Fortunately for either Mississippi Valley State or Alabama State, somebody is soon going to get some much-needed relief.
The two teams will square off Saturday night in Itta Bena at Rice-Totten Stadium in a battle of winless squads.
“Mississippi Valley State has struggled like we have, but that team has shown some good things,” ASU coach Brian Jenkins said. “They can put a complete game together at any time. We’re going into hostile territory and have to find some way to operate on a higher level to come out with a victory.”
The Delta Devils are 0-3 overall, 0-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference after last week’s 55-14 loss to Alcorn State and have been outscored 171-27 so far this season. The Hornets are 0-3, 0-2 also following last week’s 34-10 loss to Grambling State.
Despite the 0-3 record, Comegy says Alabama State has a “fine” team.
“They have an excellent quarterback and a quick running back. Defensively, they run to the ball,” said the Valley coach. “It’s going to be hard to beat them, but we’re glad to have them at home. I think our guys are up for the challenge.
“There are some things they do that we feel like we can take advantage of, but we’ve got to be able to execute when we get those chances.”
The young Valley defense, which at times has started three freshmen in the secondary, has been lit up pretty good through the first three games, albeit against three of the tougher teams MVSU will face this season (New Mexico, Southern and Alcorn State).
MVSU, which is in search of its first winning season since 2006, ranks last in the SWAC in scoring defense (57.0 ppg.).
Things, however, haven’t been any better on offense, where Comegy’s squad has been using a revolving-door policy at quarterback. Three different signal callers have gotten the majority of snaps in the three losses.
Last week, Ruban Thurston came off the bench to replace Dontrinell Scott. Quantavious Peterson started the opener and quickly gave way to Scott in the second game against Southern.
How bad is the offensive struggles for Valley? It has the SWAC’s worst unit, averaging only 9.0 points a game and 211.3 yards per game. The Delta Devils only have a 31.3 percent third-down conversion rate and have allowed a league-high 18 sacks.
ASU has also used several different quarterbacks. With Daniel Duhart sidelined for a second straight week, quarterback Quinterrius Toppings made his first start in two years for Alabama State last week. He is one of three different players who already started under center this season for the Hornets, who are second-worst in the SWAC in total offense at 268.7 yards per game.
Jenkins said Toppings earned the start against Grambling during practice, but, Duhart, a fifth-year senior, has played the best among the three so far this season.
“QT had a great week of practice and did some exceptional things for us last Saturday,” Jenkins said. “Duhart is a veteran, and has won a lot of games for Alabama State. We’ll have to see which guy can ignite this offense.”
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
