Ulysses Banks rushed for a school-record 211 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries as Alabama A&M won its home-opener 41-10 over Clark-Atlanta. The sophomore tailback from Birmingham, who was an All-America kick returner as a freshman, scored the Bulldogs’ first two touchdowns in just over the first 10 minutes of the game and gave A&M the lead for good at 14-7 with 4:22 remaining in the first.
The Bulldogs easily took the lead on the Panthers, taking the opening kickoff and driving 73 yards in five plays for a Banks three-yard score at 12:59. The key play was Banks breaking away for a 39-yard run to set up the score.
Clark-Atlanta answered on its second drive when quarterback Corey Jones hit a streaking Mortimer Lightburn for a 61-yard tying score at 7:12 of the first.
Banks and the Bulldogs took the lead for good with a four-yard counter. The Bulldogs iced the game when quarterback Kelcy Luke found Rashad Johnson for a 65-yard touchdown pass with 2:49 left in the first.
After a flurry of scoring in the first, neither team scored the remainder of the half.
The Panthers struck first in the third on a 39-yard field goal by Henry Boynton.
Luke dominated the second half with three more scoring tosses. He finished with a career-high 301 yards passing, just missing the school record of 302. He hit Nate Baxter with a 15-yard score, Johnson again from 20 yards, and Charles Moody with a 26-yard strike.
