LORMAN, Miss. — The Grambling State University football team nearly rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit, but the Tigers came up just short in falling to Alcorn State, 24-20, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at Jack Spinks Stadium.
Alcorn State (3-2 overall, 2-0 SWAC) took the opening the kickoff and went 75 yards in just four plays as Felix Harper hit LeCharles Pringle in stride for a 45-yard touchdown strike, giving the Braves the 7-0 lead with 13:26 remaining in the first quarter.
Grambling State (2-4, 1-2) closed the gap on its first offensive series as the Tigers marched 47 yards in seven plays as Garrett Urban booted a season-long and career-long 45-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 7-3 with 10:57 left in the quarter.
The Braves took advantage of a blocked punt and excellent field position as Harper rushed 14 yards up the middle and into the end zone, extending Alcorn State’s lead to 14-3 with 6:43 remaining in the opening frame.
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Alcorn State’s defense forced a Tiger punt and the Braves’ offense went to work. ASU went 72 yards in seven plays, taking 2:49 off the clock. Pringle caught his second touchdown pass, this time a 13-yard strike from Harper, as the Braves increased the advantage to 21-3 with 13:48 left in the first half.
Grambling State took advantage of a personal foul penalty and went 35 yards in five plays as Urban booted his second field goal of the day — a 39-yarder — as the Tigers closed the gap to 21-6 with 5:17 remaining.
Alcorn State continued to add to the lead with 4:55 left in the third as Noah Kiani kicked a 23-yard field, which gave the Braves a 24-6 lead.
Grambling State answered and closed the gap on its next drive as the Tigers went 70 yards in six plays as Noah Bodden connected with Darryl Clark for a 20-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 24-13 with 1:24 remaining in the third.
The Tigers continued to rally and turned an Alcorn State turnover into seven points on their next drive.
Aldon Clark’s 20-yard touchdown pass to the right corner was caught by Greg White as Grambling State trimmed the margin to 24-20 with 14:18 left.
The Tigers had opportunities over the final 10 minutes, but could not get over the hump as turnovers plagued Grambling State in the rally attempt.
Courtesy: GSU Athletics
