By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
SWAC
Grambling 70, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 - Devante Kincaid threw for 457 yards and six touchdowns as Grambling (5-1, 5-0 SWAC) blanked Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-6, 1-4 SWAC). Chad Williams was the main recipient of Kincaid's big day, as he had eight receptions for 236 and three touchdowns. Lyndeman Brooks rushed for 120 yards while Charles Wright rushed for two touchdowns. UAPB only managed six yards rushing on the day. Grambling has a half-game lead over Southern in the SWAC West Division.
Southern 41, Alcorn State 33 - Lenard Tillery rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns and became the SWAC's all-time leading rusher as Southern (5-2, 5-0 SWAC) won their fifth straight game. Alcorn State (3-4, 3-3 SWAC) actually out-gained Southern, 572 yards to 494 yards, but couldn't stop Southern when they needed to. Austin Howard threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns for Southern. Alcorn State is tied for the SWAC East lead with Jackson State.
Lenorris Footman led Alcorn State with 300 yards and two touchdowns passing and 146 yards and three touchdowns rushing.
Prairie View A&M 28, Jackson State 14 - Jalen Morton threw two early touchdowns and the Prairie View A&M defense held Jackson State (3-5, 3-3 SWAC) to minus-3 yards rushing as PVAM (5-3, 5-1 SWAC) defeated the Tigers. Morton also rushed for a touchdown. Jarin Morikawa led Jackson State with 286 yards passing, though he threw two interceptions. Jackson State is still tied for the SWAC lead with Alcorn State who lost Saturday.
Alabama A&M 42, Alabama State 41 (OT) - De'Angelo Ballard's 18-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Dorsey, and Nick Carden's extra point, lifted Alabama A&M (3-5, 3-4 SWAC) to an overtime win over Alabama State (2-6, 2-5 SWAC). Ballard threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns and led the Bulldogs with 101 yards rushing. Quintin Toppings threw for just 60 yards and a touchdown for Alabama State, but he rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown. Khalid Thomas led ASU with 170 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
SIAC
Miles 34, Clark Atlanta 17 - David Whipple threw for 113 yards and a touchdown while the Miles defense held Clark Atlanta quarterback Johnathan McCrary to only 162 yards passing and forced three interceptions as Miles (5-3, 4-2 SIAC) handed Clark Atlanta (5-4, 3-4 SIAC) their second straight loss. Miles only had nine first downs and a quite 219 yards of offense, but it was just enough as they picked off five passes (one returned 55 yards for a touchdown), recovered a fumble for another touchdown and had an 83-yard punt return for a TD.
Tuskegee 42, Central State 14 - Tuskegee (7-1, 5-1 SIAC) got back on the winning side as they had 227 yards and four touchdowns rushing to defeat Central State (1-8, 1-6 SIAC). A week after being shocked by Kentucky State, Tuskegee bounced back with 35 points over the second and third quarters to put the game away. Lavon Meeks was the bright spot for Central State as he had 119 yards passing and 107 yards and a TD rushing for the Marauders. Tuskegee won't be going to the SIAC title game though. Their loss to Kentucky State ensured that the title goes to KSU.
Lane 35, Kentucky State 21 - Marcus Reynolds returned to quarterback after being out several games to throw two touchdowns and run for 106 yards and two more TDs to lead Lane (5-4, 3-3 SIAC) to a victory over Kentucky State (4-5, 4-2 SIAC). Marcus Holliday added 142 yards rushing for Lane. The loss ended KSU's three-game win streak, but the Thorobreds, after defeating Tuskegee two weeks ago, are guaranteed the SIAC West Division championship and a spot in the SIAC Championship game.
Albany State 34, Benedict 7 - Caleb Edmonds threw for 194 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 48 yards and two more touchdowns to lead Albany State (5-3, 4-1 SIAC) to their fourth win in a row. The loss for Benedict (4-5, 3-2 SIAC) was their fourth in their last five games. The win sets up a winner-take-all game between Albany State and Fort Valley State to see who will win the SIAC East Division title and go to the SIAC Championship game.
Fort Valley State 24, Morehouse 16 - Otis Brown threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 58 yards and another score to lead Fort Valley State (3-6, 3-4 SIAC) to a win over Morehouse (2-7, 1-6 SIAC). Fort Valley State had 303 yards of total offense on the day. Morehouse, which only had 30 yards rushing, has lost seven straight games after starting the season 2-0. Lynd Parrish and David Smith combined for 22 tackles for Morehouse.
MEAC
Hampton 28 South Carolina State 26 - Jaylien Williamson threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns while the Hampton (4-4, 4-2 MEAC) stopped a South Carolina State (3-4, 3-1 MEAC) two-point attempt that would have tied the game late to defeat the Bulldogs and hand them their first conference loss. It is also South Carolina State's first loss to a non-FBS team this year and their first loss after three straight wins. The South Carolina State defense sacked Williamson four times.
North Carolina A&T 42, Florida A&M 17 - Tarik Cohen rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns to lead North Carolina A&T (7-1, 5-0 MEAC) to a big homecoming win over Florida A&M (3-6, 3-3 MEAC). It is the fifth straight win for North Carolina A&T. Lamar Raynard threw for 230 yards and a touchdown for A&T. Ryan Stanley led FAMU with 211 yards and a touchdown passing along with 48 yards rushing.
Norfolk State 27, Morgan State 14 - Greg Hankerson had 278 yards and three touchdowns of total offense to lead Norfolk State (2-6, 1-4 MEAC) to the win over Morgan State (2-5, 2-3 MEAC). Hankerson threw for 219 yards and rushed for 59 yards. DeAndre Harris led Morgan State with 161 yards and two touchdowns passing. Both of those TD tosses went to Landen Marlbrough.
Savannah State 37, Howard 27 - T.J. Bell's 6-yard touchdown pass to Derek Kirkland with 19 seconds left lifted Savannah State (1-4, 1-2 MEAC) to a homecoming win over Howard (1-7, 1-4 MEAC). Savannah State held off a late Howard comeback after two Kalen Johnson fourth-quarter TD passes had given the Bison a late lead. It's the first time that Savannah State has won two MEAC games in a season (they beat Bethune-Cookman earlier this season) and its the first time they've won at least two games in a season since 2009. Bell finished with 241 yards passing while Anshon Spaulding Jr. added 102 yards and a touchdown rushing. Johnson finished with 278 yards and two TDs passing.
Bethune-Cookman 41, Delaware State 10 - Rigby Cameron rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown while Larry Brihm threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns to lead Bethune-Cookman (2-5, 2-3 MEAC) to the rout of winless Delaware State (0-8, 0-5 MEAC).
CIAA
Johnson C. Smith 34, St. Augustine's 8 - Braxton Campbell rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown as Johnson C. Smith (2-7, 2-4 CIAA) got the easy win over St. Augustine's (2-7, 2-4 CIAA). The Johnson C. Smith defense only gave up minus-1 yard rushing to St. Augustine's.
Winston-Salem State 30, Shaw 23 - Winston-Salem State (7-2, 6-1 CIAA) erased and early 16-0 deficit to defeat Shaw (1-8, 1-5 CIAA) for their sixth straight win that secured the CIAA Southern title and a berth in the CIAA Championship game. Rod Tinsley threw two touchdowns while Kerrion Moore ran for 151 yards. Te'Vaughn Hurse added 94 yards and a touchdown rushing. Shaw was led by quarterback Darron Downing, who had two touchdowns during that 16-point spurt. He finished with 105 yards passing and three touchdowns rushing.
Fayetteville State 43, Livingstone 28 - Devin Knudson threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns - three of them to DeAnthony Brooks - to lead Fayetteville State (4-5, 4-3 CIAA) to the win over Livingstone (2-7, 1-5 CIAA). Running back Stevie Green added 151 yards and a touchdown rushing for Fayetteville State. Jarius Richardson rushed for 130 yards and a TD for Livingstone while Xavier Longerbeam threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
Elizabeth City State 24, Virginia Union 21 - Elizabeth City State (5-4, 4-2 CIAA) erased a late third-quarter 12-point deficit with touchdown runs by Chase Byrum and Daquan Neal to defeat Virginia Union (5-4, 4-2). The win makes for a three-way, first place tie in the CIAA Northern Division among ECSU, Virginia State and Bowie State. Neal finished with 85 yards and two touchdowns rushing and 197 yards passing. William Stanback had a big day for Virginia Union, rushing for 143 yards and a touchdown. ECSU needs a win next week over Bowie State and a loss by Virginia State to claim the division title.
Virginia State 49, Chowan 21 - Trenton Cannon rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns while Kavon Bellamy added 109 yards and a touchdown on the ground as Virginia State (7-2, 4-2 CIAA) stayed in a North Division first-place tie with Bowie State and Elizabeth City State in defeating slumping Chowan (5-4, 4-3 CIAA). Quarterback Tarian Ayers had 231 yards of total offense, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. Chowan has lost three of their last four games. VSU needs a win over Virginia Union and a Bowie State loss to win the North title.
Bowie State 41, Lincoln (Pa) 23 - Amir Hall threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns and and rushed for 87 yards and two more touchdowns to lead Bowie State (5-3, 5-1 CIAA) got an important win over Lincoln (Pa) (1-8, 0-6 CIAA). Robert Chesson rushed for 184 yards. Jason Epps led Lincoln (PA) with 246 yards and two touchdowns and 83 yards rushing. A Bowie State win Saturday against Elizabeth City State would give them the CIAA North Division title and a berth in the CIAA Championship game against Winston-Salem State.
OTHERS
Murray State 38, Tennessee State 31 - Tennessee State (5-3, 2-2 OVC) couldn't hold onto a 3-point halftime lead as Murray State's KD Humphries threw for 398 yards and five touchdowns to defeat the Tigers. Humphries threw two tD passes in the third quarter and a third, a 75-yarder midway through the fourth quarter, that sunk the Tigers. TSU's Ronald Butler threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions. TSU had 555 yards of total offense in their third loss in a row.
Langston 70, Texas College 13 - Mark Wright Jr. threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns and ran for for 130 yards and two more touchdowns as Langston (5-2, 3-1 CSFL) blew out Texas College (0-7, 0-4 CSFL). Kievon Jackson also rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns while backup quarterback Milton Harper added threw short scores. Langston had 641 yards of offense on the day. Texas College only had four yards rushing.
Millersville 34, Cheyney 6 - J.J. Paige threw for 313 yards and a TD as Millersville (2-7, 1-5 PSAC) defeated Cheyney (1-8, 0-6 PSAC). Dominick Trautz, who finished with 152 yards passing for Cheyney, accounted for their only score on a 55-yard touchdown toss to Yvesner Ferdinand midway through the fourth quarter.
McKendree 55, Lincoln (Mo) 3 - Preston Thompson rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns to lead McKendree (6-3, 4-2 MEC) to an easy win over Lincoln (Mo) (1-8, 0-6 MEC). McKendree's Reece Metcalf threw for 346 yards. A lone bright spot: Lincoln (Mo)'s Bryson Winfrey broke a school career receiving record with his 144th catch during his career.
UNC-Pembroke 44, West Virginia State 14 - Patrick O'Brien threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns to lead UNC-Pembroke (8-1) to the win over West Virginia State (1-8, 1-7 MEC). Rontonio Stanley added two rushing TDs. Dionte Brown was the bright spot for West Virginia State as he rushed for 148 yards. including a 65-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
