As the rain began to fall, Alcorn State Braves’ junior quarterback Donald Carrie averted a close sack and delivered a 24-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Charlie Spiller secured a 36-34 Alcorn State (3-5, 2-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) win over Southern (7-1, 4-1 SWAC).
There were only 40 seconds left in regulation when Spiller penetrated the Jags’ secondary and handed Southern their first loss of the season.
“We didn’t make the plays we had to make on the offense,” said Jags’ head coach Pete Richardson. “We had a number of opportunities, but we fell behind the chains and failed to make some first downs.”
Southern has been dominating the opposition since last November, riding a 10-game winning streak. So what was it about such a young Alcorn State offense that found a way to dominate the conference’s best pass defense and secondary?
“We just weren’t focused. We were looking at Alcorn State’s record of 2-5 and not looking at them as a team,” said senior wide receiver Erin Damond. “They had nothing to lose and they came out fighting. But this is a stepping stone. We can’t take teams for granted.”
Only 54 seconds had passed when Jags quarterback Quincy Richard rushed 24 yards for the first score of the game, but it only took just over a minute for Spiller to comeback with a 61-yard reception.
“They’re a good team,” Spiller said. “But because we were 2-5, people were underestimating us because of our record. But we came here to win and we had to make some key plays to do that.”
The conference’s top rated defense was ineffective against Carrie’s four touchdowns and 379 passing yards. Although he had passed an interception in six of seven games this season, he left the field without any turnovers and completed 23 of 40 passes.
“This was a hard fought ball game,” said Braves’ head coach Johnny Thomas. “Even though our receivers are relatively young, we managed to throw past the receivers.”
Special teams played important roles on both teams. Southern kicker Montie Ackley successfully kicked two field goals and Braves’ sophomore kicker David McConnell successfully kicked three, including a crucial 26-yard field goal with five minutes left in the third quarter.
After Alcorn State gained a 20-13 lead early in the third quarter, Jags’ junior running back Kenneth Peoples and senior wide receiver Lionel Joseph both responded with two touchdowns.
The “seesaw” scoring continued in the fourth quarter with a 27-yard touchdown reception by Braves’ sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Clark.
With 2:33 left in the game, Richard ran a 1-yard touchdown placing the Jags atop ASU 34-30. He finished the game completing 18 of 31 passes for 194 yards with 1 INT.
Though Alcorn State was out of time outs, they earned two third-down conversions and three first downs before Carrie found Spiller in the back of the end zone for the final score of the game.
A CURSE?
Could this be the start of some sort of SU-Alcorn State curse? Until Saturday night, the Jags were on a 10-game winning streak (since Nov. 2002) and Alcorn State was the last team they had lost to. They had also lost by two points (22-20) in a game where Southern had come from behind too little and much too late in the third quarter. Eerily enough, it rained on that game, also.
Alcorn State was just trying to maintain respect in the SWAC and in Saturday’s dramatic victory, Jags’ fans and the team alike were left stunned and trying to find rationale in the defeat.
“We knew all week long that it was going to be a dogfight,” said Jags’ junior wide receiver Alfred Ard. “We just didn’t respond. But to rebound, we’re just going to have to learn from our mistakes.”
Meanwhile, in the little corner of A.W. Mumford Stadium that is reserved for visiting teams, Braves’ supporters jubilated as if the ASU had just won the Sugar Bowl, while Spiller and wide out Corvin Johnson threw up their lunch on the field because of the excitement.
“This was huge for us,” said Braves’ head coach Johnny Thomas. “We’ve never given up on the season. This was one big step for us to prove that we are still contenders in the SWAC.”
Peoples ended the game with 18 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown in the season. But it wasn’t enough for the junior running back that departed from the field quickly in the defeat. It wasn’t enough for the Southern offense and it wasn’t enough for Jags’ offensive lineman Chad Green. But he has learned a hard lesson in the defeat.
“We can’t take anymore teams lightly like we did against Alcorn State,” Green said. “We just have to come out hard in every game. No more playing light.”
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Jags suffer first defeat of season
October 28, 2003
Jaguar defense pile up on a Alcorn State back – Photo by Ryan Kinght/DIGEST.
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