Mississippi Valley State University will hit the road this week and take on Alabama State in Montgomery for a SWAC East showdown on Saturday.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
Alabama State is fresh off a 26-12 homecoming loss to Jackson State University last week. The Hornets are 2-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play, and Valley, 0-6 overall, is searching for its first win on the season after falling short to Alcorn State 30-7 last week.
MVSU head coach Vincent Dancy said he was proud of the way he defense played, but his offense has to step it up.
“I thought the guys played hard and tough early on,” Dancy said. “Defensively, I thought they over achieved, especially limiting the Alcorn kid (Jarveon Howard) who averages 130 rushing yards a game. I thought they played hard for four quarters.
“We were moving the ball, then we’d make a mistake or miscommunication here or there, but the turnovers are what killed us,” Dancy added. “We had two crucial turnovers that hurt us and put our defense in poor position once again.”
MVSU quarterback Jamari Jones went 13-of-23 for 151 yards and one passing touchdown to Caleb Johnson. Johnson was the leading receiver and rusher. He finished with 64 yards rushing on 17 carries, and had 48 yards receiving on two catches for one touchdown.
After playing six tough games, Dancy reported that there are numerous injuries plaguing key positions ahead of Saturday’s game.
“We’re a little banged up right now. We had 20 guys out yesterday, we had 15 guys miss that game (Alcorn State), we also have eight players out for the year with serious injuries,” Dancy said. “Four of those injuries are on the offensive line.”
Injuries or not, Dancy likes the matchup between two teams for this week’s battle. He said Alabama State’s offense has been struggling recently, but their defense can cause some problems.
“They don’t scare me offensively when it comes to Alabama State. They turn the ball over a lot, they’re finding their way offensively,” Dancy said. “Defensively, they have some good players. They are very aggressive, they’ll come after you. Offensively, we have our hands full. We have to figure out how we can keep the defense off the field and not put them in terrible positions.”
The plan offensively for Valley when it takes on the Hornets is simple — get Johnson the ball.
“We have to figure out how we can keep the defense off the field and not put them in terrible positions. We have to find a way to get the ball into Johnson’s hands,” Dancy said. “Whether we throw it to him, hand it to him, or snap it to him, we have to get this kid the ball in space.
“Once you get him the ball, this kid is one of the best backs I’ve seen in a long time,” Dancy added.
Johnson currently has 349 yards on 85 carries so far in the season. He looks to improve his already great career at Valley on Saturday.
-Contact Jared Conerly at 662-581-7237 or jconerly@gwcommonwealth.com.
