THE HILL | The Alabama A&M University football team started slow, but used a dominating second quarter that saw the Bulldogs score 21 points and pull away from Lane College, 49-7, on Saturday night inside Louis Crews Stadium.
Alabama A&M (3-1) nearly preserved the shutout, giving up a score in the final six minutes. The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 at home this season, with both victories under the lights, and now turn their attention to Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play, which begins next weekend at Bethune-Cookman.
After the slow start, the Bulldog defense provided the opening score as Lane College quarterback Nick Billoups fell down in the endzone as Alabama A&M was awarded a safety with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter.
On its next offensive series, the Bulldogs' drive stalled at the Dragons' 29 and
Victor Barbosa continued to add another career high. The redshirt senior, who tied his career mark of 45 yards a week ago at Tennessee State, broke his record with a 47-yarder as AAMU extended the lead to 5-0 with 1:08 left.
Alabama A&M's defense contributed to its second safety of the period as
Xzavier Booker sacked Billoups in the endzone with 1:01 left as the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 7-0.
The Bulldogs got seven points the conventional way on their next drive, going 40 yards in five plays as
Ryan Morrow scored on a 12-yard touchdown run, extending the advantage to 14-0 with 14:13 remaining.
After a defensive stop on fourth down, Alabama A&M's offense went right back to work with a 9-play, 63-yard drive. Quarterback
Eric Handley connected with Andre Craig for 22 yards and on the next play,
Kolton Nero found daylight for a 10-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 21-0 with 5:39 left in the half.
After a punt by the Dragons, Alabama A&M needed just four plays, highlighted by a 48-yard completion from Handley to
Daveon Walker, as Trauvanta Abner hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass, extending the margin to 28-0 with 1:55 remaining.
AAMU opened the third quarter strong as Abner caught a 33-yard pass and three plays later, Handley connected with Walker for a 10-yard score, stretching the margin to 35-0 with just under 13 minutes to play.
The Bulldogs put the game out of reach with 8:18 left in the third after taking over in excellent field position at the Lane 27. AAMU got a 21-yard touchdown by
Isaiah Nwokenkwo in pushing the lead to 42-0.
After another Dragons punt, the Maroon & White went back to work, with Nero exploding for a 28-yard touchdown run with exactly two minutes remaining in the third to extend AAMU's advantage to 49-0.
Lane (0-3) avoided the shutout with 5:45 remaining when
Ashley Tucker Jr. was intercepted by John White and returned 30 yards for the pick six touchdown, closing the gap to 49-7.
Lane took advantage of a turnover to score its only touchdown of the night as
Ashley Tucker Jr. was picked off by John White and returned 30 yards, closing the gap to 49-6.
CHECKING THE BOX SCORE
- Alabama A&M finished with 397 total yards, with 205 coming through the air
- The Bulldogs registered 21 first downs
- Eric Handley went 15 of 28 passing for 205 yards, with one interception and two touchdowns
- Kolton Neron rushed seven times for 69 yards and two scores
- Ryan Morrow added 33 yards on 10 carries, along with one touchdown
- Travaunta Abner caught four passes for 70 yards and one touchdown
- Robert Cole punted the ball four times, averaging 43.8 yards per punt
- Jalen Wright registered seven total tackles
- Lane finished with 155 total yards, including 82 on the ground
- The Dragons recorded 11 first downs
- Nick Billoups went 5 of 13 passing for 56 yards and one interception
- Marcell Cutright rushed three times for 35 yards
- Oliver Van Dyke caught three passes for 30 yards
- John White, Ryan Gilmore and Zxaequan Reeves tallied seven tackles each
NEWS & NOTES
- Alabama A&M and Lane met for the seventh time
- The Bulldogs improved to 6-0-1 all-time against the Dragons
- Eric Handley made his first career start at quarterback
- AAMU had its first turnover of the opening quarter on the very first drive
- The Bulldogs extended their streak of scoring in the opening quarter to nine straight games
- Victor Barbosa set another career high, breaking his own mark with a 47-yarder late in the first quarter
- AAMU recorded two safeties in the first quarter
- The Bulldogs ran their winning streak to 10games against members of the SIAC since 2013
- Alabama A&M was just six minutes away from its first shutout victory since 2018
- The Bulldogs' defense forced seven turnovers
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M opens Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play next Saturday (Sept. 20) as the Bulldogs visit Bethune-Cookman. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (central time) from Daytona Stadium and streamed on SWAC TV.
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics – Huntsville's only Division I program - check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics).
