Alabama State opened its SWAC slate with authority on Saturday. The Hornets steamrolled Florida A&M College (FAMU) 42–14 on the highway. They leaned on a relentless run sport, environment friendly passing, and a disciplined protection to earn their first win at FAMU in 4 years. The message was clear: Alabama State is able to compete on the high of HBCU soccer.
“That is large,” Alabama State’s head coach stated postgame. “For us, we wish to make this considerably of a rivalry. Nevertheless it’s not a rivalry after we hold dropping. They’ve been round Tallahassee driving on our bicycle. So we lastly got here again to take it again.”
Floor Sport Units the Tone
Alabama State managed the trenches from the beginning. The Hornets piled up 299 speeding yards on 42 carries, averaging an eye-popping 7.1 yards per try. Jamarie Hostzclaw carried the ball 22 instances for 135 yards. Jahbari Kuykendall, Marcus Harris II, and JR Gardner mixed for 4 speeding touchdowns.
The Hornets scored in each quarter. Their largest surge got here after halftime, once they stacked back-to-back 14-point frames within the third and fourth. Quarterback Andrew Physique complemented the bottom assault with 10 completions on 18 makes an attempt for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Jones hauled in each of these scores.
Rattlers Wrestle to Reply
Florida A&M fell behind early and by no means recovered. Quarterback RJ Johnson III accomplished 20 of 33 passes for 133 yards and a landing. Nevertheless, his offense struggled to maneuver the chains in opposition to a swarming Alabama State protection. Working again Thad Franklin Jr. supplied one vivid spot with 75 speeding yards and a landing on 13 carries.
Even with Franklin’s effort, the Rattlers couldn’t maintain momentum. They completed with 309 complete yards on 63 performs — solely 4.9 yards per snap. On third down, FAMU transformed simply 5 of twelve makes an attempt.
Alabama State’s Protection Clamps Down
The Hornets’ protection matched their offense’s depth. Alabama State stopped FAMU on 4 of 5 fourth-down tries and restricted explosive performs. Linebackers Jalil Lenore, Cameron Gordon, and Rhoody Jean-Louis every recorded 5 tackles. Their stress compelled the Rattlers to play a brief passing sport, which additional stifled the offense.
A Rivalry Reignited
The win snapped Alabama State’s drought in Tallahassee and reignited an HBCU matchup that many across the SWAC wish to see change into a real rivalry.
“It’s nice to get one win. We wished to go 1-0 in SWAC play,” the coach added. “We’ve acquired homecoming subsequent week. Received to lock again in. We’re not targeted on the massive image. We all know now we have to take it week by week.”
Alabama State didn’t simply snap a dropping streak in Tallahassee — it set the tone for the remainder of the season. The Hornets confirmed energy within the run sport, self-discipline on protection, and a starvation that would hold them within the combine for the SWAC title. Within the broader HBCU soccer image, this was an announcement win.
