Albany State wins fourth straight in front of huge homecoming crowd

A huge homecoming crowd poured into Albany State Coliseum and the campus of Albany State East on a warm, sunny October afternoon to watch the Golden Rams take down the Lane College Golden Dragons handily 33-16. The win is Albany State’s fourth straight after two opening losses. The game was never really in question after the Rams asserted their will on the first possession when quarterback Dionte Bonneau hit a wide-open Rashad Jordan in the middle of the field with a 66-yard touchdown pass.

Lane did give the “Dirty Blue” Golden Ram defense a little trouble with its big running back Kingston Davis. The 6’ 230-pound University of Michigan transfer from Montgomery. Ala was tough to bring down early in the game and he powered a drive down the field to even the score at 7-7 late in the first quarter.

“He laid the wood on us good a couple of times,” head coach Gabe Giardina said of Davis. “But we figured out we had to go just as hard at him and we got him down.”

Even though the Dragons had one weapon, the Golden Rams had several. That was evident on the next drive when McKinley Habersham broke loose for a 38-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Rams a lead they would never lose.

As the South Georgia afternoon sun started to bear down on the Coliseum, some of the biggest celebrations in the stands came when a big breeze blew through to the delight of the Ram faithful. The Ram faithful also enjoyed it when Bonneau with Jordan again – this time for a 40-yard touchdown pass and the Rams led 21-7 early in the second quarter after Gabe Ballinas hit the extra point.

The Golden Rams scored five more points before the half when Ballinas booted a 42-yard field goal and former Deerfield Windsor star Derek Davis caught the Lane quarterback in the end zone for a a safety. Davis is from Leesburg and is a redshirt sophomore playing on that “Dirty Blue” defense.

Habersham scored again early in the fourth quarter for the final Golden Ram score. He blew through the defense for a 17-yard run for six and Ballinas added the point put the final at 33-13.

“It was a great crowd,” Giardina said. “It got really hot, but the fans got into the game and it made a difference to our guys. Our guys appreciate the family and fans coming to support the team and the university.”

The Golden Rams have one final home game this season – next Saturday against rival Benedict College with kick-off planned for 2 p.m. Benedict is 0-5 so far this season, but just barely lost to SIAC champion Miles College 24-21 on Saturday.

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Special Photo: Reginald Christian