SAVANNAH, Ga. — On a night the coaching staff wanted to start fast, the Golden Rams wasted no time in fulfilling the plan.
Albany State executed to a tune of six touchdowns scored three different ways and gave Head Coach
David Bowser his inaugural Golden Ram 'W' in going away fashion, 49-17, over Savannah State.
After scoring only a single touchdown in each of the first two contests, the Ram offense came alive with four 70-plus yard touchdown drives as part of a 435-yard offensive outburst. The ASU defense set the tone on its side of the ball as well by forcing six-straight Savannah State punt to start the night where it held the home offense to 11 yards on 20 plays in the first half.
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| Golden Rams present head coach David Bowser with the game ball following his first win. |
"I am excited tonight to play a complete game in all three phrases of the game," stressed ASU Head Coach
David Bowser. "From our Wefense (new name for special teams) to our offense producing a nice early 7-play drive it scored on to our defense with our starters for the first 3-and-a-half quarters then we subbed in late for guys to get game experience."
With the result, Bowser registers his first Golden Ram coaching victory. His squad's 49 points was the most by the program since ASU pounded Fort Valley State, 48-3, last November 7.
"The way the crowd tonight, the fans and all the support from President Dr. (Robert) Scott, Athletic Director Dr. (Kristene) Kelly have all given me since arriving (at ASU). It was great to give everyone a win tonight against a Savannah State team, which has given us problems the last couple years in a dominating win tonight."
ASU has now defeated Savannah State in five of the last six and two of the last three to take place in Savannah.
"I am very pleased with our progress over the last week. Our staff and players did an outstanding job preparing for the game," wrapped up Bowser.
After
Jayden Threatts plunged in from a yard for the opening drive touchdown and rumbled in from 14 yards for the second points,
Cameron Watts helped the Rams put the game firmly in his team's favor in the second half. The defensive back returned the Tiger punt starting the second half 41 yards to the home 25-yard line, which was cashed in for the third touchdown three plays later. Leading 28-0 starting the fourth frame, Watts picked off the Savannah State pass and raced 34 yards to the end zone for a 35-0 lead.
In fact, ASU scored touchdowns on each of its four second-half possessions and gave Savannah State no way to get back into the mix. The Rams amassed 165 yards in the first 30 minutes and another 270 yards in the second half.
Junior quarterback JD Davis was a very efficient 18 of 21 through the air for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Vinson Berry added his first Ram scoring strike as part of his 5 for 8 over 61 yards in relief.
The ASU signal callers saw seven receivers pull in multiple passes of the 23 completions.
Edward Louis Jr. grabbed three for a team-high 69 yards, while Cardrece Mobley had a 15-yard TD of his three catches for 46 yards.
Exavior Sherrod recorded his second scoring grab of the year from 17 yards to end the third quarter of his four catches for 34 yards.
Jaquan Graham and
Malachi Eaford both rounded out the three receptions players with 33 and 25 yards.
Kamran Ward put the final ASU touchdown on the Saturday night score when he was not ruled down and kept churning until he broke free for a 76-yard score. He led all Ram rushers with 90 yards on three totes.
Roderick McCrary added 30 yards on nine rushes and caught two passes for 26 yards. Bryson Seaborne chipped in 24 yards on six carries and a 22-yard catch, while Threatts had 14 yards including the two first-half scores.
Along with his 86 yards of kick return on four attempts, Watts had three tackles with the pick 6 interception.
Derrick Drayton led the line with 1.5 sacks, while
Avery Hall,
Jimmy Dawson,
Marshall Leonard and
Kyle Williamscombined on the other three sacks.
Rontavion Scott led the tacklers with a balanced effort with four.
Compared to the Rams' 435 yards of offense, the Tigers produced 230 yards with the majority of them coming late when the game was decided.
The four-game road game opening the season has the final leg next Saturday afternoon (Sept. 19). ASU travels to Columbia, S.C., where it will try to even its mark at Allen University in a 4 p.m. kickoff.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and eight women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.