West Georgia too much for Albany State

ALBANY — In what has been a rough start for the Albany State football team, progress was made Saturday against West Georgia.

The Golden Rams finally got their offense going, taking an 11-point lead in the second quarter. They also cut down on pre-snap penalties, something that cost them in their first two games.

Still, Albany State didn’t have all the answers. West Georgia, ranked 10th in the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll, scored five unanswered touchdowns, dominating the second half en route to a 45-21 Wolves victory at the ASU Coliseum.

“More positives in this game than in the first two,” ASU head coach Gabe Giardina said. “We found ourselves a little bit, and that is encouraging.

“At the same time, we’re still 0-3. We come to work Monday as a team to be hungry and prove that we can still be a good football team and get ready for conference play in the SIAC. We’re building toward that, and that’s exciting. There’s a good football team in that locker room that has not put two halves together yet.”

After failing to get going offensively in losses to Valdosta State and Tuskegee, Albany State went with a run-heavy option set in the first half against West Georgia (3-0).

With Kelias Williams under center, Albany State held possession for just shy of 18 minutes in the first half, flipping the time-of-possession situation it faced in a 20-0 loss to Tuskegee a week earlier. The Rams picked up 196 yards and 10 first downs in the first half, eclipsing their full-game yardage totals from each of their previous games.

A pair of Williams touchdown runs put Albany State up 21-10 with 3:41 to go in the second quarter.

“In the first half, we moved the ball well,” Giardina said. “We kind of kept their offense at bay, and we did a good job of keeping them off the field.”

West Georgia, however, flipped the tables in the second half, holding Albany State to 40 rushing yards while taking control of things.

The Wolves, who cut Albany State’s lead to four late in the second quarter on Shannon Smith’s 27-yard scoring reception, took the lead on the second-half kickoff. LaPerion Perry fielded the ball at his own goal line and went the distance, recording a 100-yard return for a touchdown.

“We had a critical error with the kickoff in the second half — I put that on me, that’s something that cannot happen — and we never really recovered,” Giardina said.

West Georgia finished with 505 yards of total offense. Wolves quarterback Willie Candler completed 15-of-20 passe for 236 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, adding 86 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Devontae Jackson, who is closing in on West Georgia career rushing and all-purpose yardage records, ran for 140 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Williams completed 8-of-10 passes for 53 yards, throwing one interception. He also ran for 86 yards on 15 carries. Stephon Masha completed 1-of-3 passes for 13 yards while rushing for 22 yards on two carries.

Albany State’s Tracy Scott ran for 88 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.