COLUMBUS, Ga. – It was another rivalry classic Saturday afternoon. Fort Valley State turnovers and costly missed chances gave Albany State the 34th Fountain City Classic by a 20-15 gridiron final.
Despite committing four turnovers and losing the ball on downs at the end of another long drive, FVSU still had two more chances in the final four minutes. After a Darnell Stephens interception, the Wildcat offense drove 50 yards down to the ASU 19-yardline, but it could not get three yards in two plays to continue the drive. Following a defensive three-and-out stand, FVSU saw Kelvin Durham find Brandon Marshall for 15 yards into visiting territory, but the final pass and play went to Marshall again but did not reach more than a few yards to end the day.
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| Dray Duncan races down the sideline for the defensive 2-pt conversion at the end of the 1st half |
With the defeat, FVSU ends its 2024 campaign with a 6-4 record, its third winning season under coach Shawn Gibbs. For the second year in a row, ASU (6-4) prevented FVSU from reaching the SIAC Championship game with the Fountain City Classic result.
FVSU was the superior team stat wise on both sides of the ball. The Wildcat offense amassed 399 yards on 68 plays with 331 through the air. The BlueDeath Defense held the Golden Rams to only 236 yards over 56 plays and 5 of 13 on third-down situations.
ASU, though, won the turnover battle. The Golden Rams committed only two turnovers to the Wildcats' four. In fact, the second FVSU interception came just 11 seconds before half on a battled pass at the line of scrimmage which was returned for a 48-yard touchdown for what would be the game-winning points since no points were scored in the second half.
Durham completed 19 of 33 pass attempts for 331 yards with one touchdown, but he was picked off three times. Dejuan Bell pulled in seven of those completions for 107 yards and the lone FVSU touchdown of 26 yards. Jamie Hampton added four catches for 71 yards and rushed twice for 10 yards. J.T. Pendleton grabbed a 43-yard pass in the first quarter, while both Alex Henton and Jamal Sanders had 17-yard receptions.
Marshall rushed 28 times for 62 yards and caught four passes for 71 yards.
It was another FVSU balanced stat sheet. K.J. Spence paced the tacklers with six, including a sack. Both Kentrell Lawson and Adeon Farmer had five stops apiece. Cedric Hillsman recorded five of his own tackles and a tackle for loss.
Jaydn Walker, who had a tackle for loss and Josh Burney, who had a sack, both posted four tackles. Both Marquis Hood and Alphonso Harris added four tackles and one for a loss. Malik Harp forced the ASU fumble. Stephens picked off a pass.
FVSU put the first points on the scoreboard on its opening possession. The offense drove 46 yards on seven plays, but it stalled at the ASU 28-yardline. Daniel Gibbs took the field and booted a 43-yard field goal.
ASU answered with the first touchdown by driving 75 yards for a 7-3 lead with 3:43 left in the first stanza.
The Wildcat retook the advantage on a long 11-play and 80-yard touchdown drive. With his second grab on the drive, Bell pulled in the pass on the left side, juked a couple Ram defenders and raced in from 26 yards and a 10-7 lead early in the third quarter.
The Golden Rams came back in what was turning out to be a back-and-forth contest for its second lead after a 40-yard touchdown pass, 14-10.
FVSU saw another drive stall on the ASU 3-yardline where Gibbs made it 2-for-2 on field goals with a 20-yarder and 14-13 score at 2:49.
After a quick ASU punt, FVSU moved the ball 32 yards on four plays to their 47-yardline. The fifth play saw Durham pass batted up in the air and returned for the ASU touchdown. The Wildcats did block the point after attempt where Dray Duncan ran it back 97 yards for the defensive 2-point conversion and 20-15 score.
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