HUNTSVILLE — Cornelious Brown IV threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns as the Alabama A&M football team gave head coach Connell Maynor his 100th career victory Saturday with a 49-7 win over Kentucky State in the 14th annual Louis Crews Classic.
“I’m just happy for the players,” Maynor said. “One hundred wins means I am probably getting old, been coaching a long time. But I had a lot of great coaches and a lot of great football players to make it to 100 wins.
“It ain’t just me. It’s always the staff and the players.”
Alabama A&M (1-1) forced Kentucky State to punt on its first possession and the Bulldogs went to work, scoring on its opening drove, going 59 yards in 12 plays and taking just over four minutes off the clock.
AAMU used a balanced offense in scoring its first touchdown of the season, mixing in four passes and eight rushes as Xavier Lankford scored on a 1-yard keeper to camp the drive and give the Bulldogs a quick 7-0 lead with 9:38 remaining.
It didn’t take long for the second Bulldog score of the night as AAMU started at the KSU 43 after a Thorobred punt.
Brown found a wide-open Duke Miller down the left sideline for a 38-yard score as the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 14-0 with 6:36 left.
Alabama A&M took advantage of a Kentucky State turnover and marched 60 yards in six plays as Jacolby Hewitt caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Brown as the Bulldogs increased their advantage to 21-0 just five seconds into the second quarter.
After stopping the Thorobreds on fourth down, the Bulldogs went right back to work, taking more than four minutes off the clock as Barry White caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Aveon Smith to complete the 72-yard drive as Alabama A&M stretched its lead to 28-0 with exactly two minutes left in the half.
The Bulldogs took the opening kickoff of the second half, mixing the run and pass as Brown connected with Ryan Morrow for an 18-yard touchdown as AAMU extended its advantage to 35-0 with 12:47 remaining.
Alabama A&M put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter as Brown threw his fourth touchdown of the night, a 16-yard pass to Miller, capping a 9-play, 89-yard drive as the Bulldogs pushed the margin to 42-0 with 8:17 left in the period.
AAMU added a Kolten Nero 4-yard touchdown run with just over 10 minutes to play, extending the margin to 49-0.
Kentucky State (0-2) got into the scoring column midway through the final period as Jaun Gainious found Jaden Hale for eight yards as the Thorobreds trailed, 49-7, with 7:15 remaining.
The Bulldogs return to action Saturday at Louis Crews Stadium when Georgetown (Ky.) College visits The Hill. Kickoff is 6 p.m.
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