Oct. 29, 2005

Final Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - After 15 minutes of the 64th Magic City Classic, everything seemed to be pointing towards a big Alabama State victory and a Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division title.

But if ever there was a time that Murphy's Law seeped its way into the Hornets' football plans, it happened at Legion Field on Saturday. Poor special teams play, injuries and the inability to make game-changing plays at crucial moments led to a 31-28 loss to the Bulldogs that put a wrench in any SWAC Championship Game plans.

"It's a hard loss to swallow," head coach Charles Coe said. "We're going to have to go back and assess some things and see what's working for us and what's not. We just gave them too many opportunities. When you give a good team opportunities like that, they'll take advantage. That's what happened."

Kelcy Luke scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 2:41 remaining to give Alabama A&M the win, bragging rights for a year, a one-game lead in the Magic City Classic series, and new life in the race for the Eastern Division championship.

"We knew this game was going to come down to special teams," running back Keldrick Williams said. "Just watching the tape from previous games, that's the way it always was. We just didn't get the job done."

Alabama State kicker Anthony Johnson missed two extra points, allowed a punt return for a touchdown and gave up two two-point conversions to the Bulldogs. Still, ASU had an opportunity to win at the end of the game as the offense - which finished with 400 yards - got the ball with the chance to win or at least send the game into overtime.

But an intentional grounding call on third down and a fumble on a last gasp attempt on fourth and long ended ASU's chance at victory as Alabama A&M ran out the clock.

"You've got to take your hat off to Alabama A&M," Coe said. "They came out and did what they needed to do to win this game. There's nothing more you can say about it. They made more plays than we did and made big ones when it mattered."

Bama State looked in complete control early. After Johnson gave the Hornets a 3-0 lead with a 25-yard field goal on the first drive, the defense stopped the Bulldogs on a fourth-and-2 play on the ensuing drive. The offense went back to work, scoring on a 24-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tarvaris Jackson to Williams and a 28-yard scoring strike from Jackson to Alvance Robinson on back-to-back series that put ASU on top 16-0.

That's where the trouble began.

Johnson would miss the extra point before both teams exchanged punts. Unfortunately, the punt from ASU's Ricky Billings was a line drive right into the hands of A&M Emmanuel Edwards, who returned it 48 yards for a score. A two-point conversion cut the ASU lead in half.

"That punt return really hurt," defensive end Kerry Frazier said. "It gave them that boost they were looking for. That really turned things around."

A&M would score another touchdown and add another two-point conversion to tie the game. But Jackson would hit Chris Maddox with a 27-yard touchdown pass right before halftime. Johnson would miss another extra point but ASU still led 22-16.

After a scoreless third quarter, A&M took the lead for the first time 90 seconds into the fourth quarter. But the Hornets responded quickly as Jackson fourth scoring pass ended up in the hands of Lorenzo Hoffman that put Bama State back on top with 8:06 to play.