Sunday, September 17, 2017

Grambling State pulls away late to defeat Jackson State

GRAMBLING, Louisiana | The Grambling State University football team scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away from Jackson State in a 36-21 victory on Saturday night at Eddie G. Memorial Stadium.

"It was good to get a victory tonight," Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs said. "We didn't play well and we had a lot of mistakes and a lot of penalties. Coach (Tony) Hughes and his staff have done an excellent job and at the end of the day, they gave us all that we could handle. We were just able to grind out the victory."

Grambling State (2-1) took advantage of a safety just eight seconds into the game as the snap to Jackson State quarterback Brent Lyles was high and over his head as he retrieved the ball in the endzone. Lyles ran out of the back of the endzone to give GSU a quick 2-0 lead.



BOX SCORE

Grambling State set up shop on its own 46 to begin its first drive. GSU marched 54 yards in just six plays, capped by a Devante Kincade 13-yard touchdown run to give Grambling State a 9-0 advantage with 12:35 remaining in the opening quarter.

Jackson State (0-3) cut the margin to 9-7 as Lyles scored on a two-run quarterback keeper with 44 seconds left in the first quarter.

JSU put together a seven-play, 81-yard drive and took 3:07 off the clock as Jordan Johnson punched in the go-ahead score to give Jackson State a 14-9 lead with 11:29 left in the first half.

Back came Grambling State as Martez Carter ran past the Jackson State defense and 51 yards into the endzone to give GSU the lead for good at 16-14 with 9:34 left in the half.

Grambling State got a 24-yard field goal from Marc Orozco with 4:18 remaining in the second quarter to push the advantage to 19-14.

Orozco added his second field goal, a 37-yarder, with 9:54 left in the third to extend the advantage to 22-14.

Jackson State answered as Lyles found Benjy Parrish on a 33-yard touchdown pass on third down, cutting the deficit to a single point, 22-21, with 7:03 left.

But that would be all Jackson State would get as Kincade connected with Lyndemian Brooks on a 51-yard touchdown pass with 12:17 remaining and Percy Cardo recovered a fumble and scored with 3:33 left to put the game out of reach.

Turning Point
In a game that had a few twists and turns, the safety to begin the game could have been the turning point.

However, leading 22-21 entering the fourth quarter, Grambling State drove 96 yards on 13 plays and took 6:18 off the clock as Kincade found Brooks for the 51-yard score.

GSU sealed the game late and had Jackson State backed up inside the 10-yard line when Lyles connected on a pass to Shaquil Ward. However, Ward tried to dish the ball off to another receiver as he was being hit by De'Arius Christmas and Percy Cargo scooped up the fumble and return it 11 yards for the game-winning score.

Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State finished the night with 22 first downs.
· Jackson State recorded 17 first downs.
· Grambling State's defense held Jackson State to just 48 yards rushing on 31 attempts.
· GSU pounded the ball with 164 yards on 34 rushes.
· Grambling State racked up 419 total yards of offense.
· Martez Carter finished with 18 carries for 96 yards.
· Devante Kincade registered 60 yards on eight carries and was 22-of-37 passing for 255 yards and two total touchdowns.
· Quintin Guice caught eight passes for 72 yards.
· De'Arius Christmas posted eight tackles, including a forced fumble.
· Brent Lyles was 23-of-31 passing with one touchdown pass.
· Jordan Johnson finished with 49 yards on 10 carries.
· Miquel James caught five passes for 46 yards.
· Tyler Rogers and Shawn Bishop each had eight tackles for Jackson State.

News & Notes
· The game marked the first time since 2012 that Jackson State visited Grambling State.
· The GSU win marked the fourth straight over Jackson State and Grambling State leads the overall series 46-21-1
· Grambling State came into the game ranked No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 24 in the STATS FCS Top 25. The Tigers were also ranked No. 3 in the BOXTOROW weekly poll.
· The game against Jackson State did not count as a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) win due to the conference going to a seven-game schedule. However, GSU does open SWAC play on the road next week against Mississippi Valley State.

Up Next
Grambling State opens Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play on Saturday, Sept. 23 in Itta Bena, Miss. against Mississippi Valley State. Kickoff against the Delta Devils is set for 6 p.m.

Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.

GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

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