Postgame Notes – 2015
Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl
North Carolina A&T 41,
Alcorn State 34
December 19, 2015 – Georgia
Dome (Atlanta, Ga.)
Attendance:
35,528
Offensive
MVP: Tarik Cohen, North Carolina A&T
Defensive MVP: Denzel Jones,
North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T Team
Notes
The
victory secured North Carolina A&T the inaugural Air Force Reserve
Celebration Bowl title.
A&T
also secured its third 10-win season – 11 wins in 1999 and 10 wins in 2003.
A&T
has twice previously played in the Georgia Dome – falling twice to South
Carolina State (29-24 in 2013 and 13-0 in 2014).
The
Aggies are now 10-1 in their last 11 games against FCS opponents away from
home.
Head coach Rod Broadway
improved to 34-1 in his career when leading at the half.
Tarik Cohen
With
1,543 rushing yards this season, he sets the school’s single-season rushing
record.
Has
amassed seven straight 100-yard rushing games, including Saturday’s 295-yard
effort on 22 carries. He extended his school record with 21 100-yard rushing
games in his career.
It
also stands as Cohen’s fourth career 200-yard rushing game.
He
had five carries for 166 yards and an 83-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
His
295 yards rushing stands as the third-best single-game rushing effort in school
history. Maurice Hicks gained 437 yards versus Morgan State in 2001 and Hicks
also had 353 yards versus South Carolina State in 2000.
Cohen’s
83-yard rush is tied for the fourth-longest rushing play in school history, and
the longest by an Aggie since 1996 – an 84-yard rush by Michael Basnight vs.
Florida A&M.
That rush is tied for the
seventh-longest rush in the FCS this season and the longest in the MEAC.
Khris Gardin
With
74 punt return yards in the game, Gardin broke the FCS record for punt return
yards in a season. He finished with 740 yards this season, breaking the
previous record of 667 yards set by Montana’s Tuff Harris in 2006.
Gardin
returned the first punt of the game 74 yards for a touchdown – his third punt
return touchdown this season
It was his second-longest
return of the season (82-yarder for a touchdown versus Howard). Gardin also had
a 71-yard punt return for touchdown versus Hampton.
Alcorn State Team Notes
Alcorn
State won the only previous meeting versus North Carolina A&T – a 16-13
decision in 2004.
Had not dropped a road/neutral
site game since the opening week of the season – a loss at Georgia Tech on
Sept. 3.
Alcorn State’s only three
setbacks against FCS opponents were by a combined 14 points this season – 35-24
to Grambling State, 40-34 to Prairie View A&M and Saturday’s 41-34 decision
to NC A&T.
Anthony Williams, Jr.
Alcorn
State’s first score of the game was an 84-yard punt return for touchdown by
Anthony Williams, Jr.
Williams’
return was a season-long punt return for Alcorn.
That
return was tied for the seventh-longest punt return in the FCS this season and
the longest in the SWAC.
Williams also recorded an
interception, recovered a blocked field goal and finished the game with XX
tackles
Darryan Ragsdale
Ragsdale ends the season 87
yards shy of Alcorn State’s single-season rushing record of 1,286 yards.
Ragsdale finished with 1,183 yards.
Warren Gatewood
His blocked field goal in the
third quarter was the first of his career and the third blocked kick by Alcorn
State as a team this season.
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