A wet, wet win, but a big win nevertheless for JSU

Photo: Carlos Simpson (right) tries to catch a pass against the Lamar Herron who was called for holding on the play.

In this case, it was the winners who couldn't be choosy. Jackson State, which had lost its first two games this season and six of seven dating back to last October, wasn't about to complain.

Not about the rain, which was monotonously steady. Not about the playing conditions, which were miserable.

Not about the crowd, which was limited to an announced 5,513 hearty souls.

Jackson State needed a victory, any kind of victory, period.

And the Tigers got it, trouncing visiting Texas Southern 28-7 Thursday in JSU's 2007 Southwestern Athletic Conference debut.

"It wasn't the best game we've ever played and it certainly wasn't the best conditions, but I'm happy for our guys," JSU coach Rick Comegy said. "I thought we showed a lot of spunk out there. Our guys come from all over the place, but tonight they were playing for the blue and white. They weren't playing for themselves. I'm proud of them."

In a game marked by numerous fumbled snaps and false starts, JSU proved to be by far the better mudders.

Texas Southern played three quarterbacks and all had trouble handling the snaps. They were no match at all for Jackson State's swarming defense that allowed only eight first downs and an amazing 30 yards of total offense.

How wet was it?

The bands, always so much a part of the SWAC football experience, couldn't even take the field at halftime. Five minutes into the third quarter both bands exited the stadium, presumably so their horns wouldn't rust.

How wet was it?

During one of the interminable ESPNU timeouts in the fourth quarter, I counted through the sheets of rain 44 people still sitting on the Texas Southern side of the stadium. They must have been parents.

Loving, doting parents.

Photo: Wide receiver Jaymar Johnson pulls in a catch after the JSU Tigers suffered several penalties prior to the snap.

OLIVER IS THE QUARTERBACK

So what did we learn about Jackson State from this game?

First and foremost, we learned Jimmy Oliver, the slippery and slightly built senior, is this team's quarterback. Oliver started and played the first three quarters. He completed nine of 18 passes for two touchdowns and ran 10 times for 48 yards. He threw for both touchdowns in the first quarter before the rain made throwing and catching all but impossible.

"I hate to play in weather like that," Oliver said afterward. "It's hard for a quarterback to make plays. It's hard just to hold onto the ball. It wasn't all that wet at first, and we took advantage of that. It feels good. There's nothing like a win."

We learned that rain doesn't slow wide receiver Jaymar Johnson much at all. Johnson, a senior from Gary, Ind., made Texas Southern players look like statues when he ran through them and then away from them on a 75-yard first-quarter punt return touchdown. He also caught three passes for 67 yards and another TD.

We learned that Jackson State's defense doesn't mind a muddy track either. The Tigers "D"dominated and gave up TSU's only score after a blocked punt gave the visitors a short field.

We learned that the press box at The Vet still leaks.

We learned that relatively small hurricanes that come ashore in Texas can still mess up a football game in Mississippi.

BRING ON THE DELTA DEVILS

Jackson State now has eight days to prepare for its next game, another conference game, this one against rival Mississippi Valley State at Itta Bena on Sept. 22.

Comegy expects even better things from Oliver.

"Jimmy's a winner; he's always been a winner," Comegy said. "He knows how to make plays when there doesn't seem to be anything there. He made some mistakes tonight, but nothing he can't correct."

Oliver would surely agree. And, no doubt, he'd like to make the corrections on a much drier field.

-Clarion Ledger