Opportunistic TSU Spoils Opener for A&M;
Tennessee State capitalized on three critical Alabama A&M miscues in Saturday’s season opener to push its way to a 34-13 road victory at Louis Crews Stadium. The Tigers scored on a 65-yard pass that resulted from a near sack and scramble, a 94-yard kickoff return, and a 50-yard fumble recovery to squash the 2008 debut for the Bulldogs. Jeremy Licea’s career-long 43-yard field goal and Thomas Harris’ 105 yards on seven catches were highlights for the Bulldogs.
Kevin Atkins made his first career start at quarterback, finishing 16 of 31 for 185 yards. He also rushed for a team-high 55 yards and A&M’s first touchdown on the season.
Tennessee State took the opening drive 12 plays and 52 yards to set up a Eric Benson 31-yard field goal to open the scoring. Alabama A&M capitalized on the night’s first turnover later in the quarter to take the lead.
The Bulldogs’ Jeremy Maddox recovered a high snap to set up A&M at the TSU 28 yard line and seven plays later, Atkins gave the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead with 1:21 to play in the first.
The first of the three big plays for Tennessee State was short to come at the 14:14 mark of the second quarter. After nearly being sacked and forced out of the pocket, TSU quarterback Antonio Heffner scambled and found JaJuan Spillman on a blown coverage for a 65-yard touchdown strike.
Alabama A&M held its cool and responded with an 11-play, 66-yard drive that ate up over six minutes and ended with a Licea 24-yard field goal to tie the game at 10.
STORY AD BEGINS HERE
procad(”http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/CSTV.ALAM/SPORTS.MFOOTBL.RECAPS;pos=story;sz=300×250;dcopt=ist;”,0);
STORY AD ENDS HERE Spillman again broke A&M’s back on the ensuing kickoff. He split a seam straight up the middle of A&M return coverage and sped 94 yards to give TSU a 17-10 lead that the Tigers would never relinquish. Benson added a 29-yarder as time expired in the half to give TSU a 20-10 edge at intermission.
The original story was published here: http://aamusports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/083008aaa.html
Leave a Reply