Counting down the Albany Area’s Top 10 sports stories of 2018 — No. 9: Albany State football rebounds from 0-3 start

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Herald’s sports staff has chosen the Albany area’s Top 10 sports stories from 2018. Today marks the second of the 10 we’ve picked as having a significant influence as we count down to No. 1, which will appear in the Dec. 31 edition.

ALBANY — After starting the season with three straight losses, most gave up on Albany State University’s football team.

The Rams weren’t just beaten in those three games —they were beaten soundly by Valdosta State, Tuskegee and West Georgia by a combined 110-35.

But the Rams turned things around, winning seven straight to capture the East Division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Rams lost to Miles College 50-23 in the SIAC Championship Game after defeating the Golden Bears 30-24 during the regular season.

The fact that Albany State finished the 2018 season with a 7-4 record, especially after the way things started, was a momentum-builder for next season.

Things started slowly for the Rams during their seven-game winning streak. Playing on the road at Lane College, Albany State built a 14-0 advantage behind Kelias Williams. The quarterback threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Mike Green, while also scoring on a 2-yard scamper. Lane cut the deficit to a single score in the fourth quarter before ASU held on for a 14-7 victory.

Albany State then defeated Miles College 30-24 on Sept. 29 before scoring a 35-21 road victory at Catawba College on Oct. 6 to bring its season record to .500 at 3-3.

The Rams then handed Morehouse College a 41-19 setback, the Maroon Tigers’ first loss of the year, in a rare Sunday afternoon game in Atlanta. ASU rolled up 472 yards of total offense, while limiting Morehouse to just 218.

ASU seemed to gain steam with each victory. Starting with the Rams’ homecoming on Oct. 20, Albany State put together perhaps its most impressive run of the streak. They outscored Clark-Atlanta, Benedict and Fort Valley State by a combined 97-9.

“I just hope they see that this is a hard-nosed team that plays for each other,” ASU coach Gabe Giardina said after beating Clark-Atlanta 36-3 on homecoming. “And I want them to see how special it is to play here. Our fans prove that to us every week when they show up no matter where we go, and I just hope they get to see that and just how special it is to play here.”

Albany State put the exclamation point on the regular season with a 40-6 thumping of arch-rival Fort Valley State in the annual Fountain City Classic in Columbus to improve its record to 7-3.

The Rams scored 17 points in the last four minutes of the third quarter to turn a close game into a rout. McKinley Habersham and Tracy Scott scored rushing touchdowns, while kicker Gabriel Ballinas kicked a 44-yard field goal to help ASU build a 33-6 advantage en route to the East Division crown.

But playing on Miles College’s home field in the SIAC Championship Game the following week, the Rams never led against the Bears. After trailing 20-17 at halftime, Miles scored 23 unanswered points to take control and win the conference title.