MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- For three quarters, Miles shut down and shut out Alabama State in the Golden Bears' season opener. The defense forced five turnovers and the special teams added another. For the second straight year, Division I Alabama State could not put away its smaller Division II opponent.

But thanks to a strong first quarter, Alabama State was able to walk away with a win in the Labor Day Classic, holding off Miles 21-13 in front of 10,306 spectators at ASU Stadium. Down three touchdowns before the end of the first quarter, the Golden Bears (0-1) had the ball late with a chance to tie. Unfortunately, the last-ditch drive did not get past midfield as the Hornets moved to 2-0 on the season.

New head coach Sam Shade start at Miles got off to an inauspicious start as the Hornets came out on fire. The home team scored on its first three drives, racking up 166 yards in just nine plays from scrimmage to jump out to a 21-0 lead. The offense struggled to get on track, starting quarterback Claude Newell went down with an injury, and it looked as if the Golden Bears were dead on arrival.

The defense, though, started to acquit itself. After allowing all those yards on the first nine plays, the Hornets had just 168 yards over their final 42 efforts. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears continued to chip away with small gains that led to a 34-yard field goal by Jackson Spradlin late in the second quarter that made the score 21-3 at the half.

The third quarter saw the Golden Bears completely discombobulate the Hornets' offense. It started when Graderius Brown recovered a fumble on the opening kick of the second half. Spradlin connected on a 31-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-6. Austin Brundidge, who transferred from Alabama State, forced a fumble on a sack, which was recovered by Cameron Snead. After Miles turned the ball over on the two plays later, the defense went right back to work as Zion Sharpe recovered a fumble to put the ball back in the hands of the offense.

Brundidge would add an interception late in the third quarter but the Golden Bears could not capitalize and still trailed by 15 points going into the final period. Jalen Parker, who led the near-upset of the Hornets last season, replaced Newell in the first half but found himself being replaced by Jacob Millhouse in the fourth quarter. The senior would lead Miles on an eight-play, 65-yard drive that included a big 37-yard run on 3rd-and-11. Facing another third-and-long, he connected with Collin Woods on a slant route right into the end zone fior a 15-yard scoring pass that helped cut the deficit to eight points.

Alabama State looked like it would ice the game by running out the clock. But the defense had one more play to make. James Sawyer forced a fumble that was recovered at the Miles 12-yard line by JaMichael Rogers to give Miles one more chance. But needing to go 88 yards in 70 seconds proved a bit too much. After a completion and a couple of laterals, the Golden Bears lost the football as the clock ran out, letting Alabama State let out a sigh of relief after nearly blowing a three-touchdown advantage.

Brundidge had five tackles, two sacks and an interception, Roosevelt Thompson had six tackles (one for loss), Jarius Grayson and Chris Ware also had six tackles to pace the defense. Jaih Andrews had seven catches for 34 yards and Zarious Keyes added 34 yards on the ground for Miles, which hosts West Alabama next Saturday in the home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.