By Donald Hunt | For The Birmingham Times
After a week off, Alabama State and Alabama A&M should be ready to battle each other in arguably one of the biggest HBCU games of the year. The two long time rivals will play in the 84th Magic City Classic on Saturday, Oct. 25 at Birmingham’s Legion Field. The kickoff will be at 2:30 p.m.
ASU (4-2, 2-1) leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference in offense. The Hornets are averaging 39.5 points a game. ASU is led by quarterback Andrew Body who has completed 111-of-161 passing attempts for 1,729 yards with 19 touchdowns and just one interception this season. Body leads the SWAC in passing.
He’s also the top rusher in the SWAC with 73 carries for 613 yards. Joining him in the backfield are running backs Jahbari Kuykendall (46 carries for 436 yards and 1 TD) and Jamarie Hostzclaw (73 rushes for 371 yards and 4TDs).
The Hornets have been able to move the ball through the air with wide receivers Jalen Jones, from Birmingham’s Ramsay High School (25 catches for 502 yards and 7 TDs) and Ajai Harrell (19 receptions for 365 yards and 3 TDs).
On the other side of the ledger, AAMU (4-3, 1-2) can score a lot of points as well. The Bulldogs averaging 31.9 points a game. AAMU has a talented signal caller with Cornelious Brown IV who has connected on 81-of-125 passes for 1,080 yards and seven TDs. The Bulldogs’ wide receivers Franck Pierre (22 catches for 421 yards and 4 TDs) and Daveon Walker (24 receptions for 345 yards and 4 TDs) are real playmakers.
This game has the potential to be a high scoring contest.
In the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), Miles College (2-6, 2-3) will visit Central State (2-4, 2-6) on Saturday, Oct. 25 with a two-game winning streak. The kickoff will be at 12 p.m. Miles College is coming off a 27-20 victory over Clark Atlanta. Running backs Edward Osley and Roderick Thomas should provide the Golden Bears with a solid ground attack against the Marauders.
In other SIAC action, Tuskegee University (2-5, 1-4) will host Allen University (2-5, 2-3) on Saturday, Oct. 25. The kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Tuskegee University suffered 7-3 loss to Albany State, which happens to be one of the best teams in the SIAC. The Golden Tigers’ defensive back Mikael King Jr. has been a real steady player. King has 25 total and 19 solo tackles along with two interceptions this season.
