JSU Tigers stay focused

By Kareem Copeland, Clarion Ledger

JSU dodges distractions, repels feisty SU's comeback efforts

BATON ROUGE - The Jackson State football team was seemingly oblivious to various distractions leading into Saturday night's game against Southern University.

First the Sonic Boom was coming. Then it wasn't. Then it was again.

Coach Rick Comegy was given a written reprimand from the Southwestern Athletic Conference on Wednesday for comments concerning the atmosphere around Southern football games.

Photo: Coach Rick Comegy talks with JSU defense during 4th quarter of game with SU.

But the Tigers didn't blink.

Never was that resolve more evident than when JSU weathered comeback after comeback by the Jaguars en route to a 32-26 victory before an announced 24,600 at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
Jackson State (4-2, 4-0 SWAC) may not have let the events of the past week affect them, but it was on the Tigers' minds.

"We just knew no matter what happened on the outside, if the band came or they didn't come, we were going to play football," JSU linebacker Marcellus Speaks said. "That's what we did.

"We only had 1,000 seats. They had people everywhere. But we knew if we kept playing hard and kept giving it all we had, we would come out good, everything would be all right."

JSU receiver Chris Johnson added: "We had a whole lot of people downing us. Saying we were scared of coming down here. We used that as motivation."

The Tigers seemed a little rattled after an opening possession that featured two fumbles - one retained and one lost. But the Tigers marched 79 yards on nine plays on the very next possession, scoring when Jaymar Johnson pulled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Oliver.

But every time the Tigers scored, Southern (5-2, 3-2) answered. The lead changed five times before the Tigers pulled away.

"We've got a team that's got a lot of get-me-up," Comegy said. "They don't want to lose. You can be behind and all you've got to do is want it more and you can win it. You've got to want it more."

Jackson State overcame four turnovers, including three interceptions from a sporadic Oliver. The senior quarterback completed 21 of 31 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns, but two of his interceptions led directly to 14 points.

However, his passing yardage was a season-high.

"Jimmy's our magic man," Comegy said. "What you (always) find behind him is a win. You can't be bad when you've got a guy like Jimmy Oliver as your quarterback."

With Oliver having an up-and-down night and the Tigers behind 20-17 at halftime, the JSU running game was a constant.

Erik Haw had another phenomenal outing with 135 yards on 23 carries. Lavarius Giles chipped in 36 yards on 10 carries.

The Tigers put up 181 rushing yards on a Southern team that had been allowing 14.8 yards a game.

"Having a running game is essential to having a championship team," Haw said. "Offensive line, offensive line ... those guys don't get enough credit."

The four consecutive SWAC wins matches last year's perfect start. Coincidentally, No. 4 came against Southern in 2006.

The Tigers hope the comparisons end there as JSU went on to lose its next three and four of the last five.