The Hornets committed six turnovers and Southern was able to convert five of those into points.
“It was tough,” Associate Head Coach Allen Suber said. “In games like that you’re trying to find answers and before you get the answers there is another mishap, another miscue and it’s tough when those things happen.”
The Hornets were able to move the ball on offense accounting for a season-high 416 yards on 81 plays. ASU threw for 273 yards and rushed for 143.
Senior running back Khalid Thomas again led ASU in rushing with 82 yards on eight carries, a 10.2 yards per carry average.
David Whitlow spelled Toppings late in the game and led ASU on their lone scoring drive of the game. He led ASU 72 yards in 13 plays and finished the drive off with an eight yard scoring run with less than a minute left in the game.
Whitlow finished the game with 43 yards rushing and hit four of his five pass attempts for another 25 yards.
Southern was able to gain 541 yards from scrimmage, running for 192 yards and passing for 349. All-SWAC runner Lenard Tillery had 124 yards while quarterback Austin Howard completed 14 of his 27 passes for 304 yards.
Southern’s Willie Quinn had another big night receiving with 178 yards on four catches, scoring three times on pass receptions.
The opening 30 minutes of action started off with ASU moving the ball right down the field to the Southern 20-yard line and just when it seemed the Hornets had things going their way the first turnover of the game popped up. It was the first of four turnovers in the opening half for ASU and Southern turned three of those into touchdowns.
Southern’s Quinn had a hand in four of the five scores for Southern in the opening half. He caught two touchdown passes, threw a touchdown pass and returned a punt for another score.
Thomas had 65 yards rushing for the Hornets and Toppings completed 12 passes for 155 yards in the first half for the Hornet highlights.
ASU will finally be back home next week after starting the season with three consecutive road games. The Hornets will host Texas Southern at ASU Stadium with the kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
-Via Alabama State University Athletics
