Albany State tops Allen in Columbia, 32-28

Staff Reports

COLUMBIA, S.C. – In a contest delayed by nearly an hour due to weather, the two gridiron foes produced plenty of offensive lightning and 60 combined points once the game was underway. Trailing midway through the opening quarter, Albany State turned to the big play four times resulting in three-straight touchdowns, an important defensive stop and the lead it held for the final 36-plus minutes in a 32-28 football victory over Allen University.
 
After the Yellow Jackets found the end zone on each of its opening two possessions, the Golden Rams pulled four big-play cards out of their deck. Quarterback Jeffery Davis connected with Exavior Sherrod from 45 yards for the touchdown to pull within a point, 14-13, at 1:45 in the first frame. On the ensuing home drive, Allen made it to the ASU 3-yard line where Rontavion Scott picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it 75 yards.
 
Midway through the second quarter, Jayden Threatts found plenty of daylight on the right side and raced 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Forcing another Allen punt on the next drive, Cameron Watts caught the punt, refused to be wrapped up and bounced off the tackle, before he raced down the right sideline with teammates escorting him to the end zone for the 69-yard touchdown and 26-14 lead. ASU’s Jonathan Rodriguez booted a pair of second-half field goals and sealed the win.
 
“I’m proud of our football team because we started slow and we allowed them to drive down the field and score on us (early). We have to clean up some things on special teams with our kick-off return defense, but we got our own kick returns going. Our offense was very efficient as we ran the ball well and our passing eventually opened up,” explained ASU Head Coach David Bowser.
 
With the win, ASU evens its mark to 2-2 on the year and recorded its 11^th-straight Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory and now 2-0 in the league this year. The win also evened the all-time series against Allen (2-2/1-1 SIAC) at 4-4-2 and third-straight year winning the match up.
 
“Pleased overall (with the game and our effort), but we have a lot to clean up before we play next week,” noted Bowser. “We will enjoy the win for 24 hours and then pick it back up and move on to the next phase.”
 
Carrying the load for the offense, Threatts, a redshirt freshman, posted his biggest day of his career with 228 yards on 19 carries for a 12.0-yard per carry average and the 80-yard touchdown – all while not losing a single yard. He accounted for 228 of the team’s 271 yards on the ground. Roderick McCrary added 46 yards on 12 tries and pulled in a team-high 5 passes for 46 receiving yards.
 
“I have been telling everyone Threatts is special and he’s showing it every week when he goes out there,” said Bowser.
 
Jeffery Davis completed 13 of 19 pass attempts for 193 yards and two scores without an interception. Sherrod had one of the completions for a 45-yard touchdown, while Omarion Dupree had the first scoring strike from 14 yards of the day and two for 35 yards. Duke Timmons pulled in four passes for 33 yards and Jaquan Graham had one for 24 yards.
 
ASU outgained Allen by 120 yards (465 to 345) on only seven more offensive plays. The Rams’ balance finished as 271 rushing and 193 passing yards.
 
The reining SIAC Special Teams Player of the Week, Watts made his case for repeat of the honor with his 69-yard punt return touchdown. The senior defensive back returned one kick off 16 yards and posted two tackles on defense to round out the night.
 
“He’s a defensive guy when he gets the ball in his hands as he knows what to do with it. I’m very proud of him tonight as he played well. He has the ability to be elusive (which he showed on the punt return) and that is big,” said Bowser.
 
Linebacker Jimmy Dawson paced the Rams’ defense with 6 tackles and one for a loss. Ricky McCrary chipped in five stops. Kyle Williams and Avery Hall teamed with the lone ASU sack. Scott picked off the key first-half pass and returned it 75 yards to go with a pair of tackles.
 
After giving up 115 yards on the first two home possessions, the ASU defense allowed only 156 yards the last 51 minutes of play.
 
The foot of kicker Jonathan Rodriguez was all the Golden Rams needed to stay ahead in the second half. The redshirt freshman capped a 55-yard drive with a 35-yard field goal early in the third (10:02) for an 8-point ASU lead, 29-21. His second one, a 19-yard chip shot, pushed the Ram lead to double figures, 32-21, with 7:17 remaining.
 
Following four road games to start the 10-game regular season, ASU finally makes it first home appearance next weekend! It will be ‘Family Weekend’ at the ASU Coliseum when the highly talented Kentucky State team comes to southwest Georgia next Saturday (Sept. 26) in a 1 p.m. kick-off.
 
“I am so excited to finally get to come to the Coliseum in front of the home crowd,” smiled Bowser. “We practice there but it’s not the same thing as I am looking forward to Saturday with the crowd, having the band and being with the alumni. It will be exciting just to be home.”