Bulldogs fall 31-13 in the Magic City Classic

Box Score

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BIRMINGHAM – It started off as a back and forth game until the Hornets took 31-13 lead at 12:04 mark in the third quarter. From there the Bulldog offense was stifled as the Hornets of Alabama State defeated Alabama A&M 31-13 in the 71^st annual Magic City Classic.

In front of an announced crowd of 58,702, A&M’s offense was alive as they took a 13-10 lead early in the second quarter. With 14:40 remaining in the first half, State took over and kept the Maroon & White offense in check.

ASU’s kicker, Bobby Wenzig hit a 46 yarder to open the scoring at 3-0. Two and a half minutes later Greg Jenkins hit Demario Bell for a 62 yard pass and catch to give the Black & Gold a 10-0 lead.

A&M would finally get on the board with a six yard TD run by Kaderius Lacey. He would then score on a 30 yard run to give the Bulldogs their only lead 13-10.

Alabama State would then score 21 unanswered points to claim the 71^st event.

Not since 2010 has Jones lost homecoming and the Magic City Classic in back to back contests. State also held the Bulldogs to a record low 29 yards rushing. That hasn’t happen to a Jones rushing attack since November 3, 2007 vs. Jackson State.

“Alabama State played a great game and we didn’t,” said head coach Anthony Jones. “We had a lot of mental break downs. There were too many mistakes and a combination of things that resulted in us not playing well.”

“My hats go off to State for their performance,” Jones mentioned. “Across the board we did not do well.”

The few bright spots for the Bulldogs were the pink they wore in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Defensive back AJ Clark’s second interception of the year in the fourth quarter, Vernon Marshall’s second award of the weekend, the Army Strong award recognizing academics, athletics and community work among both university players. Marshall also accounted for 11 tackles his third contest of the year with double digit stops.

“With these two losses we have to reassess ourselves. We couldn’t develop the running game we had no passing game, we had a bunch of mistakes in the secondary,” said Jones. “They ran the ball and made big plays in the passing game.”

Alabama A&M (6-2, 5-2) managed just 29 yards rushing and was outgained 404-226. The loss drops the Bulldogs into a tie with Alabama State for first place in the SWAC's East Division.

Starting quarterback Deaunte Mason finished going 17 of 37 for 198 yards and a season high four sacks. Lacey ended his final Magic City Classic as a player with 42 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Nine out of 15 drives for A&M ended in punts while three ended in downs and two in touchdowns.

The Bulldogs will regroup and welcome Southern University to “The Hill” on Saturday, November 3^rd for the final home game of 2012.

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