Sim's career day, Tech defense lead to easy home win

ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia Tech certainly didn’t treat its visitors from the Football Bowl Subdivision well this season. David Sims rushed for a career-high 111 yards and the Yellow Jackets scored on each their first eight offensive possessions in a 66-7 victory over Alabama A&M at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

It was the second time Tech (7-4) had its way with a team from the FBS after a season-opening, 70-0 victory over Elon

While the Yellow Jackets’ triple option had its finest game of the season, rushing for a season-high 428 yards and averaging more than eight yards per carry, the Tech defense was just as dominant.

Alabama A&M (4-8), which came in averaging just 17 points, didn’t get their initial first down until 54 seconds remained in the first half. Quarterback Jaymason Lee followed with a 21-yard completion to Toriono Upshaw as the Bulldogs crossed into Tech territory for the first time.

The visitors from Huntsville, Alabama had just 252 total yards, though they ended the shut out late in the fourth quarter when Lee hooked up with Demario Ross on a 20-yard touchdown, part of a 112-yard receiving day for Ross.

Sims had already reached his career high, passing the 107 he collected October 26 against Virginia, when he scampered for a 39-yard touchdown that made it 45-0 with 6:29 to play in the second quarter.

Sims had the big play of the opening drive of the game, scooting 39 yards before Robert Nelson made a touchdown-saving tackle at the 4. Two plays later, Synjyn Days took over at quarterback and scored from two yards out for a 7-0 Tech lead. Days made the most of his only two carries of the game, adding an eight-yard scoring run - his first two-touchdown game since 2011 - to put the hosts up 31-0.

Tech went into the halftime locker room up 52-0 and set a modern record for the program’s highest-scoring half.

Alabama A&M helped out quite a bit, turning the ball over three times in the opening half, and each miscue led to a Tech touchdown.

Terrance Pride had an ill-advised interception when his pitch was picked off by Tyler Marcordes on A&M’s second play from scrimmage. Tech wasted little time making it a two-score game as Robert Godhigh rushed for 15 yards and Zach Laskey followed with a six-yard touchdown for a 14-0 cushion five minutes into the game.

Jabari Hunt-Days forced a Pride fumble late in the second quarter and Jimmie Kitchen recovered for the Yellow Jackets. Three plays later, Matt Connors scored the first of his two touchdowns from one a yard out to make it a 52-0 game.

Jaymason Lee also had a fumble that Quayshawn Nealy scooped up and returned 18 yards for a score.

“Well, it was a different kind of game. We clearly had control of the game fairly quickly in the first half,” said Tech coach Paul Johnson. “I don’t how much you can tell about a game like that (but) it’s a good win.”

After the lopsided victory, Tech will now get ready for rival Georgia. The Bulldogs played late Saturday against 2-8 Kentucky, and both the Athens school and Tech should each head into next week’s rivalry game with 7-4 records.

“Now we get ready for next week,” Johnson said of the Georgia game, which will be played at Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday at 3:30 p.m. “I think it’s a big game and it’s a game we haven’t played particularly well the last couple years and we need to play better."

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