Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Mississippi Valley State faced its first conference opponent Saturday, but unfortunately it wasn't the outcome the Delta Devils had hoped for.
Alabama State scored 30 first half points on its way to a 47-22 win over the Delta Devils at the New ASU Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 13,865.
MVSU (1-2, 0-1 SWAC) made a late fourth quarter rally after scoring 14 points, but the Hornets answered with 10 points of its own to seal the win. Despite the loss, one bright spot for Valley was receiver Julian Stafford, who torched ASU all night. The Memphis native finished with 12 catches and a career-high 222 receiving yards and a touchdown. He finished 74 yards shy of tying Jerry Rice's single-game record for receiving yards.
While Stafford made plays through the air, it was ASU who owned the rushing battle. The Hornets rushed for 375 yards and had two players finish with at least 100 yards on the ground.
Valley stood toe-to-toe with the Hornets in a wacky first quarter that included a pair of blocked kicks and a 98-yard return following a blocked extra point. The Hornets took less than two minutes to score on its first drive, which was capped off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Duhart to DeMario Bell.
MVSU answered on its next drive using three catches by Stafford, including the final one for 36 yards. DeShawn Davis finished the drive off with a 4-yard plunge for a touchdown. Following a blocked kick, ASU held a 7-6 lead.
Later in the quarter, however, the Delta Devils had a setback. MVSU's Cherchen Galon's Galon fumbled the ball after recovering a blocked punt and ASU's Kourtney Berry returned the fumble 18 yards for a score to give the Hornets a 16-6 lead. Then, on the ensuing extra point, Avery Boykin blocked the kick and senior linebacker Antonio Benson returned it 98 yards -- adding two points to the scoreboard for MVSU to cut ASU's lead to 16-8.
Valley was right on their heels, but the Delta Devils were held scoreless in the second and third quarter. ASU's Daniel Duhart and Malcolm Cyrus each rushed for a touchdown in the second quarter to give their team a 30-8 halftime lead.
Quinterius Toppings' 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter extended the Hornets' lead to 37-8 going into the fourth quarter.
Behind quarterback Patrick Ivy, who was the third quarterback who played in the game, the Delta Devils put a scare in the Hornets after cutting the lead to 37-22. Ivy threw two touchdown passes in a three-minute stretch, with the first one coming on a 42-yard strike to Stafford. The next one came on a 46-yard connection with Trey Ford with 11:29 on the clock.
Two minutes later, however, ASU answered with a touchdown of its own. Khalil Thomas capped off a five-play drive with a 8-yard scamper for a score to distance themselves from the Delta Devils.
Three quarterbacks saw action Saturday - Ivy, Dontrinell Scott and Quantavius Peterson. Ivy completed 7-of-12 attempts for 176 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Meanwhile, Scott, who got the start, completed 12-of-20 passes for 147 yards.
Valley's Jeremy Dobson filled in for an injured Jerrell Moore and had a team-high 55 rushing yards on 11 carries.
On defense, Charles Moore finished with six tackles and a sack and freshman cornerback Emory Ireland had his first career interception.
