On the drive, Morant ripped off runs of 11 and 12 yards and Dixon connected with Patrick on a 23-yard reception and twice located senior Zuriel Smith for big third down conversions.

Hampton led at the half 14-0. The second half started in much the same fashion as the first for ASU. On their third play of the half, the Braves fumbled and HU began their opening drive from the ASU 17-yard line.

Again, the Braves defense was up to the challenge, stopping the Pirates on three consecutive downs. Kicker Tellis Bolden converted a 27-yard field goal but a holding penalty pushed the Pirates back 10 yards. Bolden would miss on a 37-yard attempt.

Bolden would redeem himself on HU's next possession; he connected on a 22-yard field goal and Hampton opened up what appeared to be a commanding 17-0 lead.

But HU miscues opened the door for the Braves. On a first and 10 pass from the Hampton 12, ASU cornerback Tyrone Parson intercepted Dixon. With their best starting field position of the game, the Braves struck quickly, marching 33 yards in 6 plays.

Quarterback Donald Carrie found opened the aerial attack with completions to wide receivers George Jones and Corvin Johnson. Tailback Andrew Burks strolled in from 3 yards out to put ASU on the board. On the ensuing kickoff, another holding penalty pushed Hampton back to their own 18-yard line. Following Dixon's lead, Morant fumbled and Alcorn took over at the Hampton 12. On the second play of the drive, Burks scored again, this time from 12 yards out and all of a sudden, the Hampton lead was cut to 17-14.

The play of the game came on ASU's next possession. On 1st and 10 from their own 24-yard line, Carrie lifted a pass towards the 6?5 Jones. Jones elevated above HU defensive backs Brian Sawyer and Lawrence Smith and 70 yards later Alcorn was again in the red zone. After a HU offsides penalty left ASU with a 2nd and goal from the 3, Burks scored his third unanswered touchdown. The PAT failed but suddenly Alcorn held a 20-17 lead.

Hampton wouldn't fold; Dixon rallied his troops and marched 91 yards in 10 plays to regain the lead. The drive concluded with Dixon finding sophomore receiver Jerome Mathis on a 54-yard touchdown strike. An unsportsmanlike penalty again pushed Bolden back for a kick and the PAT failed leaving HU with a 21-17 lead.

Alcorn would not be denied though. Carrie would return to the skies, first hitting Kris Peters twice and then locating Jones in the corner of the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown pass. The drive took only 1:20 but covered 72 yards and gave Alcorn the lead for good. Hampton committed a whopping 21 yards for 198 yards. The penalties negated several scoring opportunities and when combined with three turnovers proved to be too much to overcome.

The Pirates (2-2) will take a much-needed week off before traveling to Dover to play Delaware State. Alcorn State (2-1) will look to continue its momentum at home next Saturday against Alabama State.

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