ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Braves compiled a total of 473 yards of offense to capture their first SWAC victory of the season over Mississippi Valley State 52-9.
After turning the ball over on downs on their first possession and an interception by senior Devon Francois, the Braves went to work on offense.
With great field position to start the drive, quarterback John Gibbs, Jr. connected with Darryan Ragsdale for a 20-yard pass to get the drive going. Freshman Arron Baker capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown to put the Braves on the board 7-0.
Ragsdale raced to the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown to give the Braves a 14-0 lead with .44 seconds to play in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter Gibbs found Billy Shed, who used some nifty moves to find his way to the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown to increase the Braves lead to 21-0.
Sophomore linebacker Darien Anderson recovered a fumble on a miscue by Mississippi Valley on the ensuing kickoff to give the Braves great field position inside the Delta Devils territory.
Three plays later, Gibbs hit Brandon Vessell for an amazing 26-yard diving touchdown to push the Braves lead to 28-0 with 9:57 to play in the second quarter.
Senior defensive back Hendrick Taylor intercepted a pass on Mississippi Valley’s next possession.
From their own nine-yard line, the Braves moved the ball all the way down into the Delta Devils territory and Ragsdale finished the drive off with a four-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 35-0. The Braves carried their 35-0 lead into the locker room at the half.
Late in the third quarter, Mississippi Valley finally got on the scoreboard on a safety by the defense making the score 35-2.
Mississippi Valley capitalized on the safety to score their first touchdown of the game cutting the lead to 35-9 with .03 seconds to go in the third quarter.
After Valley’s touchdown, Gibbs scored for the first time on a 25-yard run to give the Braves a 42-9 lead.
McCraney nailed a 29-yard field goal and Baker scored for the second the time in the game from 28 yards out to finish off the Delta Devils.
Baker finished with 79 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns. Gibbs completed 9-of-18 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
Francois recorded nine tackles, one tackle for a loss and intercepted a pass to lead the Braves defense. Damon Watkins chipped in eight solo tackles for the game.
Courtesy: alcornsports.com
