Arkansas-Pine Bluff 17, Alcorn State 7

October 1, 2005

ALCORN STATE, Miss. ­ Arkansas-Pine Bluff earned its first victory of the season by beating Alcorn State 17-7 on Saturday night at Jack Spinks Stadium.

The Golden Lions (1-4 overall, 1-2 in SWAC) scored 17 points in the first half, thanks to a ball control offense, and held on for the victory.

“UAPB had the will, the determination and the drive to play the game physically,” Alcorn State coach Johnny Thomas said, “and they had a well designed gameplan on offense and defense. They executed and won the football game.” UAPB scored all its points in the first half, as the Golden Lions held the ball for 24:19 and ran 43 plays to just 13 for Alcorn.

The Golden Lions finished with 389 yards on 78 plays ­ more than double the number of plays that Alcorn ran.

Tony Joseph led UAPB with 131 yards on 28 carries, and Mickey Dean added two touchdown runs in a 13-carry, 64-yard performance.

“They beat us at the line of scrimmage,” Thomas said.

The Golden Lions took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter when John Heflin kicked a 42-yard field goal to cap a nine-play, 39-yard drive.

UABP added to its lead on the first play of the second quarter when Dean scored on a 3-yard run to end a 12-play, 93-yard drive that took 6:35 off the clock.

Then, the Golden Lions sapped nine minutes off the clock with a 17-play, 94-yard drive. Dean scored on a 2-yard run with 3:09 to play before halftime.

Alcorn appeared to get back in the game when Michael Shepherd broke a 71-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, but that was about all the offense Alcorn could muster.

Alcorn finished with 202 yards of total offense, including just 24 yards passing on 2-of-13 attempts.

Charlie Spiller did not catch a pass ­ snapping a streak of 19 straight games with at least one reception ­ and the Golden Lions also notched an interception.

Shepherd provided a bright spot for Alcorn, as he finished with a career-high 127 yards on 15 carries.

Lester Mosley also tallied 14 tackles, while Martin Jackson added 10.

Ken Bradford also intercepted a pass in the end zone in the second half to thwart another UAPB scoring threat.

Injuries continued to pile up for Alcorn. Starting running back Jeremy McCoy did not play because of a hamstring injury, and fill-in starter Vernardus Cooper injured a knee after just seven carries for 29 yards. Starting tackle Bronson Carvalho didn’t play.