JONESBORO, Ark. | The Grambling State University football team fell behind early in the season opener and could not recover as Arkansas State ran away with a 58-3 victory on Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium. 

Arkansas State (1-0) took the opening kickoff and marched 70 yards in nine plays. The Red Wolves began their drive with a 17-yard run by Brian Snead and picked up a fourth-and-short at the GSU 30. Just two plays after converting the fourth-down play, ASU quarterback James Blackmon completed a 29-yard pass to Champ Flemings for the opening scoring of the game and giving the Red Wolves a 7-0 lead. 

Grambling State (0-1) slowly moved the ball on its first drive, but a holding penalty caused the drive to stall as the Tigers were forced to punt the football. 

The Red Wolves took advantage of a short field as Blackmon hit Flemings for 16 yards on the first play. Five plays later, Arkansas State extended the lead to 14-0 with 6:19 remaining in the opening quarter as Blackmond tossed a 13-yard pass to Seydou Traore to complete a five-play, 50-yard drive. 

After a Jimmy Iles punt after GSU's second possession, Arkansas State set up shop at its own 45. The Red Wolves continued to move the football, but was stopped at the Tigers 2 by Joshua Reed on fourth down, turning the ball over to Grambling State with 54 seconds left in the quarter. 

Grambling State started its drive at its own 2, but Chance Aime was sacked in the endzone by John Mincey for a safety as the Red Wolves pushed the lead to 16-0 with 51 seconds remaining. 

The Red Wolves extended the advantage to 23-0 after a five-play, 48-yard drive as Snead scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 13:23 left in the first half. 

On the ensuing kickoff, Maurice Washington returned the kick 53 yards to give Grambling State its best field position of the night at the Arkansas State 45. However, GSU quarterback Quaterius Hawkins was sacked for a 15-yard loss as the Tigers were forced to punt the ball. 

The Red Wolves drove 88 yards in nine plays, helped by a pair of targeting calls, as Blackmon scored on a 9-yard touchdown run as Arkansas State led 30-0 with 7:48 remaining in the second period. 

Grambling State got some momentum going on its next drive as Hawkins connected with Chance Williams for a 34-yard gain and into Arkansas State territory at the 48. However, Hawkins was sacked on third down. On fourth down, Hawkins hit JR Waters for a 9-yard gain and a first down. Hawkins called his own number for a 18-yard keeper, setting up first down at the ASU 21. Hawkins was sacked for a 22-yard loss and Julian Calvez was sacked for eight yards as the Tigers were forced to punt the football from their own 48. 

Arkansas State put the game away as Blackmon scored on a 2-yard keeper to complete a nine-play, 64-yard drive as the Red Wolves extended the lead to 37-0 with 10:13 left in the third. 

Grambling State took advantage of a pair of roughing the passer calls and a late hit on its next offensive possession as the Tigers capped a 63-yard, 13-play drive as Garrett Urban booted a 30-yard field goal, cutting the margin to 37-3, with 5:20 remaining in the third. 

Arkansas State got 2-yard touchdown runs by Johnnie Lang and AJ Mayer to extend the Red Wolves advantage to 51-3 right before the end of the third quarter. 

The Red Wolves continued to put points on the board, adding a touchdown by Mike Sharpe II with 11:43 remaining to push the lead to 58-3. 

CHECKING THE BOX SCORE 

• Grambling State finished with 102 total yards and nine first downs 
• The Tigers rushed the ball 33 times for 44 yards 
• Quaterius Hawkins went 3 for 7 passing for 46 yards 
• Julian Calvez completed one pass for 12 yards and had one interception 
• Chance Williams caught one pass for 34 yards 
• Williams led the ground game with 30 yards on eight attempts 
• Floyd Chalk IV added 27 yards on seven carries 
• Lewis Matthews led the defense with 14 total tackles, including 12 solo stops 
• Joshua Reed recorded eight solo tackles 
• Jimmy Iles punted the ball eight times, averaging 36.6 yards per punt 
• Maurice Washington returned three kickoffs for 78 yards, including a long of 53 yards 
• Grambling State committed 15 penalties for 132 yards 
• Arkansas State finished with 572 total yards and 34 first downs 
• The Red Wolves rushed the ball 59 times for 339 yards 
• James Blackmon went 15 of 20 passing for 210 yards and a pair of scores 
• Blackmon also added 11 yards on two rushes, both carries were touchdowns 
• AJ Mayer was 5 of 6 through the air for 23 yards 
• Johnnie Lang paced the ground game with 13 carries for 124 yards and one touchdown 
• Champ Fleming caught seven passes for 122 yards  
• Jaden Harris led the defense with five tackles, with four solo stops 
• Arkansas State had seven penalties for 80 yards 

NEWS AND NOTES 

• Grambling State and Arkansas State met for just the second time 
• Arkansas State now leads the all-time series, 2-0 
• Saturday's game marked the head coaching debut at the collegiate level for Hue Jackson 
• Quaterius Hawkins made the start at quarterback for the Tigers 
• Grambling State played three quarterbacks against Arkansas State – Quaterius Hawkins, Chance Aime and Julian Calvez 
• Arkansas State is 8-23 in season openers since moving to FBS status in 1992 
• The Red Wolves are 9-0 against members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) 
• Grambling State is 43-28-1 in season openers 
• The Tigers are seeking their first season-opening win since a 21-14 victory over Alcorn State in 2011 
• GSU surrendered a safety in the first quarter, which marked the first time since the Florida A&M game in 2021 that the Tigers had given up a safety 
• The Tigers had two players ejected for targeting in the first half – Chris Daigre and Donald Lee 
• Grambling State avoided a season-opening shutout after a Garrett Urban field goal in the third quarter 
• The last time GSU was shutout in a season opener was in 2003, a 29-0 loss to San Jose State 
• The 58 points surrendered are the most in a season opener given up since a 73-14 loss to California in 2015 
• The 572 total yards given up was the most by Grambling State since 520 against Southern in the 2021 spring edition of the Bayou Classic 
• The 339 rushing yards are the most given up by Grambling State since 314 by Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2013 

UP NEXT 
Grambling State makes one of the shorter trips of the season next Saturday as the Tigers will meet Northwestern State in the Shreveport Classic. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. from Independence Bowl Stadium. The Demons opened the season on Saturday with a 47-0 loss at No. 2 Montana. 

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