Grambling falls at Alabama A&M as late rallies highlight SWAC action
Alabama A&M scored 44 unanswered points against Grambling State, while Jackson State and Prairie View A&M used fourth-quarter scores to secure victories.
By Derek Payne
Contributing Writer
Grambling State surrendered an early 14-point lead in a 61-31 loss to Alabama A&M on Saturday, Oct. 17, while Southern had an open date during the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s seventh week of football.
Jackson State rallied past Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M edged Alcorn State, Bethune-Cookman defeated Mississippi Valley State and Alabama State held off Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Texas Southern also was idle.
Alabama A&M 61, Grambling State 31
Alabama A&M scored 44 unanswered points and piled up 669 yards of offense to turn a 17-3 deficit into a homecoming victory.
Cornelious Brown IV passed for 417 yards and five touchdowns for the Bulldogs (6-2, 3-1 SWAC). Jaylan Bean caught 10 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns.
Grambling (4-3, 2-2) led by two touchdowns early in the second quarter, but Alabama A&M took a 19-17 halftime lead on a 56-yard field goal. The Bulldogs then scored 35 points in the third quarter.
Tony Phillips Jr. returned a kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown for Grambling, which finished with 239 yards of offense.
Jackson State 27, Florida A&M 17
Jackson State scored 15 unanswered fourth-quarter points to win its homecoming game before 44,173 fans at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Trailing 17-12, the Tigers moved ahead on Jared Lockhart’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Jabari Jones with 12:21 remaining. Lockhart added a two-point conversion run.
After Terrance Hibbler Jr. recovered a Florida A&M fumble, Nate Blount IV scored on a 2-yard run to extend the lead with 9:49 left.
Jackson State (6-1, 3-1) rushed for 228 yards and held the ball for more than 36 minutes. Florida A&M fell to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Prairie View A&M 41, Alcorn State 38
Ethan Eddins kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining to lift Prairie View A&M past Alcorn State.
Alcorn quarterback Jaylon Tolbert threw for 356 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Braves overcome an early 14-0 deficit and take a 35-31 third-quarter lead.
Prairie View regained the advantage in the fourth quarter before Alcorn tied it at 38 on Kenyon Bowyer’s 25-yard field goal. Eddins then supplied the winning kick, and the Panthers stopped Alcorn’s final possession.
Prairie View improved to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in the SWAC. Alcorn dropped to 4-4 and 2-2 despite outgaining the Panthers 505-397.
Bethune-Cookman 34, Mississippi Valley State 14
Jaden Davis intercepted three passes, recorded nine tackles and returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown to lead Bethune-Cookman.
Tyler Jefferson threw two touchdown passes to Rickie Shaw II and ran for two more scores as the Wildcats erased an early 7-0 deficit.
Bethune-Cookman’s defense recorded six sacks, helping the Wildcats improve to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Mississippi Valley State fell to 3-5 and 2-2.
Alabama State 21, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 15
Ta’Shaun Sims intercepted a pass with less than a minute remaining to preserve Alabama State’s road victory.
Jareese Howard rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries for the Hornets. Jamarie Hostzclaw added a 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Alabama State snapped a two-game losing streak and earned its first road victory of the season, improving to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the SWAC.
