#7 Floyd Graves (Running Back)
MILES ON TOP AFTER 41-6 WIN OVER ALBANY STATE
By: John Millikan, Albany Herald
ALBANY, GA — There were no big celebrations, no dancing on the field and jumping into teammates' arms.
But there was one big similarity between last year's conference championship game between Albany State and Miles and Saturday night's rematch at Albany State Coliseum.
The Golden Rams walked off the field stunned.
“It's really hard on us,” Albany State linebacker Larry Whitfield said after Miles routed the Rams, 41-6, on Saturday at ASU Coliseum. “Coming in, we had the mindset to win the game, but something's going on. ... We just have to get it together.”
The loss, which was Albany State's third in a row, dropped the Rams to 1-3 and seemed to drop their heads even lower.
Miles (3-1) jumped ahead immediately in the conference opener, led 17-0 early in the second quarter and never looked back en route to its third straight victory. It was nothing like last year's conference championship game when the two teams battled back and forth until Miles escaped with a 20-17 victory thanks to a last-second field goal.
The Golden Bears celebrated their title 10 months ago with an impromptu party, rushing the field as the final buzzer sounded and basking in an upset that only they saw coming.
Nobody was calling what happened Saturday night an upset.
No, the power in the conference has shifted to Birmingham, Ala.
“Anytime you can come into somebody else's territory and have a game like we did (Saturday) night, it's unbelievable,” Miles coach
Reginald Ruffin said.
ASU had defeated Miles nine straight times before last year's conference title game and held a 33-12-3 advantage in the 65-year history of the matchup heading into Saturday's game.
History, however, didn't help the Rams on the field.
“There's really not much to say, other than the best team won,” White said. “They beat us very soundly, offensively, defensively and special teams.”
Miles came into the game averaging a conference-best 34 points per game and had little trouble moving the ball against ASU, racking up 420 total yards. Running back
Floyd Graves led the way with 126 yards and a TD, while quarterback
David Thomas was 14-for-24 for 219 yards and a TD.
Albany State's offense simply couldn't keep up.
The Rams, who started the game with five straight three-and-outs, had just 222 yards of total offense. Quarterback David Kooi was 11-for-23 for 85 yards and threw his fifth interception of the season, while starting running back Nathan Hoyte was held to 18 yards on 10 carries. ASU's top receiver, Camilla native Jessie Atkins, had his worst outing of the season, catching one pass for 10 yards.
New starting kicker Dillan Fontaine prevented a Miles shutout with two field goals in the second quarter from 34- and 35-yards out.
Graves got Miles on the board first with a 49-yard TD run with 8:50 left in the first quarter, and then Pitts caught a 46-yard TD pass from Thomas with 13:53 left in the second quarter to put Miles on top, 14-0.
Patton Chambers and Fontaine each hit a pair of field goals in the second quarter to send Miles into halftime ahead 20-6.
It only got worse for the Rams in the second half. Parker Johnson and
Jordan Lewis found the end zone for 4- and 11-yard runs, respectively, and
LaDarius Thompson returned a punt 90 yards for a TD.
The Golden Bears will return home next week to face the Tigers of Benedict College in a 6 p.m. game at Albert J. Sloan-Alumni Stadium.
