GRAMBLING, La. | After giving up 20 second-quarter points, the Grambling Tigers football team roared back in the second half in dramatic fashion and was in perfect position to score the game-winning touchdown in the final moments of the game before a heartbreaking fumble inside the opponents' five-yard line as Jackson State held on for the 33-28 victory in Southwestern Athletic Conference play at the Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium. The historic game that featured the SWAC premiere of JSU head coach Deion Sanders and Grambling's SWAC and National Champion head coach
Broderick Fobbs was televised on ESPN 3 and brought light to both HBCU's and high quality HBCU football across the country.
The last time that the G-Men experienced a loss at home in Grambling was on September 12, 2015 when it
fell to Bethune-Cookman 56-53 in the Hole.
"A lot is going through my mind right now," said Coach Fobbs. "I take my hat off to Jackson State. They did an awesome job today. They made fewer mistakes than we did; you can't come out and play a first half like we played and then fight your way back into the game only to give it away again at the end. This is football, and it's a game of mistakes as well as execution, and when you don't execute, that's what happens. But I thought we fought back and played well in the second half; just that little drive at the end where it happened. But at the end of the day, I can't be more proud of my kids because we fought back to get in this position to play a football game, so hats off to them," Fobbs stated.
After having its season opener in the State Fair Classic postponed as a result of damage to the Cotton Bowl from last month's snow and ice storm, Grambling (0-1, 0-1 SWAC) returned to the gridiron for the first time since November 2019 when it faced Southern in the Bayou Classic in New Orleans before a worldwide pandemic canceled its 2020 season. The offense stalled early, generating three false start penalties in the opening drive which resulted in a punt and a big return for Jackson State on special teams, and that's when JSU struck first with a touchdown pass from Jalon Jones to Corey Reed to take a 7-0 lead after the extra point.
However, the Tigers responded with a classic Grambling nine play, 61-yard drive that resulted in a rushing touchdown from quarterback
Geremy Hickbottom as Grambling tied the game at 7-7. Senior tight end
Dorrell James had a huge 25-yard reception on the drive that took three minutes and 23 seconds for the Tigers.
"We started off with three straight penalties and put ourselves in a hole dropping the kickoff return. It starts out that way and you can't beat good football teams when you do that. All of the teams in this conference are pretty much evenly matched, so anytime you give away points and give away opportunities and missed tackles, you get what you get. But I am proud of my kids for fighting back. We were out of the game for a little while and they fought back and got themselves back in it. We just need to do a better job of executing and being who we've always been," said Coach Fobbs.
The Tigers defense forced a 3-and-out on Jackson State's next possession and forced a punt. Hickbottom then completed passes of 13, 20, 11 and six yards to Kobe Ross, James,
Lyndemian Brooks and
Raylon Richardson respectively. After a targeting penalty from the Jackson State defense, GSU running back
Keilon Elder punched it in to give the G-Men a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
The second quarter belonged to Jackson State as the team scored on its next three possessions while forcing the Tigers to two straight 3-and-outs, taking a 27-14 lead into halftime after missing an extra point.
Grambling held Jackson State (2-0, 1-0 SWAC) to just six second-half points as the defense stood strong while the Tigers offense generated a touchdown in the third quarter when Hickbottom completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to
Darrell Clark which cut the deficit to just six points. Jackson State responded with a lengthy 11-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in zero points due to a missed field goal from JSU kicker Noah Anderson that went wide right.
In the final moments of the back-and-forth contest, the JSU defense produced a goal line stand and forced a Grambling fumble to hold on to its slim lead.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker
Lewis Matthews led the Tigers defense with 12 total tackles while redshirt junior defensive back and Preseason All-SWAC selection
Kenan Fontenot added 10 tackles and a forced fumble, including a team-high five solo tackles.
Redshirt junior defensive back
Devanir Martin generated six total tackles, including one pass breakup.
Redshirt sophomore
Sundiata Anderson produced eight tackles while teammate and junior linebacker
Bryan Powell chipped in with six tackles and a forced fumble.
Click here to view a highlight video of Grambling's return to the gridiron against Jackson State.
Up Next
Grambling State will travel to Arlington, Texas, to take on Prairie View A&M in the 2021 State Fair Classic in a rescheduled game that was moved from the Cotton Bowl. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Globe Life Park.
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