Final Stats
Sept. 2, 2006 -
Troy, Ala. - The first 15 minutes of Alabama State`s 2006 football season were encouraging for head coach Charles Coe. Although his offense sputtered, his defense was rock solid, dominating the line of scrimmage and shutting out Troy's new high-powered offense.
However, the Trojan offense eventually found its rhythm en route to a 38-0 victory over the Hornets.
"I'm really proud of our guys' effort," Coe said. "Not that I'm satisfied, but the soothsayers believed we'd lose by 50 or 60 points. There are a lot of things we have to work on, as coaches and as players. But the effort was definitely there."
After struggling in the first quarter, the Trojans began to find their rhythm behind quarterback Omar Haugabook. After he completed three straight passes for 41 yards, the Hornets defense stiffened. On a second down from the ASU 27 yard line, Jimmy Toussaint intercepted a pass. However, the officials called pass interference, giving the Trojans new life. On the very next play, Haugabook took quick advantage of the penalty by throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to Gary Banks.
Hornet starting quarterback T'Chelpio Woods never found his groove, passing for only 41 yards and completing seven out of 14 passes. ASU was unable to sustain any offensive drives, and the defense paid the price. The Hornet defense was on the field for 18 minutes and 37 seconds of the first half, and fatigue began to set in.
The Trojans started their next drive on their own 42 yard line and marched methodically down the field on a 14-yard drive lasting more than four and a half minutes. The drive culminated in another Haugabook-to-Banks touchdown, this one covering 13 yards. The Trojans led 14-0.
ASU got the ball back but was forced to punt after three plays. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Troy's Leodis McKelvin returned Anthony Johnson's punt 37 yards and set the Trojans up at ASU's 19 yard line.
Five plays later, with only four seconds remaining in the half, Haugabook threw his third touchdown pass. This one went to Mykeal Terry, putting the Trojans ahead 21-0 and deflating a Hornet team fighting to stay close.
"We really didn't want to give up that score right before the half," Coe said. "That hurt us and we had to go into the locker room on a down note."
The second half wasn't much better for the Hornets. After Haugabook threw his fourth and final touchdown pass of the game to Smokey Hampton, Julian Foster came in at quarterback and completed a touchdown pass of his own. It was a six-yard pass to Gary Banks. Kicker Greg Whibbs rounded out the scoring with a 39-yard field goal.
"We don't leave here with our heads down," Coe said. "This was definitely valuable. Next week we go into SWAC play, and our new guys now know what college football is all about. Plus, some guys showed positive things tonight that we can build on."
One of those guys was quarterback Alex Engram, who came on in relief of Woods. Showing great mobility and the ability to throw the ball on the run, Engram completed four out of eight passes for 28 yards and ran for a team-high 37 yards.
When asked which quarterback would start the Hornets' next game, Coe was noncommittal.
"We've got to go back and look at the game film," Coe said. "Engram gave us a bit of a spark, but we'll make a decision sometime during the week."
Defensively, Michael Figgers led the Hornets with eight tackles. Chris Dupuy and Michael Coe had six each.
The Hornets open their SWAC campaign when they host Texas Southern next Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at Cramton Bowl.
