Fort Valley State loses after giving up 20 fourth-quarter points
Alderson Broaddus scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to storm back and beat Fort Valley State 27-20 on Saturday in a non-conference game at Wildcat Stadium.
The Wildcats fell to 3-2 overall while the Battlers improved to 5-0.
FVSU led 20-7 after three quarters and kept Alderson Broaddus at bay for two-thirds of the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats got a turnover when Kentroun James forced a fumble to give the hosts possession at their 45 with 9:13 left. But FVSU went three and out and gave the ball back with 6:40 left in the game.
The Battlers needed only 1:40 to cover 74 yards on nine plays, converting a fourth-and-1 along the way and getting an 11-yard touchdown pass with 5:01 left.
FVSU couldn’t get a first down and punted, setting Alderson Broaddus back on its 20.
This time, the Battlers needed 13 plays to cover 80 yards for the score, but consumed only 2:31. The point-after kick put the visitors on top 21-20.
The Wildcats took over on their 29 with 21 seconds left, but Michael James picked off Malcolm Eady’s pass and took it back 57 yards for the game-clinching touchdown.
Alderson Broaddus outgained FVSU 446-336 in total offense, on one more play from scrimmage. The Battlers sent the Wildcats backward with 31 yards in losses.
FVSU had the ball for about nine more minutes than Alderson Broaddus.
Travis Richmond led FVSU with 59 yards on 15 carries, while Eady added 53 yards on 15 rushes. Easy was 21-of-38 for 197 yards and two touchdowns with only the late interception.
Drelon Freeman caught seven passes for 69 yards.
Alderson Broaddus got 120 yards on 26 carries from Brandon Jones.
The Wildcats return to SIAC play on Saturday at Kentucky State before returning home on Oct. 17 to host Florida Tech.
LIBERTY 41, GEORGIA STATE 33
Despite nearly 400 yards passing and four touchdowns from senior Nick Arbuckle, Georgia State fell to Liberty at the Georgia Dome.
Arbuckle finished 18-for-29 for 394 yards, including touchdown passes of 76, 61 and 58 yards, but the Flames netted more than 500 yards of offense to improve to 3-2 on the season. Arbuckle also ran for a touchdown as the Panthers dropped to 1-3.
Senior Donovan Harden, who missed the first three games of the season due to injury, caught five passes for a 179 yards, including the 76-yard touchdown, the sixth-longest play from scrimmage in program history which came on his first catch of the season and Georgia State’s third play of the game. The 179 receiving yards are the second-most in school history, seven yards behind the school record that he also owns.
Robert Davis (Northside) hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass, and Penny Hart had a 58-yard scoring play.
Tarris Batiste recorded a school-record 17 tackles, including 11 solo tackles.
Georgia State scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, but trailed Liberty 21-14 at the half. The Panthers opened the second half with Arbuckle’s touchdown to Hart to tie the game at 21 early in the third quarter.
The Flames, ranked No. 18 in the FCS, were able to control the clock by rushing 50 times for 263 yards. Quarterback Josh Woodrum was very efficient, completing 25-of-32 passes for 239 yards and engineering four touchdown drives of 75 yards or longer. D.J. Abnar rushed for 88 yards, and Desmond Rice added 87, including three 1-yard touchdowns.
This story was originally published October 4, 2015 at 2:46 AM with the headline "Fort Valley State loses after giving up 20 fourth-quarter points ."