Tarik Cohen rushed for 300 of the Aggies 380 yards to give North Carolina A&T a 41-34 win over the Alcorn State Braves in the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia.
Cohen looked like a miniature Earl Campbell on TECMO Bowl with touchdown runs of 74-, 83-, and 73-yards. While the Georgia Dome and TV audience went crazy over the senior speedster, Aggies Head Coach Rod Broadway sat back with a wry smile. “We’ve said all along that Tarik is special, and the nation got to see him perform today,” said Broadway. “We’ve been saying it for three years in what he’s capable of doing. He had a big game for us and we needed it.”
The Aggies jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 74-yard run, but it wasn’t Cohen running the ball. That accolade belonged to punt returner Khris Gardin. The sophomore from Morgantown, NC came into the game needing only 2 yards to break the NCAA FCS record for punt return yards in a season. He smashed that record with two steps. The other 70+ steps only added to the new record. It was the 8th time Gardin had returned a punt for more than 40 yards this year.
North Carolina A&T had a reasonably comfortable 24-6 lead late in the second and seemed to be doing everything right. That was until Braves safety Anthony Williams picked off Kylil Carter’s pass intended for Gardin and returned it 24 yards to the Aggies 10. Alcorn State quarterback Lenorris Footman turned the int into 6 with a dump pass to Arron Baker that the stout running back was able to turn into a 10-yard touchdown.
Alcorn State closed the scoring gap down only 11 points despite a first-half offensive performance unbefitting a team that ranked #2 in passing yards efficiency and #3 in rushing among all FCS teams. The Aggies defense held the Braves to 44 yards passing and 22 yards rushing.
The Braves kept the momentum going in the second half scoring the first two touchdowns. After a second field goal from Cody Jones extended the Aggies lead out to two touchdowns, Footman guided the SWAC Champs on an 8-play, 49-yard drive. FCS yards per carry leader Darren Ragsdale rushed for 18 yards on the drive and Footman caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Tollette George on the old end around throwback to the quarterback.
Footman returned the favor in the fourth quarter hitting George with an 11-yard pass to tie the game at 27-27.
The tie lasted less than 3 minutes as the Aggies stormed back down the field largely on a 52-yard catch-and-run to, who else, Cohen. Senior quarterback Kwashaun Quick capped the drive with a 1-yard dive.
After the Aggies score, the lead lasted a little long, but not much. Footman passed for 35 yards and rushed for another 4 to get the Braves down to the NCA&T 6-yard line. On first and goal from the 6, the Braves managed to gain 3 yards on 3 downs setting up fourth down and an apparent field goal attempt. Braves head coach Jay Hopson had other ideas. Holder and wide receiver Vessell Brandon rolled right and found tight end Brandon Campbell in the endzone to tie the game up at 34-34.
Whatever was ailing the offense and Footman in the first half it definitely was gone. “Sometimes you have good halves and bad halves, that’s football, but Lenorris has been an outstanding football player for us and he did some tremendous things today in order to help us come back,” explained Hopson of his sophomore signal caller.
Footman was clicking but Cohen was fire. On second and 7, the burner flipped the switch and left the defense gasping for air as the MEAC Player of the Year rumbled 73 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
If Cohen’s run wasn’t dramatic enough, the Aggies’ stunted drive and resulting 6-yard punt that gave the Braves one last shot to win the game on a short field certainly should have been. Footman and company covered 41 yards in 7 plays but could not bang out the last 9. The Aggies’ defense came up with 4 big defensive plays to shut the door and clinch the win.
With 75 points on the scoreboard and every butt still in its seat at the final horn, it was safe to say that bowl organizers had indeed got what they wanted. It wasn’t all love getting this game to sit well with the fan base. When the announcement was made that the conference winners from the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) would meet in an end-of-year winner-take-all all-Black College Football Championship game, the message boards lit up. Some saw it as a reboot of the Heritage Bowl, while fans from the MEAC cried foul at the decision to opt out of the FCS playoff system.
With a bigger payout to both schools ($1 million each), John Grant, Executive Director of the Celebration Bowl assured detractors this bowl game was going to change everyone’s perception of the contest. Both coaches and players were sold on the game. “We gave the TV audience a good show and they should be happy with the Celebration Bowl,” said Hopson. “Hopefully this game will lead to bigger and better things for the Celebration Bowl and hopefully both schools did their part in making this an outstanding football game.” “It’s the most exciting thing I’ve done in my four years of college,” said North Carolina A&T senior cornerback Tony McCrae. “It was a great experience.” His sentiments were shared by Braves’ strong safety Warren Gatewood. “Making it to the Celebration Bowl is an accomplishment in itself,” said Gatewood. “It was a really good experience and I’m going to take a lot from it.
Offensive MVP – Tarik Cohen, RB, NCA&T
Defensive MVP – Denzel Jones, MLB, NCA&T