North Alabama Outguns Alcorn State 38-20 Behind Destin Wade
North Alabama was up 14-0 before the first quarter was four minutes old, and it took Alcorn State the rest of the game to find an answer that never quite arrived.
Destin Wade hit Snap Reed for 31 yards at 12:09 and KJ Fields for 19 yards at 11:47, 22 seconds apart. Alcorn State got a 22-yard Fred Robertson run to make it 14-7, but Xavier Johnson broke a 75-yard touchdown run 21 seconds later and it was 21-7. Jaylon Tolbert's 18-yard pass to Tyree Kelly made it 21-14 before the half.
Alcorn State got within four at 21-17 with a 25-yard Kenyon Bowyer field goal early in the third, and Ian Vachon kicked a 31-yarder for North Alabama late in the quarter to make it 24-17. Wade then threw a 72-yard touchdown to TJ Holmes with 12:02 left, and that was the ballgame. Bowyer kicked one more field goal, and Wade ran in from 13 yards with 1:54 left for 38-20.
North Alabama had 492 total yards to 374 and no turnovers. Alcorn State threw an interception. The Lions never trailed (no ties, no lead changes).
The Lions also got 75 yards on a single carry and 72 on a single catch, which is a good way to win without grinding. Take away those two touchdowns and it is 24-20. Two big plays did a lot of work.
North Alabama is 2-1 and Alcorn State 1-1. Wade, with three passing scores and one rushing score, was the fantasy story.