By T. Scott Boatright
LORMAN, Miss. – A late score followed by even later interception gave Alcorn State the winning edge Saturday afternoon as the Braves topped Grambling State 25-24 at Casem-Spinks Stadium.
Trailing 24-19, Alcorn State scored the winning touchdown with 1:42 remaining in the game as Braves quarterback Aaron Allen fired a 12-yard scoring strike to Travarious Griffin that put the Braves up by only one point after their two-point conversion attempt failed.
Grambling took back over at its own 22-yard line with 1:42 left on the clock, and the Braves secured the win four plays later when Andrew Smith picked off a pass attempt by GSU quarterback Myles Crawley.
Alcorn State then chewed up the final 1:04 and climbed to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference while Grambling dropped to 3-3 and 2-1 in the SWAC.
Grambling struck first on a Jakobe Scott fumble recovery in the Alcorn Zone to go on top 7-0 only 2:14 into the contest, but Alcorn State countered with a touchdown pass followed by a pick six on the ensuing GSU possession to take a 13-7 lead at the 6:22 mark of the opening stanza after the Braves’ point after kick attempt failed..
Floyd Chalk IV’s four-yard scoring scamper with 3:33 left in the first quarter gave the Tigers a 14-13 advantage they would retain into the second half.
Grambling pushed its advantage to eight points after quarterback Myles Crawley fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Lyndon Rash, who ripped the ball out of a defender’s hands for the score that put the Tigers on top 21-13 with 11:18 remaining in the third quarter.
But it didn’t take the Braves long to again cut into Grambling’s lead as Allen connected with Anthony Williams on a 20-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter that pulled Alcorn State within two points at 21-19.
Grambling’s Tanner Rinker added a 27-yard field goal at the 2:58 mark of the third quarter to give the Tigers’ the 24-19 they held before Alcorn State’s late comeback.
Alcorn State focused on slowing Grambling State’s usually-strong rushing attack, holding GSU to 60 yards on the ground.
Crawley connected on 14-of-27 pass attempts on the day for 233 yards but was intercepted three times while also throwing the TD strike to Rash.
Antonio Jones led the Tigers in receiving with three catches for 118 yards.
Defensively, Lewis Matthews once again led the G-Men with 14 tackles along with 1l 1/2 sacks while Sundiata Anderson also turned in a strong game with six takedowns and 1 1/2 sacks.
Next up for GSU is Homecoming 2023, when the Tigers will play host to Alabama A&M with kickoff set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
