The Alabama State football team dropped a 24-21 decision to Arkansas-Pine Bluff Thursday night at Cramton Bowl.
Trailing 24-14 in the fourth quarter, Alabama State (2-2 overall, 2-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) drove 69 yards in seven plays.
Greg Jenkins' 17-yard touchdown pass to
Justin Robinson cut the Hornets' deficit to 24-21 with 3:19 to play.
After the Hornets' defense held Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-1, 2-1) to a three-and-out, Alabama State regained possession with 2:06 to play. The Hornets drove 43 yards in eight plays to get into scoring range, but
Bobby Wenzig's 44-yard field goal attempt with 56 seconds to play went wide right.
“It was a fun game to be a part of; it was real competitive,” head coach
Reggie Barlow said. “We played a really good team and they did a good job against us. Our guys did fight back in the fourth quarter, but unfortunately it was a bit too late.”
Alabama State hurt itself with several dropped passes that could have gone for big plays, and committed 13 penalties for 115 yards.
“It was a sloppy game,” Barlow said. “Taking nothing away from Pine Bluff; I thought coming they were a really good team and they did a good job. (However), you can't have that many penalties. I'm talking about personal foul penalties…receivers covering guys up – that's high school stuff. We have to correct it, we have to watch the film, and try to improve.”
Trailing 7-0, the Hornets scored on their second drive of the second quarter. ASU drove 77 yards in eight plays, taking less than three minutes off the clock. The key play was a 23-yard pass from Jenkins to
Darren Daniel to the UAPB 9-yard line. Two plays later,
Isaiah Crowell's four-yard touchdown run tied the score at 7-all with 5:07 to play until halftime.
Opening the second half down 14-7, the Hornets begin the third quarter with a 10-play, 82-yard scoring drive.
Malcolm Cyrus' first career touchdown, a 13-yard run to the left far pylon, tied the score at 14-all with 10:26 to play in the third quarter.
Alabama State returns to action Saturday, September 29 at Alcorn State.
