HOUSTON -- Grambling State running back Martez Carter had to remind himself of advice he frequently hears from Tigers coach Broderick Fobbs.Coach always preaches that anytime you make a mistake, it happens for a reason, and you have to have a short-term memory, Carter said.Carter rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown and used a dominant second half to help Grambling State overcome a 17-point halftime deficit and Alcorn State 27-20 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday at NRG Stadium.Late in the fourth quarter, Carter was nearly in the end zone when an Alcorn State defender knocked the ball loose on the 2-yard line. Luckily for Carter and the Tigers, receiver Dominique Leake was in the perfect place to catch the fumble in midair and step into the end zone to tie the game at 20.Like coach says, every mistake happens for a reason.After a blocked extra-point attempt by Alcorn State, Carter used his short-term memory to put the fumble behind him and scamper into the end zone on a 31-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes remaining to give Grambling State (10-1) its first lead of the game.Grambling State cornerback Jameel Jackson intercepted a pass at midfield with three minutes left to secure the win.The game was a rematch of the 2015 SWAC title game, which Alcorn State won 49-21. The Tigers won their first SWAC championship since 2011 and 24th conference title in school history, the most in the conference.They put us in a bind and dominated us in the first half, but our kids continued to fight, Fobbs said. We scrambled and made some plays and got some key stops, defensively, and were able to come away with the victory.After dominating the SWAC in an undefeated run in the regular season, the Tigers found themselves in unfamiliar territory at halftime as they trailed 17-0.Once we came in the halftime locker room and saw how everybody had the same mindset, I wasnt worried at all, Grambling State quarterback Devante Kincade said. I was ready to get back on the field.Kincade threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns on 15 of 22 passing despite eight sacks.Alcorn State (5-6) got 126 yards rushing and a touchdown from DeLance Turner, who had 16 carries.We gave up big plays and those kinds of things hurt, Alcorn State head coach Fred McNair said. Its just the way it happened and thats the way that second half played out, unfortunately.McNair, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach in February after previous head coach Jay Hopson left for Southern Mississippi, guided his team past a rocky 1/3 start to return to the conference championship game. McNair is the brother of the late NFL quarterback and Alcorn State legend Steve McNair.Grambling State will face North Carolina A&T in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17 in Atlanta, the same opponent that beat Alcorn State in the same game 41-34 a year ago.THE TAKEAWAYGRAMBLING STATE: The Tigers dominated the SWAC in the regular season, winning by an average margin of 31.7 points but had to overcome a sluggish first-half start to finish the regular season undefeated in conference play.ALCORN STATE: The Braves dominated the first half and led by three scores at the break before losing momentum early in the third quarter and the lead in the fourth quarter.EMERGENCY KICKERAfter Grambling State kicker/punter Jonathan Wallace was injured on a punting play, he was unable to resume his duties as kicker. Fobbs turned to CB Abubakkar Conteh, who had never previously kicked for the Tigers and the team only recently found out played soccer in high school in Canada. With the exception of the blocked extra-point attempt on a bad snap, Conteh delivered, converting two extra points and handling kickoff duties.RUSHING TO CONCLUSIONSAlcorn State won in its two previous trips to the SWAC title game by dominating the ground game. The Braves more than doubled their opponents rushing yard totals in the previous two victories and were on their way to a similar feat on Saturday, leading the rushing total by a wide margin of 173-96 at the half. In the second half, however, Grambling State outgained Alcorn State 79-16, a key turnaround that ultimately flipped the game.PENALTIES GALOREMcNair acknowledged that committing 15 penalties for 134 yards was a major factor in Alcorn States loss of the early lead. Nine of those penalties for 82 yards were committed in the first half. Comparatively, Grambling State committed 10 penalties for 95 yards.UP NEXTGRAMBLING STATE: The Tigers will represent the SWAC in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, taking on North Carolina A&T out of the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference.ALCORN STATE: The Braves are expected to return most of their starters on offense in 2017, including QB Lenorris Footman and Turner, and graduate just three starters on defense. Jack Cooley Jersey . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Cheap Kings Jerseys Authentic . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. http://www.cheapsacramentokingsjerseys.com/ . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Peja Stojakovic Jersey . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Mike Bibby Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. NEW YORK -- Chris Kreider proudly wore the Broadway Hat in the victorious New York Rangers dressing room as he tried to describe the feeling of saving his teams season. Kreider deftly steered in a pass from Rick Nash 7:03 into overtime, and the Rangers stayed alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. "It is so surreal," the 22-year-old Kreider said. "Its not something that can really be explained. It is something that just has to be felt, but it was awesome. Im just excited to give these guys an opportunity to play another game. "There is no quit in this room." New York, which erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits, still trails the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-1. The Rangers will need to win again on Saturday in Boston to force a Game 6 back in Madison Square Garden. The Rangers, who were outshot 40-32, won a faceoff deep in their zone, and Nash rushed the puck up ice. He stopped above the right circle and fed a hard pass in front that Kreider skated into and tipped past goalie Tuukka Rask for his first of the playoffs. New York, 0-3 in overtime in these playoffs, was eliminated from the conference finals last year by New Jersey in extra time in Game 6. "It is time for us to win an overtime game," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "This was a big one. It was such a great feeling to see that puck go in." Kreider, who made his NHL debut in last years playoffs, has six career post-season goals in just 25 games. "I was lucky enough to play with Rick," Kreider said. "Just trying to go hard to the net. Hes such a talented player. He was able to find my tape, and I tried to put it on net." Derek Stepan and Brian Boyle scored tying goals in the third period for the Rangers, who even found success on the power play. Carl Hagelin netted New Yorks first goal of the game in the second period. Lundqvist made 37 saves for New York, which managed only five goals total in the first three games against Boston. Boston got second-period goals from Nathan Horton and rising star Torey Krug to build an early lead. Tyler Seguins first of the playoffs put the Bruins back on top 3-2 in the third. Only three teams have lost a series after leading 3-0, but the Bruins are the most recent to do it in 2010 against Philadelphia. "Its a resilient group," Kreider said. "The tone of the dressing room was the same as positive and upbeat. Were excited to play more hockey." One more win will put Boston back into the conference finals for the second time in three years. The Bruins gave up a 3-1 lead to Toronto in the first round before rallying in Game 7 to advance. "There is no panic here," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We have to go back home and play a better game." Stepan got New York even at 2 just 1:15 into the third after a dump-in. Rask went behind the net to slow the puck down for defenceman Zdeno Chara, but Stepan forced a turnover when he surprised Chara from behind. Stepan gathered the puck, came around in front and tucked the puck inside the left post for his team-leading fourth of the playoffs. "We made some mistakes tonight, mistakes we havent been making, mistakes you cant have, and they capitalized on them," Chara said. "They made us pay. "These nights are going to happen. They played to win, and we didnt match their intensity at times." The Bruins made the most of another power play andd took a 3-2 lead just 2 seconds after a goalie interference penalty against Ryan McDonagh expired.dddddddddddd Seguin got to his own rebound in close and shoved a shot past Lundqvist at 8:06. However, the Rangers still wouldnt go away and they finally connected on the power play for the first time in the series and the third time in 41 man-advantages this post-season. Boyle took a pass from Stepan in the slot and snapped a drive that nestled into the middle of the net at 10:00 after the Bruins were caught with too many men on the ice. New York coach John Tortorella made desperate moves with his lineup, hoping to find some chemistry to spark his club. Tortorella benched star centre Brad Richards, who had just one goal in the playoffs, and rugged forward Arron Asham in favour of seldom-used Kris Newbury and Micheal Haley. "By no means is this a situation where I take him out and Im blaming him," Tortorella said of Richards. "I need to make decisions about what I feel is right for our team to win tonights game, and thats why I made that decision." Veteran Roman Hamrlik also played for the first time in these playoffs in place of injured defenceman Anton Stralman, who left Game 3 in the second period. The Bruins used their power play to grab control in the second period, connecting twice in a span of 3:02 to take a 2-0 lead. After Newbury was sent off for goalie interference, when he knocked down Rask, Horton got the scoring going. He tried to feed a pass from the bottom of the left circle into the slot, but the puck hit Rangers defenceman Michael Del Zotto and bounced back to Horton. This time, Horton let a shot go that struck the inside of Lundqvists left leg and caromed in at 4:39. Lundqvist blocked a hard shot by Chara, who rattled a drive off of the goalies mask. At the next stoppage, there was a brief delay as Lundqvist had repairs made. Del Zotto took an interference penalty 1:25 after Boston took the lead, and Krug made the Rangers pay again. Krug, a rookie defenceman who made his NHL post-season debut in the series opener, fired a slap shot from the Stanley Cup logo in the Rangers zone that sailed past Lundqvist and into the top right corner at 7:41. Krug has scored in three of the four games he has played in this series, and his goal gave Boston as many power-play tallies at Madison Square Garden in this playoff year as the host Rangers had mustered to that point. However, New York got a big break just 54 seconds later to cut the deficit in half. As the Rangers were moving the puck up ice, Rask stumbled in the crease and fell at around the same time that Hagelin was backhanding a shot on net. Sliding as slowly as possible, the puck eluded Rask as he tried to recover in time to stop it. "We need to be more focused, I need to be more focused," Rask said. "I just took a step to the side in what I think probably was a skate mark or something. I lost my balance and the rest is history. "We gave them a couple of gifts and it cost us the game." It took nearly seven minutes before New York recorded its first shot on Rask -- a drive by defenceman John Moore -- and Boston controlled the period with a 12-4 edge in shots. NOTES: The Rangers are 5-6 in Game 4 when trailing 3-0. ... Before Game 1, the Rangers and Bruins hadnt gone to overtime against each other in the playoffs since March 27, 1958. ... Kreider, who made his regular-season debut against Boston on Jan. 19, had two goals in 23 games this season. ' ' '
