Alcorn State 31, Jackson State 14

November 19, 2005

JACKSON, Miss. ­ Jeremy McCoy continued his run toward 1,000 yards, getting a Capital City Classic victory along the way.

McCoy finished with a season-high 183 yards on 29 carries ­ the same number as his jersey ­ to lead Alcorn to a 31-14 victory over Jackson State at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. It marked Alcorn’s third straight victory in the storied rivalry.

The 183 yards leaves McCoy needing less than 100 in the season finale against Grambling State to reach the 1,000-yard plateau.

“It’s a big goal to get it, for me and the offensive line,” McCoy said. “The offensive line has been behind me trying to get there. They block. If you look at film, they open the holes and I just run through them.

And my fullback, Ken Williams, is the best fullback in the SWAC.” McCoy and the Alcorn running game dominated the game, even though the score didn’t indicate it until the final quarter.

Alcorn squandered several prime scoring opportunities ­ most notably a blocked punt in the opening minutes ­ before pulling away with two touchdowns in the final 14 minutes.

“We’re just glad to come out with the victory and bounce back from a very disappointing loss,” Alcorn coach Johnny Thomas said.

The third straight Classic victory assured Alcorn of a winning season, just a week after Alabama A&M eliminated the Braves (6-4 overall, 5-3 in SWAC) from conference title contention.

Alcorn led just 17-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but freshmen Tony Hobson and Emmanuel Arceneaux made a game-changing play.

Hobson lofted a pass to wide receiver Charlie Spiller, but the pass was underthrown and tipped by a Jackson State defender. Arceneaux caught the carom, picked up a block from Spiller and darted into the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown catch.

“The ball slipped out of my hand,” Hobson said. “It was trying to go to Spiller because he was one-on-one.

It got tipped, and Arceneaux came out of nowhere.” Hobson, a product of Jackson’s Jim Hill High School, finished 13-of-19 for 159 yards and two TDs. He also threw a 19-yard TD to McCoy in the first half, and Hobson also scored on a 5-yard run.

McCoy capped the victory with an 8-yard TD run with 3:06 to play.

The Alcorn defense held the Tigers (2-9, 2-7) to just 179 yards, and defensive end Martin Jackson had two sacks. He needs just two more to break the school record.

Ken Bradford also got his fifth interception of the season.