Late fumble costs Fort Valley State

COLUMBUS -- Albany State made Fort Valley State pay dearly for its lone turnover.

The Rams drove for the winning score after the FVSU fumble, winning 21-17 on Saturday in the annual Fountain City Classic at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium.

With the victory, Albany State won the SIAC East Division. The Rams will play Miles in the SIAC championship game Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama.

FVSU took its first lead of the game 17-14 with 14:08 remaining in the fourth quarter when Travis Richmond caught a Malcolm Eady pass from 4 yards out.

Albany State drove from its 17 to the Wildcats' 21, where Zachary Gayden-Holley attempted a 38-yard field goal that missed wide right with 6:58 remaining.

On the next offensive play for the Wildcats, Seth Hill fumbled the ball back to the Rams.

There were also two penalties after the fumble on FVSU, setting Albany State up with first-and-goal from the Wildcats' 7.

"We turned the ball over at a costly time," FVSU head coach Donald Pittman said. "That's the story."

It took one play for Jarvis Small to get into the end zone and give the Rams the lead back at 21-17 with 6:43 left in the game.

"Any time we get a turnover like that, we've got to get the ball to Jarvis (Small) to get us started again," Albany State head coach Dan Land said.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Late fumble costs Fort Valley State ."