Albany State Downs Benedict, 34-7

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Albany State Golden Rams jumped out to a 27-0 halftime lead and went on to take a 34-7 victory over the Benedict College Tigers on Saturday at Lucy Laney Memorial Stadium in the annual Augusta City Classic.

Albany State quarterback Caleb Edmonds threw for one touchdown and ran for two more and was named the Albany State MVP of the game. He completed 21-of-29 passes for 194 yards and was Albany State’s leading rusher with 48 yards on the ground.

With the win, Albany State improves to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the SIAC. The Golden Rams are 3-0 in the SIAC East and can wrap up the East Division title next week with a win over Fort Valley State. Benedict falls to 4-5 overall, 3-2 in the SIAC and concludes East Division play with a 2-2 record.

Benedict could have secured its first trip to the SIAC Championship game with a win Saturday, but the Golden Rams, who have been the traditional powerhouse team in the East, were not ready to see the balance of power shift just yet.

“I really thought we would play a better game today,” Benedict coach Mike White said. “They kind of showed us we have a little ways to go to come closer to winning in the East. I just thought we’d come out and play better than that.”

Benedict finished with 185 yards of total offense, compared to 360 for the Golden Rams. Albany State opened the game with a 75-yard kickoff return that set Edmonds up for a 14-yard touchdown pass to Quadrey Simmons two plays later. After Benedict was forced to punt on its first offensive series, the Golden Rams marched 88 yards on 13 plays, with McKinley Hamber scoring on a 5-yard run to give Albany State a 14-0 lead with 3:58 left on the clock. That drive was kept alive on a 28-yard pass play with the Golden Rams facing third-and-10.

“The kickoff return and we were down, and bam, we gave up another play and we were down,” White said. “That’s the team we’ve got to beat in the East, and we’ve got a little ways to go. I thought we were closer as we played the other teams in the East this year, but that team showed us we’ve got way farther to go.”

An Albany State punt was downed at the 2-yard line, and the Tigers were only able to move forward three yards. A 38-yard punt gave Albany State the ball in Benedict territory, and the Golden Rams went the 43 yards on 10 plays, with Edmonds scoring on a 4-yard run for a 21-0 lead. That drive was kept alive when the Golden Rams completed a six-yard pass on fourth-and-two.

Albany State’s Monte Taylor intercepted a Phillip Brown pass on the next series, and the Golden Rams cashed in on the turnover with a 39-yard field goal by Emilio Maldonad. Maldonad added a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to give Albany State a 27-0 lead heading into the locker room.

“We had nothing on offense. Defensively, we had a breakdown here and there. When you are playing a game for the reward we were playing for, I thought we’d respond a little better. But we’ll grow from this and get better from this,” White said. “I’m proud of the effort from most of our guys who played hard. We’ll just build on them and go forward.”

The Tigers came out of the locker room and drove 70 yards for their only score of the game, with Brown finding Okechi Ntiasagwe for a 30-yard touchdown pass.

A Benedict fumble recovered by Albany State later in the third quarter gave the ball to the Golden Rams near midfield. Edmonds broke through the line and raced 38 yards for a touchdown, making the score 34-7.

Albany State dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 40 minutes, compared to 20 minutes for the Tigers. Benedict completed just one of eight third down conversions, while Albany State was better than 50 percent, converting eight of 15 attempts.

George Myers Jr. gained 81 yards on 12 carries for the Tigers and was named Benedict’s MVP of the game.

Edward Kirkland and Stephen Williams had 10 tackles each to lead the defense.

Benedict travels to Frankfort, Ky., next week to take on the Kentucky State Thorobreds, who will represent the SIAC West Division in the conference championship game. Benedict will return home to take on Point University in a non-conference matchup on Nov. 12 for Senior Day.