Alabama State ends four-game Magic City Classic drought with 24-17 victory
Alabama State head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. holds the Magic City Classic trophy after his team defeated Alabama A&M 24-17. Also pictured, from left, are Alabama State President Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr., offensive MVP Dematrius Davis, defensive MVP Colton Adams and Athletics Director Dr. Jason Cable. The No. 50 jersey is being displayed in memory of Awysum Harris, a 2021 freshman on the team who died on campus during the summer. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr. / Alabama NewsCenter)
Eddie Robinson Jr. needed a shower after his shower.
And that first shower – despite the water being ice cold – never felt so good.
The first-year football coach at Alabama State University was drenched in a cooler of water at midfield of Legion Field Stadium after his Hornets ended four seasons of torment by beating rival Alabama A&M 24-17 last Saturday in the 81st annual McDonald’s Magic City Classic presented by Coca-Cola.
“That was nice but cold,” Robinson said of the postgame celebration. “I hope every one of them is like this, going down to the last play. It’s stressful, but it’s what the fans deserve. It’s just a great day for SWAC football. I love it.”
Later, a dejected A&M coach Connell Maynor – who had declared himself Mr. Four-peat – explained where the tide turned.
“We got off to a good start. We had the lead (14-3) at halftime,” he said. “The momentum seemed to change on the dropped punt, the muffed punt we had.”
Isiah Cox failed to field Aubrey Grace’s third-quarter punt, which bounced out of his hands into the arms of Hornet gunner Donte Norris. Five plays later, Bama State quarterback Dematrius Davis found Kisean Johnson on a 9-yard touchdown pass to narrow the Bulldog advantage to 14-10.
“They kind of got the momentum from there,” Maynor said.
‘Bama State (4-3, 2-2) took a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter on Jacory Merritt’s 4-yard run. A&M knotted the score at 17-all on Victor Barbosa’s 37-yard field goal, but Davis, the offensive MVP, hit Jeremiah Hixon with a 23-yard TD toss to retake the lead with 2 minutes left.
The game wasn’t over, however, as the Bulldogs mounted a final charge. The team from Huntsville marched from its own 30 to the Hornet 9.
“I’m telling my offense to get ready for overtime,” Robinson recalled. “It’s one of those things where you’ve got to go all the way with it. I’m just glad we made one more play than they did.”
Quincy Casey’s pass to Cameron Young went to the 5, but he couldn’t get out of bounds to stop the clock. With no timeouts left, Maynor and his men were helpless as the final seconds ticked off.
State linebacker Colton Adams was named the defensive MVP, leading the Hornets with 11 total tackles, seven unassisted. He helped on one tackle for loss.
Saturday’s loss cripples the bid of A&M (3-4, 1-3) to win the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and a berth in the SWAC Championship Game. That was even more painful with the loss coming at the hand of its in-state rival.
“You can say that’s a double-whammy,” Maynor said. “We need a lot of help now. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do, and we need a lot of help. I don’t know if that’s gonna happen.”
Meanwhile, Hornet Nation is now in the Bulldog fan club.
“Actually, we need A&M to win the rest of their games now,” Robinson said. “Everybody has to beat Jackson (State) to help us out. This is a one-day rivalry to me. You hate Alabama A&M on Magic City Classic day, but … I love Alabama A&M for the next 364 days.
“Of course, Jackson is playing great right now,” the Hornets coach said. “All we can do is win the rest of our games.”
Jackson State improved to 8-0 and 5-0 Saturday with a 35-0 victory over Southern.
Robinson casts his ‘vote’ for Legion Field
The contract between the city of Birmingham and the universities runs out this year and many fans have wondered if the annual rivalry might move to Protective Stadium downtown.
Maynor was noncommittal on the subject, saying that he has to prepare his team for wherever the game is played. Robinson, whose personal Magic City Classic win streak, including his playing days, extended to three games, said no other location would be the same as historic Legion Field.
“I’ve only known it here,” the Hornets coach said, “so it would be hard for me to pull up to a Magic City Classic and it not be at Legion Field. A lot of the fans out here didn’t go to Alabama State or Alabama A&M, but they just love the Magic City Classic. I think the people and the fans are what make the event so special, so I think you know what my vote would be.”
Latecomers to Saturday’s game were met with a long line at the shuttle pickup location at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Those late-arrivers were greeted with more long lines as they made their way into Legion Field.
But the overall atmosphere around the stadium was what longtime patrons have known: a return to the fully traditional Classic.
There was a tapestry of sights and sounds as fans socialized with old friends and made new ones.
A smoky haze rose over Legion Field as tailgaters grilled to their hearts’ delight. As always, many of them never came into the stadium, content to soak up the atmosphere that was a smorgasbord for the senses.
“It’s the same every year. Just a great time, great time for fellowship,” said West End’s Brian Jones. “It’s always great to see the Greeks and alumni and just people of Birmingham coming together, having a great time. It’s winding down now (after the game), but hours ago, it was just groups of people having a great time, being able to come together and celebrate the Magic City Classic, celebrate two great universities in the great city of Birmingham.”
Marilyn Jones is a native of Mobile. A resident of Birmingham’s Five Points West Neighborhood, she said she’s been to the Magic City Classic the past 20 years and has enjoyed it every year.
But she understands change may be on the way.
“Some things have to come to an end. A lot of times we don’t want it to end, but some things have to change,” she said. “My preference is for it to stay at Legion Field, but I’m just a tailgater. … It’s all the camaraderie of everybody being together.”
