Albany State Rams defeat Tuskegee 20-7 in White Water Classic

PHENIX CITY, Ala. — Albany State University spotted Tuskegee an opening quarter touchdown Saturday in the White Water Classic, then shut the Tigers down for the rest of the game to emerge with a 20-7 win.

The Golden Rams are 2-0 to start the young season while Tuskegee drops to 1-1.

The Tigers scored first after a missed Rams field goal. On its second possession, Tuskegee got the ball at the 20 and moved to its 29 on two plays before Hoderick Lowe broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run.

That would be all the offensive fireworks the Tigers would muster in the game. The Tigers also picked up 5 yards passing and 4 yards rushing on that drive, and would only collect 18 more rushing yards and 21 passing yards the rest of game.

The Golden Rams, who accumulated 462 yards with a balanced offense — 253 rushing yards and 209 yards passing — held Tuskegee to two first downs while they moved the chains 26 times.

The Golden Rams tied up the game in the second quarter with a drive that began on their own 13 yard line in the first stanza. Quarterback Chancellor Johnson hit Jalen Bush with a 13-yard strike to cap the 87-yard march downfield.

After holding Tuskegee to six yards and forcing a punt, the Rams started their go-ahead scoring drive on their own 22. Quandery Simmons hauled in a 21-yard pass from Johnson to give ASU a 13-7 advantage, with the point-after kick failing. The half ended with the Rams leading by six.

After the squads stymied each other for three possessions each in the third quarter, the Rams started the final scoring drive of the night on its 48 yard line after a holding penalty had advanced the Rams 10 yards on a fair catch at their 38.

McKinley Habersham, a junior running back who led all rushers with 144 yards on 23 carries, carried twice for 16 yards before Johnson stayed on the ground for another 10 to pick up a first down. Johnson then tossed his third scoring strike of the night, a 26-yarder to Mike Green. The PAT gave the Rams a 20-7 lead, which held up following a scoreless final quarter.

Habersham’s running was complemented by fellow junior Kelan Fraise’s 90 yards on 15 carries. Johnson, a redshirt freshman, picked up 34 yards on 8 carries on the ground and threw for another 209 with efficient passing, completing all but one of his 21 aerial attempts.

Green was the leading Rams receiver, picking up an even 100 yards on seven catches. Simmons had four receptions for 47 yards. In all, Johnson spread the ball around to seven receivers.

Lowe, who picked up 9 yards on his 9 other carries, ended up with 10 rushes for 80 yards to lead the Tigers’ offense. Tuskegee signal caller Jamarcus Ezell was 3 of 9 passing for 26 yards.

Albany State was efficient on third-down conversions, picking up nine of 13, and kept Tuskegee’s defense on the field most of the evening by controlling the ball for nearly 44 minutes to the Tigers’ just over 16. The Rams got off 68 offensive plays compared to 27 for Tuskegee.

The Rams next game is at 7 p.m. Saturday at ASU Coliseum, where the Rams will host North Greenville University.