HOUSTON – Alcorn State quarterback John Gibbs Jr. was the conquering hero as he returned to his hometown Saturday to lead the Braves in their first SWAC Championship Game appearance.
Gibbs, who played locally at Booker T. Washington High School, had a scintillating performance while guiding Alcorn to a 38-24 victory against Southern University at NRG Stadium.
The 6-6, 230-pound junior was a one-man wrecking crew against the defending conference champion Jaguars, who entered the game ranked No. 1 among HBCUs despite a 50-16 loss to Alcorn during the regular season. Gibbs accounted for 377 yards total offense – 137 on 16 rushing attempts and 245 passing.
Gibbs also threw three touchdown passes while completing 20 of 30 attempts to propel Alcorn to the first 10-win season in school history, caught a pass for five yards and was named the game’s offensive MVP.
“It meant a lot having my family and friends here supporting me,’’ Gibbs said. “Our defense told us ‘Score a touchdown, and we will stop them’.”
“We’re going to move all of our home games to Houston,’’ third-year Alcorn coach Jay Hopson. “He was tremendous all season leading our team.’’
Gibbs was the 2014 SWAC co-Offensive Player of the Year after passing 2,237 yards, and 18 touchdowns with only six interceptions and rushing for 874 yards and 11 touchdowns. He hurt Southern with his passing in Braves’ regular season win by completing 14 of 21 attempts for 224 yards and a touchdown.
But it was Alcorn’s rushing attack that devastated the Jaguars. The Braves ran the ball 59 times for 410 yards, and running backs Anthony Williams III (151 yards) and Darryan Ragsdale (125) each rushed for more than 100 yards.
The Jaguars set their defense to stop Williams and Ragsdale in the championship rematch. Their strategy was successful as Williams and Ragsdale combined for only 40 yards on 17 carries.
But in the end, it was case of the Southern picking its poison. Gibbs was lethal running the ball and throwing it whereas Williams and Ragsdale killed them the first time around. Gibbs marched the Braves 71 yards in seven plays for a touchdown on their first possession, giving a glimpse of what was in store.
He accounted for all but three yards on the drive, completing all three of his pass attempts for 18 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown toss to Jordan Payne and rushing for 53 yards on two carries. His 50-yard run on first-and-15 from Alcorn’s 34 seemed to ignite the Braves.
“We were going to make John beat us,’’ Southern coach Dawson Odums said. “The first time we tried to take the ball out of his hands. That didn’t go so well.’’
The Braves kept Southern’s defense guessing with a balanced attack that produced 480 total yards, 230 rushing and 250 passing, Alcorn appeared to be on the verge of turning the game into another runaway when the Braves grabbed a17-3 lead after Williams scored on a 12-yard run at 8:20 in the second period.
But Willie Quinn gave the Jaguars life with an 86-yard punt return touchdown with 2:59 left in the half. Gibbs responded by throwing a three-yard touchdown pass to Billy Shed eight seconds before the half ended, and the Braves seemingly were still in good shape.
They were dominating the game statistically, having outgained Southern 321-75 in total yards. Another breakdown in the kicking game, however, enabled Southern to tie the score at 24-all.
Dennis Craig scooped up a blocked punt – the first of two for the Jaguars in the game – and scored on a nine-yard return. “We were horrible on special teams,’’ Hopson said. Fortunately for the Braves, their special teams’ play didn’t rub off on Gibbs. He led Alcorn on a seven-play, 59-yard drive to regain the lead. He completed two key throws for 33 yards on the drive, which ended on Williams’ four-yard run.
Gibbs put the game out of reach with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Vessell with 14:12 left in the game. With the loss, Southern (9-4) had its seven-game wining streak snapped.
“Defeat makes you better if you learn from it,’’ Odums said. “We had a great season, but we came up short. They played better than us. We had opportunities. This game had the makings of coming to a fantastic finish. They made more plays than we did.’’
The win gave Alcorn its first conference championship since 1993 when Steve “Air II’’ McNair was the quarterback, and it capped an impressive turnaround since Hopson became the first white football coach in the SWAC’s 94-year history.
The Braves were 2-8 the year before Hopson took over. They were 4-7 Hopson’s first season and 9-3 in 2013. A 19-18 home loss to Southern last year knocked them out of the East Division championship and a berth in the title game.
“We had our sights zeroed in on this game,’’ Hopson said. “We took our knocks the first year. After the 2013 season, the belief was there. This is just a really special day. There is no way to describe it. It is a special, special day to be an Alcorn State Brave.’’
(Photo: John Gibbs, Jr. Twitter)
