Alabama State Buries Mississippi Valley State, 41-15
Four lost fumbles and five sacks. That is how Alabama State won this game 41-15 without ever being tied or trailing, and it did it with 258 total yards to Mississippi Valley State's 255.
The Hornets scored first: Aaron Frye threw 34 yards to Daionte Hicks with 12:20 left in the first quarter. Frye added a six-yard run, and Andrew Abu-Akel kicked a 34-yard field goal, so it was 17-0 by the 2:36 mark. Caleb Brownlow's 31-yard catch from Josh Brown made it 17-6 (the extra point failed). Abu-Akel kicked another field goal, from 41 yards, with 30 seconds left in the half, and Alabama State led 20-6.
The third quarter opened with Hicks fielding a kickoff and taking it 98 yards for a touchdown at 14:44. Frye added a nine-yard run in the fourth for 34-9, and Brownlow broke a 76-yard run just 20 seconds of game clock later (the extra point was blocked, so it was 34-15). Jareese Howard's two-yard run with 52 seconds left made it 41-15.
Mississippi Valley State threw no interceptions, but it lost four fumbles and gained just 125 rushing yards on 40 carries. Alabama State threw one interception and lost one fumble of its own. Brown, the Mississippi Valley State quarterback, completed 10 of 15 passes for 110 yards and a score, and also carried 14 times for minus five yards. Those two numbers sit oddly next to each other.
Alabama State is 2-0. Mississippi Valley State is 0-2, and the fumbles are the whole story.
Fantasy-wise, Brownlow, a wide receiver, led all scorers with 27 points off a run and a catch.