In an unbiased media universe, Saturday’s Southern Heritage Classic would have been the lead story on major sports networks, rather than a brief mention in a football roundup for historically Black colleges and universities.
Because that was one heck of a football game.
Alcorn State’s 53-51 double-overtime win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff had just about everything: 104 points, 1,124 yards of offense, a 100-yard interception return, a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback, a blocked field goal as regulation time expired, and a would-be game-ending fourth-down stop overturned by replay.
But that wasn’t the final play.
UAPB quarterback Garrison Davis tried a two-point conversion that would have forced a third overtime, but the pass was incomplete. Alcorn won.
The third year of a new era for the classic game is in the books, after Jackson State University pulled out in 2023 and Tennessee State declined to continue participation in early 2025, both schools citing financial reasons.
Although the crowds were smaller and the lower bowl more sparse for this year’s game, passionate fans from the competing institutions were treated to an exhilarating game that may go down as the best one ever.
They promised a good one
At Friday’s Southern Heritage Classic Coaches Luncheon, UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton and Alcorn State coach Cedric Thomas spent much of their time talking less about beating each other than about the responsibility that comes with coaching young men attending HBCUs.
Thomas, a UAPB alumnus, had plenty of affection for his alma mater. Before closing his remarks, he offered a prediction that required neither analytics nor a scouting report: “It’s gonna be a damn good game.”
He undersold it.
The Alcorn State Braves jumped ahead 12-3 in the first quarter, but the UAPB Golden Lions kept answering. The Braves carried an 18-17 lead into halftime before the Golden Lions took their first lead in the third quarter on Davis’ 39-yard touchdown pass to D’Avery Robinson.
Then came the fourth quarter. And any semblance of a normal football game disappeared.
With UAPB leading 24-18 early in the fourth quarter, Golden Lions defensive back Michael Henderson intercepted Alcorn quarterback Jaylon Tolbert near the goal line and took it the other way — all the way — for a 100-yard touchdown.
That should have been a backbreaker, but the teams traded touchdowns, including a 54-yard UAPB scoring run followed by a 68-yard Alcorn touchdown pass. UAPB intercepted Tolbert again, but failed to capitalize, and Alcorn eventually erased a 14-point deficit to tie the game at 38.
Then came what seemed to be the end. Alcorn drove to the UAPB 3 yard line in the closing seconds and lined up for a chip-shot field goal to win it.
Henderson blocked it as time expired. Overtime.
A wild game gets wilder
As remarkable as Henderson’s two potentially game-saving plays were, what happened before kickoff made them even more so. Henderson had arrived in Memphis that morning after attending his grandmother’s funeral in Atlanta, according to UAPB Athletics.
“Michael Henderson is one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around,” Hampton said afterward. “To see him play the way he did, I’m sure he was honoring his grandmother. I was extremely happy for him.”
Henderson finished with nine tackles in addition to the 100-yard pick-six and blocked field goal. And for a moment in overtime, it appeared his remarkable night would end with a UAPB victory.
The Golden Lions scored first. Alcorn answered, but on fourth down near the goal line, the Braves appeared to come up short.
Turnover on downs. Game over.
Except it wasn’t.
Replay showed Alcorn receiver Armon Wright had broken the plane. Touchdown. The extra point tied the game at 45 and sent a classic game that had already lasted more than four hours into a second overtime.
Alcorn struck first in the second overtime, with Ernest Temple scoring from 2 yards out. The Braves then successfully converted the required two-point attempt, Caleb Anderson connecting with Wright to make it 53-45.
But UAPB refused to go quietly. Jaylen Jennings scored on an 18-yard run, pulling the Golden Lions within 53-51 and setting up one final but unsuccessful two-point try.
One for the record books
Tolbert finished with 485 passing yards and five touchdowns. Temple rushed for 144 yards and two scores. Kelly caught six passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. For UAPB, Davis threw four touchdown passes and added 67 yards rushing, while Jennings and Webber combined for 183 yards on the ground.
The 104 combined points were the most in Southern Heritage Classic history, according to Alcorn State Athletics. It was the fourth overtime game ever and the first since 2006.
Hampton knew how close his team had come.
“It was a hard-fought game, and we had a good chance to win it,” he said. “It’s going to hurt for 24 hours, but we can’t let this game beat us twice.”
He also gave credit where it was due.
“Hats off to Alcorn,” Hampton said. “They fought, they never flinched, and they kept battling. It was a good football game.”
