Former MCHS' Marsh at Celebration Bowl

Alcorn State University will close its season Saturday when it competes for the HBCU National Championship in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta against North Carolina A&T.
Alcorn State (9-3 overall, 6-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play) is in the Celebration Bowl for the second straight year and for the third time since 2015, while North Carolina A&T (8-3, 6-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), the two-time defending HBCU national champions, are making their third straight appearance in the bowl as well as their fourth overall in the bowl’s five-year history.
The two teams will meet in an 11 a.m. contest at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a game that will be broadcast on ABC.
Alcorn State has a local connection as former Morgan City High School standout Kevon Marsh is a redshirt senior running back on this year’s Braves’ squad. In 10 games this year, Marsh has rushed 35 times for 162 yards and has one reception for four yards.
Alcorn State enters Saturday’s matchup riding a three-game winning streak.
Offensively, Alcorn is averaging 32.8 points per game, which ranks No. 26 in Football Championship Subdivision.
Redshirt junior quarterback Felix Harper, redshirt junior wide receiver LeCharles Pringle and senior wide receiver Chris Blair are standouts in the Braves’ passing attack.
Harper has completed 179 of 296 passes for 2,613 yards with 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Harper, the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and an HBCU All-American, ranks No. 38 in FCS in passing yards and is tied for No. 10 in passing touchdowns.
The redshirt junior also has rushed 55 times for 157 yards and four touchdowns.
Pringle has 42 catches for 762 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is tied for No. 4 in FCS in receiving touchdowns.
Blair is the team’s leading receiver in terms of yards with 781 yards on 37 catches with six touchdowns.
On the ground, freshman running back Niko Duffey leads Alcorn with 152 carries for 790 yards and six touchdowns.
On the offensive line, redshirt senior Michael Ajumobi was named both a first-team All-SWAC honoree as well as an HBCU All-American.
On defense, Alcorn is surrendering 336 yards per game and 19.7 points per contest. The team’s scoring defense is ranked No. 12 in FCS, while its total defense yielded ranks No. 22.
The Braves’ defense is led by senior linebacker Solomon Muhammad and junior defensive back Qwynnterrio Cole. The duo earned All-SWAC first-team defense honors as well as HBCU All-American recognition.
Muhammad has recorded 81 tackles (58 solo and 23 assists), including 9.5 tackles for loss. He has two sacks, two interceptions, three pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
Cole leads the team with five interceptions. In addition, he has 78 total tackles (46 solo and 32 assists). Cole has recorded 0.5 tackles for loss and has one forced fumble.
Junior defensive back Juwan Taylor is second on the team with 80 tackles (52 solo and 28 assists). He has 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two interception, five pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles.
North Carolina A&T is led by its defense, which ranks in the top 30 in Football Championship Subdivision in four categories, including top-5 rankings in total defense and total rushing yards allowed per game. The Aggies are ranked No. 3 in total defense, surrendering 270.4 yards per game and are ranked No. 4 in rushing yards allowed per game at 76.4 per contest.
The Aggies also are ranked No. 10 nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 18.6 points per contest, and they are ranked No. 26 in the country in passing yards per game allowed at 194 per contest.
North Carolina A&T’s defense is led by redshirt sophomore linebacker Kyrin Howard, who has a team-high 70 tackles (39 solo and 31 assists), eight tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two passes defended, one quarterback hurry, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles.
Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Devin Harrell leads the team with seven sacks.
Offensively, North Carolina A&T is ranked in the top 25 nationally in rushing yards per game, scoring offense and total offense. North Carolina A&T is ranked No. 11 in rushing, averaging 237 yards per game, while the squad is ranked No. 14 in scoring offense at 35.7 points per game. The squad is ranked No. 24 in total offense, averaging 430.8 yards per game.
The offense is led by redshirt junior running back Jah-Maine Martin, who is a finalist for the Black College Football Player of the Year Award. Martin also made the Walter Payton Award Watch List for the best offensive player in FCS.
Martin, a first-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference selection and an HBCU All-American, is ranked No. 6 in FCS in rushing yards with 1,336, and he is ranked No. 4 in FCS in rushing touchdowns with 21.
The Aggies also boast three other HBCU All-Americans. Senior offensive lineman Marcus Pettiford and sophomore offensive lineman Dacquari Wilson made the squad along with junior placekicker Noel Ruiz. Pettiford was named this year’s MEAC Football Offensive Lineman of the Year, too, while Ruiz was a first-team All-MEAC selection.
In addition to Martin, quarterback Kylil Carter has rushed for 483 yards on 104 carries with two touchdowns. The graduate student also has completed 137 of 254 attempts for 1,856 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Carter’s top receiver is senior Elijah Bell, who has caught 53 passes for 782 yards and six touchdowns.