Fast start erased in loss to Alabama State
Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Going into its season-ending battle with Alabama State, the Miles football team knew it would have to get off to a quick start if it had any chance of making the Hornets remain more focused on the game and less attentive to the ASU homecoming festivities.
For 30 minutes, that plan worked.
The Golden Bears jumped out to a two-touchdown lead on the Hornets and led at halftime. But a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half opened the floodgates and Miles could not stay afloat as Alabama State ran away with a 53-20 win Thursday in the Turkey Day Classic at ASU Stadium. ASU (4-7) would score eight consecutive touchdowns after Miles (5-5) scored on its first two drives of the game.
The turning point of the contest came well before the kickoff return that would give the Hornets the lead for good. Senior quarterback
David Whipple was enjoying the game of his life, completing 10 of his first 11 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. But on the Golden Bears final offensive play of the first quarter, Whipple was sacked and appeared to suffer an injury to his leg. He would not return to the game. To that point, Miles had 193 yards of offense in the game. Over the last three quarters, the Golden Bears had just 146 yards of offense.
Still, the first two drives were things of beauty for Miles. The Golden Bears went 94 yards in six plays and never faced a third down. A 30-yard touchdown pass to
Trey Smith gave Miles a 7-0 lead just more than two minutes into the game.
After a three-and-out for the Miles defense, the offense went right back to work. Again, Miles did not have a third-down play and in just under five minutes marched 77 yards for another score. This time, Whipple hit
Devin Brown for an 11-yard scoring pass and the Golden Bears held a 14-0 advantage in front of a stunned ASU crowd.
Bama State would score on its next possession but miss the 2-point try. To start the second quarter, Miles went to
Tommy Neeley at quarterback. The sophomore had some great open looks at receivers but was unable to complete passes that Whipple was connecting on with ease in the first quarter. While ASU would again find the end zone in the second quarter, Miles still went into the half with a 14-12 lead.
The 100-yard kickoff return by Bradley Street to start the second half wiped out the lead for good. After both teams exchanged punts, Miles came out with an offensive wrinkle, lining wide receiver William Kelley up at quarterback. The first play was a 22-yard run that put Miles in ASU territory. The second play was not as good. A quick screen pass was sniffed out by Rickey Haley, who returned the interception 61 yards for a touchdown. On the play, as he was tackled, he suffered a gruesome leg injury that ended his night. Unfortunately, it was not the end of the scoring for the Hornets,
ASU would score three more touchdowns in less than six minutes as part of a 34-point third quarter that put the game out of reach. When Brandon Barnes caught a touchdown with just less than nine minutes remaining, it capped a run of 53 consecutive points against the Golden Bears. That was the most points scored against the Golden Bears in coach
Reginald Ruffin's six seasons and the most any opponent had scored against Miles since Tuskegee scored 59 points in 2004.Â
Miles did find the end zone once more late in the contest. LaBarron Rodgers recovered a fumble at the ASU 2 with less than two minutes remaining. Three plays later,
Jonathan Esther punched it in for a 1-yard scoring run to close the scoring.
Earnest Bell, Jr. had six catches for 72 yards, both game highs. Kelly had 49 yards rushing while Whipple (10-of-13, 158 yards) and Neely (11-of-29, 98 yards) took care of the passing yards. Defensively,
Cedric Poole had a game-high eight tackles (six solo) while Molik Slade,
Austin Stephens and
DeAnthony Philon each had five tackles for Miles.
