After dropping their previous two games, the Alabama State University Hornets football team defeated the Texas Southern University Tigers 16-13. The matchup took place in Houston, Texas, at PNC Stadium. The Hornets lead the all-time series between the teams 28-12.
Momentum shifted in favor of the Hornets after senior defensive tackle Brandon Gaddy forced and recovered a fumble, after tackling Tiger sophomore running back Ladarius Owens.
With 7 minutes remaining in the game senior running back Ja’Wonn Howell pushed through the Tiger defense to give the Hornets a 16-13 lead. Following the score, Hornet senior safety Irshaad Davis sacked Tiger sophomore quarterback Andrew Body for a nine-yard loss with 4 minutes remaining.
Robinson spoke of his first conference victory, “It’s always tough to win on the road in the SWAC conference because teams know each other.” Robinson said, “This was a tough physical ball game much like the one we dropped last week. We are still learning how to be a really good team, these are the types of games we need to learn how to win.”
The Tigers would punt the ball with the hopes of getting it back, unfortunately for them, Howell and freshman quarterback Dematrius Davis would run the clock out, securing a Hornet victory.
In the third quarter, Hornet senior cornerback Keenen Isaac was called for pass interference on third down, giving the Tigers a first down. Following the penalty, Body took a quarterback draw three yards for a score, giving the Tigers a 13-6 lead.
For the Hornets, much of the third quarter was spent kicking field goals. Freshman kicker Nathanial Eichner avenged his disappointing performance from last week, as he went 3-for-3 in the game including two crucial makes in the third quarter.
One of the highlights from the third quarter was Davis connecting with junior wide receiver Kisean Johnson for a 52-yard gain, that possession resulted in a field goal.
During the first half, the Tiger defense shut down the Hornet offense. Hornet sophomore running back Jacory Merritt was pulled from the game early, after receiving 11 carries resulting in just 19 yards.
The Tigers scored the first points of the game, behind the efforts of junior running back Jacorey Howard. On the opening drive, Howard had a huge 32-yard rush, which set him up for the 1-yard score.
Also, senior cornerback Kenaan Isaac got his first interception of the season, on a pass that was intended for junior wide receiver Eyans Means.
The Hornets had many impressive performances starting with senior running backs Howell and Santo Dunn who were big contributors to the Hornet’s 225 rushing yards.
Dunn tallied 11 rushes for 101 yards, while Howell added 16 rushes for 75 yards. Dematrius Davis completed 9-of-19 passes for 104 yards, he also had nine carries for 30 yards.
Robinson spoke on the Hornet’s upcoming homecoming match-up against Jackson State University, “That is going to be a fun game.”
He laughed, “Ever since I got here people have been asking me about tickets for the Jackson game, and I’m telling them we have five games before that game.”
“As we know Coach Sanders has been doing a great job with that team, they are definitely the class of the league right now.” He continued, “We are going to digress from this game and correct our mistakes, then we will start looking forward to the fun week against Jackson.”