HBCU all-star game gets off to a fast start

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Florida A&M’s Leroy Vann got the first HBCU Bowl all-star game off to a fast start Saturday.

Vann returned a punt 81 yards for a first-quarter touchdown to highlight the East’s 26-21 win over the West.

“This was a great opportunity for us to show what we can do and I hope a great experience for the fans, too,” Vann said. “We showed that black colleges have talent, too.”

Vann returned five punts for touchdowns this season and holds the NCAA record for career return TDs. He returned eight punts and three kickoffs for touchdowns in his career.

“That’s just who he is,” East coach Joe Taylor of Florida A&M said. “He’s been making returns like that for the last couple years.”

East quarterback Dennis Brown of Norfolk State threw for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Lamarcus Coker of Hampton caught a 33-yard TD pass late in the second quarter to give the East a 19-14 lead. Early in the fourth quarter, Devan James of Morgan State scored on a 4-yard run to give the East a 26-14 lead.

Coker finished with a game-high 82 yards receiving on three catches.

West quarterback Tim Buckley of Alcorn State was 5 of 17 passing for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

Buckley threw a 24-yard TD pass to Achille Hendje of Morehouse. He also threw a 29-yard scoring pass to Alabama A&M’s Thomas Harris early in the fourth quarter.