Complete Boxscore

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Growing pains continued for Grambling State University's young offense Saturday as the Tigers fell 31-17 to Alabama State University in the Cramton Bowl.

 

GSU fell to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference action while ASU is now 2-1 and 2-0 in league play. 

 

While Grambling struggled offensively throughout much of the contest, things didn't go bad until the fourth quarter. In fact, after trailing 10-0 in the first half, Grambling knotted things up at 10-10 at the 9:18 mark of the third quarter as freshman quarterback D.J. Williams connected with Mario Lewis on a 31-yard scoring strike.

 

But Alabama State countered with a trio of touchdowns over a 2:30 span of the fourth quarter to take over for good.

 

Grambling added a 10-yard scoring pass from D.J. Williams to Lewis with nine seconds remaining to account for final points. Alabama State used three consecutive interceptions in that 2:30 time span (one on a trick play as David Stuckman was picked off and two throw by Frank Rivers, who had entered the game in relief of D.J. Williams).

 

The Hornets totaled 299 offensive yards while holding the Tigers to 177. ASU had 21 first downs compared to Grambling's 12. The G-Men particularly struggled on third down, converting only 2-of-14 attempts.

 

"We didn't get it done," GSU Coach Doug Williams said. "Our offense still has a long way to go. The defense was playing a good game, and then it all goes bad in just a couple of minutes. We can't make the mistakes we made and expect to win."

 

D.J. Williams hit on nine-of-22 passes for 113 yards and the two touchdown passes to Lewis, but he also battled a Hornets pass rush that sacked him four times. Rivers hit on one-of-three passes for four yards with the two picks.

 

Devin Dominquez started at quarterback for the Hornets and opened scoring on ASU's second drive with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Nick Andrews at the 10:21 mark of the opening stanza.

 

Alabama State went up 10-0 with 46 seconds remaining in the first half on a 35-yard field goal by Bobby Wenzig. But Grambling got on the scoreboard before the halftime horn sound as the Tigers used a 26-yard pass from D.J. Williams to Damian Jefferson to set up a 45-yard field goal by Zoltan Riazzo to cut the Hornets lead to 10-3 at intermission.

"We're in at that point, and we tie things up in the third quarter," Doug Williams said. "We just have to learn not to do the kinds of things that will take you out of the game in a hurry."

 

Greg Jenkins replaced Dominquez as ASU's quarterback in the second half and helped spark the Hornets with a seven-of-12 passing performance for 59 yards with a touchdown and an interception while adding 36 rushing yards on seven carries, including a 16-yard scoring scamper.

 

Kenneth Batiste led GSU ball carriers with 47 yards on 12 carries while Lewis was Grambling's leading receiver four catches for 46 yards and his two scores.

 

GSU was forced to punt 10 times, but Fabian Carter proved to be a weapon for the G-Men, averaging 41.5 yards per punt.

 

Defensively, the Tigers were led by Cliff Exama, who totaled 15 tackles.

 

Grambling returns to SWAC action at 6 p.m. Saturday with a home contest against Alabama A&M in Robinson Stadium.