MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University football team opened its six-game home slate at New ASU Stadium on Saturday evening, shutting out the Lane College Dragons, 34-0, in a steady performance on both ends to stay undefeated on the young season.
The Hornets (2-0 overall) shut down its opposition all game, while the offense slowly continued pressing down on the gas until the lead created an unconquerable barrier for the Dragons (0-2), a Division II school in Western Tennessee.
ASU's pesky defense forced a fumble on the first play of the game, but it was recovered by Lane as the drive continued for six and a half minutes before a turnover on downs. The first Hornets drive resulted in a six-yard
Jamarie Hostzclaw touchdown, a fitting end to a series where the junior tailback was featured in five of the nine plays during the team's opening drive.
Lane took up the rest of the first period and three minutes of the next period setting up a 42-yard field goal try, only to have its best attempt at scoring in the half bounce off the crossbar and fall dead in front of the goalposts for the lead to remain in the hands of the home team.
Empty possessions were the result of each of the team's next attempts, although Lane's punt with nine minutes remaining was blocked and returned to the opposing 11-yard line. The Hornets took three points away from the turnover, as
Andrew Abu-Akel connected on a 21-yard attempt to make it a double-digit lead.
The Hornets extended its advantage quickly with a 20-yard pass from quarterback
Andrew Body to junior running back
TJ Ramsey to make it 17-0. The defensive unit ran the Dragons' offense off the field quickly, and the home squad ran four plays before converting a 43-yard kick.
The third quarter slowly evolved for the Hornets, as it exchanged several drives with the Dragons before a third-down Lane pass was intercepted by second-year ASU safety
Zamari Hall for his first takeaway of his career. The offense came on and immediately made an impact, as Body fired a 32-yard pass to
John Austin to get to the 17-yard line before the end of the period.
While the fourth period didn't see ASU finish the drive with a score, Lane's second play within its own five-yard line saw the ball hit the turf, as Hall forced the ball out and saw it recovered by redshirt freshman defensive lineman
Amarion Fuller. All the offense needed was one play, as
Jareese Howard ran in his second score of the season to make it 27-0.
After a long Lane drive that was cut short by Alabama State, quarterbacks
Aaron Frye and
Keegan Anderson led an effective, 10-play scoring drive that ended with an
Ashton Ashford touchdown with three and a half minutes to go. More defensive plays withheld any attempts at a Lane score, protecting the Hornets' lead through the final whistle.
The Hornets utilized a stable of backs to combine for 36 carries and 150 yards, led by Hostzclaw's 40 yards on seven attempts. Body, who got in on the ground action with 28 yards on four carries of his own, went 10-for-14 through the air for 113 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The Black Swarm defense had another stellar team effort, led by Montrel Campbell (seven tackles, five solo) and
Omari Russell (six solo tackles, two tackles for loss, sack).
Mitchell Robinson Jr. replicated his performance from the season-opener with five tackles (three solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup, and one of the team's three forced fumbles.
Alabama State notched its first shutout victory since a 27-0 win over Mississippi Valley State in November of 2019. On top of that, this marks the team's 15th consecutive game scoring at least 30 points, as the team has been able to maintain its consistent output under first-year offensive coordinator
Tony Hull.
The Hornets take on its last road opponent before entering conference play as it travels east to Troy University for a meeting against the Trojans next Saturday, Sept. 12. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. on Larry Blakeney Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
