GRAMBLING, Louisiana | Martez Carter rushed for 138 yards and Devante Kincade passed for 231 yards as the Grambling State University football team picked up a 23-10 win in its 2017 home opener on Saturday against Northwestern State at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.
"Getting out of the gate really helped us tonight," Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs said. "Overall I thought we improved from last week and we still need to tackle a bit better. It has good to get the win at home and in front of our home fans."
Grambling State (1-1) wasted little time in its home opener as the Tigers marched 65 yards in just three plays on its opening drive to grab a 7-0 lead.
The Tigers got a huge 60-yard pass play from Devante Kincade on the first play from scrimmage to Martez Carter and Grambling State punched in its first score with 14:01 remaining in the opening quarter. Carter's two-yard dive gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
The Demons (0-2) were driving for the tying score, but De'Andre Houghes forced a fumble on a sack and the ball was recovered by Johnkil Skipper at the Grambling State 25.
Grambling State set up shop on its own 25 and used a 10-play drive as Marc Orozco booted the first of his three field goals – an 18-yarder – to extend the lead to 10-0 with 5:44 left in the first quarter.
Northwestern State answered the Tigers score with an 11-play drive, capped by a J.D. Allmond 14-yard touchdown pass to Marquisian Chapman as the Demons cut the Grambling State lead to 10-7 with 14:52 left in the first half.
The Tigers quickly responded as Grambling State marched down the field with a nine-play, 75-yard drive as Kincade found a diving Darrell Clark on the left side of the endzone for the 24-yard score with 11:03 remaining in the second quarter.
Grambling State took a 17-10 lead into the half and added to the margin midway through the third quarter as Orozco booted a 35-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 20-7 advantage with 6:50 remaining.
Northwestern State got a 34-yard field goal by Austyin Fendrick, who just missed a 54-yarder in the first half, to cut the deficit to 20-10 with 14:05 left.
However, Orozco's 26-yard field goal with 1:38 sealed the victory and gave Grambling State its first win of the season.
BOX SCORE
Turning Point
Playing in front of nearly 13,000 fans and in its 2017 home opener, Grambling State came out firing on all cylinders.
The Tigers led from start to finish, but the real turning point in the game was in the very first drive.
Grambling State started the game at its own 35. Kincade found Carter on a swing pass to the left and the senior running back dashed 60 yards down the left sideline before being pushed out of bounds by Isaac Warren.
With the ball sitting at the Demons five-yard line, Carter rushed three yards on the next play and scored from two yards out when he leaped over the pile to give Grambling State an early 7-0 lead.
Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State rebounded from just 10 first downs last week with 15 in Saturday night's win.
· Northwestern State recorded 18 first downs.
· Grambling State finished with 435 total yards of offense, including 231 through the air.
· The Demons registered 283 yards with just 42 coming on the ground.
· Martez Carter finished the night with 207 total yards of offense.
· Darrell Clark caught three passes for 53 yards.
· Martez Carter led all rushers with 138 yards on 20 carries and averaged 6.9 yards per a touch.
· Devante Kincaid finished the night with 231 yards on 13 of 20 passing and one touchdown.
· T'Kevian Rockwell led the Tigers with seven total tackles, including four solo stops.
· Brandon Varner registered four tackles, including a pair of sacks for 16 yards.
· De'Aumante Carter recorded an interception for six yards and had a pass breakup.
· J.D. Almond went 21-of-34 passing for 241 yards and one interception. Also he was sacked four times.
· Chris Jones led the way on the ground for the Demons with 20 touches for 49 yards.
· Cameron Lazare caught eight passes for 70 yards.
· Chrishard Buhl registered eight tackles, including five solo stops, while Nick Pierotti added seven tackles.
News & Notes
· Grambling State scored on its first drive and needed just 59 seconds.
· The Tigers rebounded from last weekend's road loss to Tulane with the second consecutive home-opening win.
· Grambling State came into the game ranked No. 23 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 24 in the STATS FCS Top 25. The Tigers were also ranked No. 4 in the BOXTOROW weekly poll.
· Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs joins Eddie Robinson and Rod Broadway as the only other coaches to pick up wins against Northwestern State.
· The Tigers have now won two straight in the series against Northwestern State and lead the series, 3-1.
Up Next
Grambling State opens Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play on Saturday, Sept. 16. At Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium against Jackson State. Jackson State fell to Tennessee State, 17-15, on Saturday.
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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.
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