By james art
By Barnett Wright | Birmingham Times
Kareem Keye threw two touchdown passes, Daquon Kincey ran for 156 yards and Alabama State held off Alabama A&M 27-19 on Saturday in the 83rd annual Magic City Classic at historic Legion Field in Birmingham.
With both teams needing a win to keep pace with SWAC East division leader Jackson State, ASU (4-3, overall, 3-1 conference) gave the Adamsville native and Key Little High graduate his first start.
While Key had seen time under center this season, the last one against Mississippi Valley State, his first start on one of the biggest stages in HBCU football, is much different.
Key hit Asa Gregg with a 31-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive and added a 6-yard run to Derrick Harden to give the Hornets a 17-3 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Hornets added a second field goal by Brandon Gilliams and a long pick-6 by Ta’Shaun Sims for a 27-3 lead heading into the fourth.
Alabama A&M (3-4, 1-2) closed the gap with touchdown passes of 65 and 31 yards from Xavier Lankford to Keenan Hambrick. The Bulldogs added a two-point conversion after each score and trailed 27-19 with 5 minutes remaining. Lankford was intercepted on AAMU’s only remaining possession.
Key completed 14 of 20 passes for 131 yards.
Lankford completed 13 of 26 passes for 207 yards with two TDs and two picks. Hambrick caught 5 for 139 yards and Lankford’s two touchdowns.
In the SWAC East race, the Hornets remain a game behind Jackson State in a second-place tie with Florida A&M (the Rattlers, of course, have the head-to-head tiebreaker, but lost that tiebreaker to Jackson State).
Overall conference records may have to be taken into account if a three-way tie occurs, but the good news for Bama State is that the possibility still exists.
After games against Alcorn State and Grambling, they will face the Tigers on Nov. 16 in Montgomery. This will probably be the day I crown an official SWAC East champion.
The Associated Press contributed to this post