Albany State, Fort Valley State prepare for Fountain City Classic

As Albany State head coach Gabe Giardina spoke at a joint press conference about Saturday’s Fountain City Classic, Fort Valley State head coach Kevin Porter was having flashbacks.

Giardina, in the midst of his first season as Golden Rams head coach, shared stories of meeting alums and quickly hearing how important it was to beat Fort Valley State. As he sat to Giardina’s right, Porter could fully relate to the rivalry’s priority for all involved.

“One of the first things (our alums) said was, ‘Hey, we’re glad you’re the new coach. Beat (Albany),’” said Porter, now in his second season at Fort Valley State. “I continue to get it. It’s a big game to our supporters and in our community, and it’s great to come to Columbus and play it at a neutral site.”

Porter and Giardina will be on opposite sidelines when Fort Valley State and Albany State face off at 2 p.m. Saturday in Columbus’ A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium. Saturday’s meeting — which is the 28th held in Columbus — will give one side historic bragging rights, as the rivalry’s record stands at 33-33-3.

For Porter’s Wildcats, a victory Saturday would be the exclamation point on a strong regular season.

Fort Valley State (5-3, 5-0) has won its last four games, with last Saturday’s victory over Morehouse College clinching the Eastern division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team already knows it will host the SIAC Championship Game Nov. 11, but it must handle a pesky rival first.

Porter said maintaining focus this week in practice will be important, and the rivalry’s priority with all involved should help with that challenge.

“We try to do a good job of educating our kids on the history of the game and making sure they understand what the game means to both sides,” Porter said. “I think (having a rivalry game Saturday) is one of the things that will help get our team get ready to play.”

Sophomore defensive lineman Roderick Branscomb is among those Porter is counting on to slow Albany State (5-4, 3-2) and the Rams’ option attack. As a Carver High School alum, Branscomb said he grew up watching this game and takes great pride in now playing it.

“We know the stakes and we know what to play for,” Branscomb said. “We’ve played great so far, and (beating Albany State) would add something else that would give us more motivation for next week.”

Albany State has controlled this rivalry as of late, winning 13 of the last 17 meetings. In order to pull out the victory, Giardina stressed the importance of running the ball well and thwarting the Wildcats’ attempts to do the same.

The Golden Rams have five players on their roster from Columbus, including senior linebacker Emmanuel Brown. Like Branscomb, the former Kendrick Cherokee cherishes playing in front of his home crowd, with the rivalry’s intensity only fanning that fire.

Brown wouldn’t argue that the Golden Rams’ current two-game losing streak was not what they had in mind. A win Saturday, however, would give Brown and the other Albany State seniors the send-off they’re looking for.

“Everything happens for a reason. Now my last game is on my home field I started on,” Brown said. “It would mean everything if we could get this win.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Albany State, Fort Valley State prepare for Fountain City Classic."