JACKSON, Miss. – On its homecoming Saturday, Jackson State showed why it remains the standard in the SWAC.
The Tigers dominated the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 41-3 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi.
UAPB (3-6, 2-3 SWAC) coach Alonzo Hampton said the Golden Lions made too many mistakes.
“I’m a give them credit if they won the game, and they made the plays,” Hampton said. “We gave them some easy things on third down. They were like 5 of 13. One drive, they completed five third down plays, and that’s because we got a personal foul. We got a jumping offsides. It was all self-inflicted. We helped them out a lot, and they capitalized on it.”
Jackson State (7-2, 5-0) rushed for 247 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Senior running back Irv Mulligan rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, while Travis Terrell Jr. rushed eight times for 50 yards.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Junior quarterback Jacobian Morgan completed 14 of 22 passes for 187 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 9 yards and a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Ja’Naylon Dupree caught two touchdown passes to go with 57 yards.
UAPB linebacker Jaden Kelly said the Tigers’ offensive line outplayed the Golden Lions’ defensive front.
“They didn’t do nothing special that we didn’t show,” Kelly said. “They really just came, and they outplayed us. … They get to the second level pretty good. They gap sound, too.”
UAPB couldn’t stop Jackson State in the first half. The Golden Lions took an early 3-0 lead after junior kicker Trey Glymph finished an eight-play opening drive with a 28-yard field goal, but the Tigers dominated from there.
Jackson State needed just four plays on its first drive to take the lead. Mulligan picked up 31 yards on JSU’s first play. Morgan capped off the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Dupree to make it 7-3.
The Tigers went on to score touchdowns on their next two drives, then drove again into the red zone.
On third down and goal from the 5-yard line, UAPB freshman cornerback Zach Williams intercepted Morgan’s pass in the end zone. He elected to leave the end zone looking for a big return but fumbled the ball. JSU recovered it at the UAPB 11, getting a redo with a first down after the double change of possession.
A personal foul backed JSU up to the 22, but Morgan still found tight end Marvin Landy on the left sideline, and he powered his way into the end zone.
UAPB got the ball with 33 seconds remaining in the first half and tried to get something before halftime, but JSU safety Anthony Petty intercepted UAPB quarterback Mekhi Hagens and returned it to the UAPB 48 as time expired.
A facemask penalty against UAPB gave JSU the ball at the 26 and one untimed down, and kicker Gerardo Baeza took advantage with a 36-yard field goal to make it 31-3 at halftime.
The Tigers added 10 points in the second half before putting the backups in late in the fourth quarter. UAPB got into the red zone on its final drive but couldn’t convert on fourth down, finishing a game without a touchdown for the first time since the season opener against Arkansas.
Hampton said UAPB didn’t handle the JSU pass rush well enough to score.
“We couldn’t get the ball out,” Hampton said. “Took too many sacks, had four sacks. A lot of times, (Hagens) probably should throw the ball away. He gotta understand you can’t keep scrambling and scrambling. Sometimes, you gotta throw the ball away to get us in third downs, and he keeps taking unnecessary sacks, but we gotta keep him upright, as well. They did a couple things different that they hadn’t shown, and we just wasn’t able to adjust fast enough.”
Hagens completed 15 of 32 passes for 150 yards, his second-lowest total of the season. The Razorbacks were the only other team to hold him below 204.
Wide receivers JaVonnie Gibson and Daemon Dawkins each finished with 45 yards on six and three receptions, respectively.
Gibson, the SWAC’s leading receiver this season, said the JSU defense did a good job in pass coverage.
“They did a good job of disguising they zones and how they bracket me,” Gibson said. “They had two people on me most of the time.”
Hagens led the team in rushing with 34 yards despite the four sacks. BJ Curry rushed eight times for 25 yards.