Grambling State Tigers fall behind early in loss to Tulane

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana | Martez Carter scored a pair of second-half touchdowns, but it wasn't enough as Grambling State fell behind early and couldn't recover in the Tigers' 43-14 loss to Tulane on Saturday night at Yulman Stadium.

"At the end of the day, I thought they played better up front than we did," Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs said. "We could never get anything going and we were always starting behind the chains. We didn't execute like we needed to. They were the better team tonight. I thought they did an extremely great job running the football , but also mixing in man and zone screens. My hats off to them, they're a good team."



Tulane (1-0) scored on its first two drives to begin the game and quickly jumped out to a 14-0 lead.

After the Tigers were forced to punt on their first possession, the Green Wave marched 56 yards in five plays and took 2:45 off the clock as Jonathan Banks scored on a seven-yard touchdown scamper down the right side to give Tulane a 7-0 lead.

Grambling State (0-1) went three-and-out on its second possession and Tulane capitalized on good field position as the Green Wave went 51 yards in five plays, capped by Banks' 30-yard touchdown pass to Terren Encalade, giving Tulane a 14-0 advantage with 7:06 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Green Wave added to the lead in the second quarter as the Tigers defense held Tulane to a field goal. A Coby Neenan 21-yard field goal with 5:15 left in the first half, capped 12-play, 61-yard drive, giving the Green Wave a 17-0 lead.

Tulane put the game away with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter as Banks connected with Dontrell Hillard for a 62-yard touchdown as the Green Wave extended the advantage to 24-0.

The Green Wave began the third quarter with excellent starting position as Sherman Badie returned the opening kickoff 52 yards to the GSU 46. Tulane punched in its fourth touchdown of the night six plays later as Darnell Mooney caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Banks, giving the Green Wave a 31-0 lead with 12:06 left in the quarter.



Grambling State answered on the ensuing drive to get its first points of the season.

The Tigers took advantage of a penalty and converted on fourth-and-10 as Martez Carter, who had 11 rushing touchdowns last season, scored on a five-yard run, capping a 15-play, 82-yard drive, as Grambling State cut the deficit to 31-7 with 5:25 left in the third quarter.

The Green Wave answered on its next drive as Encalade rushed 58 yards down the right sideline to extend the lead to 37-7 with 14:49 remaining. But those points were quickly erased as Carter found the endzone for the second time as he rushed 51 yards past the Tulane defense to trim the margin to 37-14 with 14:27 left.

Tulane capped the scoring with 8:13 remaining as Darius Bradwell scored on a 27-yard run, which capped a 10-play, 77-yard drive to give the Green Wave a 43-14 lead.



Turning Point
Tulane took advantage of Grambling State mistakes in the first quarter as the Tigers committed five penalties for 45 yards.

Despite the number of penalties, the poor starting position took its toll on Grambling State in the first quarter. The Tigers average starting position was the 19 yard-line.

Grambling State started slowly out of the gate as the Tigers went backwards in the first two possessions with minus three yards. Tulane took advantage with its first two drives combining for 10 plays and 107 yards, along with two touchdowns, to jump out to the two-score lead.

Inside the Numbers
· Tulane controlled the first half with 226 yards, while Grambling State recorded 87, Devante Kincade's 48-yard pass to Darrell Clark late in the second quarter.
· The Green Wave amassed 481 total yards, including 286 on the ground.
· Grambling State finished the night with 225 total yards, including 148 in the air.
· Devante Kincade threw for 148 yards on 15-of-26 passing. He also rushed eight times for seven yards.
· Martez Carter rushed five times for 68 yards and averaged 13.6 yards per carry.
· Lyndemian Brooks caught three passes for 32 yards, including a long of 27 yards.
· Diante Bridgewater led the way defensively with nine tackles, including seven unassisted.
· Percy Cargo and De'Arius Christmas finished with four tackles.
· Jonathan Banks threw for 185 yards on 10-of-15 passing and three touchdowns. He added 69 yards on 16 rushes.
· Dontrell Hillard caught two passes for 77 yards for Tulane.
· Parry Nickerson led the Green Wave defensively with 5.5 tackles, including five unassisted.
· Grambling State went 1-for-1 in fourth-down conversions.

News & Notes
· With the loss on Saturday night, Grambling State continues to seek its first season-opening victory since 2011.
· The Tigers have lost to Lamar (Southland), California (Pac 12), Arizona (Pac 12) and Tulane (American) in the past four season openers.
· Grambling State came into the game ranked No. 21 in the FCS Coaches Preseason Poll and the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25.
· With the loss, the Tigers fell to 4-2 in televised games and 7-2 in games played in 30,000-seat stadiums in the past two seasons. Both losses came to Arizona and Tulane.
· Devante Kincade threw one interception in the loss. He didn't throw his first interception until Oct. 22 against Mississippi Valley State.
· Martez Carter had two multi-scoring rushing touchdowns last season (Texas Southern and Southern).

Up Next
Grambling State will celebrate its home opener on Sept. 9 at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium as Northwestern State comes to town. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Northwestern State began the 2017 season on Saturday with a 52-24 loss to Louisiana Tech.

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.

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Collins, Sellers Named adidas OVC Player of the Week -Sept. 3

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Vincent Sellers and Chris Collins received adidas Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors for their performances in Tennessee State’s 17-10 win over Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foe Georgia State. Sellers was selected as the Newcomer of the Week, while Collins earned a share of the Defensive Player of the Week with Jacksonville State’s Jonathan Hagler.

Sellers recorded 10 tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, during the Thursday night victory in Atlanta. His biggest stops of the night came in the second quarter, as he made a tackle at the two-yard line and followed with his tackle-for-loss which forced the Panthers to settle for a field goal. In the third quarter the freshman tracked down a GSU receiver on a 59-yard pass play, preventing a score, as Tennessee State’s defense held Georgia State scoreless on that drive.



Collins recorded 12 tackles (9 solo), had three tackles-for-loss, a sack and forced a fumble in the win. With GSU driving on the opening series of the game, the Fairburn, Ga. native knocked the ball loose two yards behind the scrimmage, allowing TSU to recover the ball on its own 25-yard line. In the third quarter the senior stopped a Georgia State runner at the four-yard line on fourth and goal to give TSU possession of the ball.

This marks the first OVC weekly honors for Collins and Sellers as the guided the Big Blue defense into holding their FBS opponent to just 10 points and 273 yards of total offense for the game.

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What we learned, trending now and final thoughts from Southern's 14-8 win against SC State

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- WHAT WE LEARNED

Southern can win games with its defense. With the Jaguars offense being held down in the second half of Sunday’s season opener, it was up to the defense to keep South Carolina State out of the end zone. Mission accomplished. Southern’s veteran-heavy defense swarmed to the football Sunday and carried over its trademark from last year: forcing important momentum-swinging turnovers. There are definitely some things that still need to be ironed out defensively, but Southern looks like it has made some big-time strides on that side of the ball. If that defense translates over to the SWAC side of things, where offense reigns supreme, this could be a boon for Southern’s chances.

TRENDING NOW

How about first-timers? Sophomore safety Montavius Gaines, making his first career start, earned Defensive MVP honors for Southern after making four tackles — two for loss — with a crucial fumble recovery and a pass broken up. Redshirt freshman Devon Benn took his first career carry for a 27-yard touchdown, then added a 33-yard catch and run on his second career touch. Benn finished with a team-high 88 total yards on just eight touches. Potential quarterback of the future Glendon “Bubba” McDaniel played most of the fourth quarter as Austin Howard was held out for precautionary reasons, and while he didn’t do anything special, he didn’t make any freshman mistakes in a tight game.



CONTINUE READING

Southern hangs on late for a 14-8 season-opening win against South Carolina State

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Trailing by six with less than two minutes to go, South Carolina State’s Jermaine Baxley slipped behind the Southern defense, and quarterback Dewann Ford floated a spiral his way.

What would’ve been a game-tying touchdown — and it would have served as a game-winner with a made extra point — slipped through Baxley’s hands.

A short while later, the Jaguars (1-0) were celebrating a hard-fought 14-8 victory in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge when Southern’s Danny Johnson batted down a desperation heave on fourth down.



It was a defensive battle, with neither team topping 350 yards of total offense.

Devon Benn scored Southern’s first touchdown of the season on the first carry of his career. The redshirt freshman allowed his blocks to set up, then zoomed through a crease, juking the safety off his feet on a 27-yard scamper.

On the next series, Southern motioned both tight ends to the right side of the line then faked a handoff to that direction, but quarterback Austin Howard kept it and moseyed into the end zone for an easy 6-yard touchdown.

CONTINUE READING

HBCU Football Judgment Day Scoreboard - Week 1 Finals

SUNDAY, SEPT. 3

MEAC/SWAC Challenge
Southern 14, South Carolina State 8



SATURDAY, SEPT. 2

MEAC

Howard 43, UNLV 40
North Carolina A&T 45, Gardner-Webb 3
Virginia State 14, Norfolk State 10
Miami 41, Bethune-Cookman 13
Towson 10, Morgan State 0
Duke 60, North Carolina Central 7
Ohio 59, Hampton 0



SWAC

Tuskegee 14, Alabama State 6
North Dakota State 72, Mississippi Valley State 7
Alabama-Birmingham 38, Alabama A&M 7
Arkansas Pine Bluff 23, Morehouse 10
Alcorn State 50, Miles 21
Texas Christian 63, Jackson State 0
Tulane 43, Grambling State 14
Prairie View at Texas Southern - Postponed



OTHER

West Virginia State 51, Charleston (WV) 28
Langston 30, Lincoln (MO) 14

CIAA

Bowie State 48, Seton Hill 7
Cheyney 56,  Lincoln (PA) 28
Elizabeth City State 34, Central State (OH) 23
LIU Post 42, Virginia Union 13
New Haven 31, Shaw 20
Benedict 28, Livingstone 15
Wingate 38, Johnson C. Smith 18
Fayetteville State 24, Chowan 21

SIAC
Albany State (Ga.) 29, Valdosta State 12
Lane 40,  Texas College 20
Slippery Rock 42,  Kentucky State 21



THURSDAY, AUGUST 31

Tennessee State 17, Georgia State 10
Winston-Salem State 34, UNC Pembroke 31
Clark Atlanta 32, Mississippi College 29
West Georgia 34, Fort Valley State 9
Catawba 49, Saint Augustine's 0
Delaware 22. Delaware State 3
Arkansas 49, Florida A&M 7

Fayetteville State Wins First Season-opener since 2008 with 24-21 win over Chowan

MURFREESBORO, North Carolina -- Fayetteville State has seen its share of season-opener disappointments until tonight in Garrison Stadium. The Broncos will celebrate a long sought after victory after defeating Chowan University 24-21.

The last time FSU won its season-opener was in 2008 when the Broncos defeated North Carolina Central 33-22 in Durham. Fayetteville State controlled a 14-7 lead at halftime.

"We accomplished our goal!" cheered Head Coach Richard Hayes. "First game, we got a victory."
Chowan (0-1) scored on its first drive of the game with a 20-yard pass from Bryce Witt to Adrian McNeil.

Fayetteville State (1-0) responded on the next drive with a four-yard walk into the end zone by quarterback Kane Banner (Lumberton, NC) with 5:58 left in the first quarter. The 8-play, 58-yard drive was setup by a 40-yard kickoff return by Brandon Smith (Raeford, NC).

In the second quarter with 6:23 remaining, Donshel Jetton (Mooresville, NC) burst through the line of scrimmage to scamper 31 yards for a 14-7 lead, going into halftime.

The defense played its part throughout the game forcing four fumbles and recovering two. Keyante Baldwin (Fayetteville, NC) recovered the Hawks' last fumble of the game on an attempted punt return on Chowan's three-yard line. Fayetteville State capitalized on the turnover as Banner plunged into the end zone from one-yard out.



As time was about to expire in the third quarter with 38 seconds left, the Hawks picked up a touchdown to ease closer to the Broncos at 21-14. Witt connected with Michael Offutt, Jr. for a 32-yard passing touchdown.

Preseason All-CIAA Kicker David Lamb (Pineville, NC) split the uprights with a 27-yard field goal with 12:31 left in the game and a 24-14 lead.

Although Chowan scored its 21st point with 11:14 left in the game, the defense held its ground and preserved the victory. The score was a 50-yard pass from Witt to Torry Baker.

Stevie Green (Washington, NC), the 2016 CIAA Offensive Rookie of the Year from, finished with 90 yards on 24 carries. His longest tote was for 23 yards. He shared snaps with Jetton who racked up 70 yards on nine carries and one touchdown. Jetton averaged 7.8 yards per carry.

Brandon Smith returned three kickoffs for 124 yards. His longest return was 42 yards. Fayetteville State had an average field position of the FSU's 38-yard line in the first half and the Fayetteville-40 in the second half.

Fayetteville State will play host to Wingate University (1-0), who defeated Johnson C. Smith 38-18, on Saturday, September 9th at 6:00 p.m. The Broncos will show gratitude to the Armed Services with Military Appreciation Night.

Final Stats

FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY BRONCOS SPORTS INFORMATION

Benedict Tigers Roll Over Livingstone In Palmetto Capital City Classic, 28-15

COLUMBIA, South Carolina -- The Benedict College Tigers opened the 2017 season with a 28-15 victory over the Livingstone College Blue Bears in the 16th annual Palmetto Capital City Classic on Saturday evening in Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.

The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half and then got an exciting 60-yard touchdown from Trini Charlton in the third quarter to help secure the season opening victory.

"We're better than we were last year; we're a little bit further along, but as you can see we've a long way to go to play a complete ballgame," said Benedict head coach Mike White. "I'm just happy we came out with more points than they did."

Benedict gained 248 yards on the ground, with Charlton doing the most damage with 126 yards on 15 carries. Charlton was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

The Tigers struck first when quarterback Dominique Harris pushed his way in from two yards out for a 6-0 lead with 7:12 left in the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter, the Tigers downed a 33-yard punt by Tory Mimbs at the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Jamal Heard and Amari Andrews sandwiched Livingstone quarterback Xavier Longerbeam in the end zone for a safety and an 8-0 lead with 14:50 left in the first half.



Later in the quarter, Mimbs booted a 44-yard punt, but Livingstone's Jeremy Lewis dropped the ball and Benedict's Raheem Jennings jumped on the loose ball in the end zone for a Tiger touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

The Blue Bears scored on their first possession of the second half when Thaddeus Bell, who replaced Longerbeam at quarterback, floated a 31-yard pass to Jarius Richardson. Justin Ruffin ran in the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 14-8 with 10:37 remaining in the third quarter.

The Tigers deflated any momentum the Blue Bears may have gained. Starting from their own 18-yard line, Harris had passes of 12 and 9 yards to Wayne Brown and Okechi Ntiasagwe to move the ball to the Benedict 40-yard line. Charlton took a handoff through the left side of the line, found a hole and outran the coverage for a 60-yard score.

"It's the O-line. We've got a great O-Line," Charlton said. "I didn't do anything. They just opened the holes and I ran through them. I just saw green grass. It was wide open."

Harris guided the Tigers on a 61-yard drive in the fourth quarter. On the eight-play drive, he completed four of five pass attempts, including the final 16-yard pass to Wayne Brown in the back corner of the end zone. Harris, who has not played competitive football since 2012 at Northwest Community College, played the entire game under center and completed 10-of-25 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown while throwing two interceptions.

The Harris to Brown touchdown gave Benedict a 28-8 lead with 7:33 remaining on the clock. The Blue Bears went on a long 16-play, 78-yard drive with Spencer Ludin, the third Blue Bear quarterback of the game, completing a six-yard pass to Ruben Lawhorn for the touchdown with 1:03 left.

Benedict recovered the on-side kick attempt by Livingstone and the Tigers ran out the final minute of the clock.

Benedict gave up 264 yards of total offense to Livingstone. The Benedict defense held the Blue Bears to two first downs and 105 yards in the first half.

"We kept them from running, we put good pressure on the passer, but then we missed a few tackles and all of a sudden it changed the game," White said. "We've got to stay focused and, as they say, play it for four quarters."

Robert Cummings had eight tackles and two pass breakups to lead the Benedict defense. Xavier George added six tackles. Rickym Holmes had four tackles with 1.5 sacks as the Benedict defense recorded five sacks on the day.

Benedict travels to Gaffney, S.C. for next week's game to take on L
imestone College. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at The Reservation Stadium.

BOX SCORE

BENEDICT COLLEGE TIGERS SPORTS INFORMATION