JACKSON, Miss. – The first words written on the first page of significant novel started on Sunday, February 21 and the Jackson State Tigers routed Edwards Waters 53-0 as the program officially started the
Deion Sanders era.
"We had a blast out there," said junior linebacker
Keonte Hampton, who recorded a team-high seven tackles. "It was fun to get the win with this group guys and this team. We open conference play next week against Mississippi Valley State and excited to open conference play."
"We were really excited to play this football game. It's a game we all love."
The Tigers defense allowed just 104 yards and yielded a mere 21 yards on the ground. The Blue and White did not allow EC offense to enter the endzone. JSU's defensive unit held ECU to 1-for-13 on third down.
Offensively, the Tigers got the ball rolling at the 11:46 mark in the first quarter when
Jalon Jones capped a 6-play, 2:15 drive with a 6-yard pass to
Warren Newman to start the offensive explosion. Later in the quarter
Glenn Misiak connected on a 23-yard field goal.
Sophomore
Kymani Clarke opened the second quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run and The Tigers added two more second half touchdowns and went into halftime with a commending 31-0 advantage.
Clarke added his second touchdown of the evening with a 10-yard run at 11:55 in the third quarter to put the game of reach.
Jones passed 18-for-20 for 187 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. The 6-foot-4 dual threat quarterback also rushed for 39 yards and one touchdown. Clarke toted the rock for 94 yards on 18 carries and averaged 5.1 yards per rush.
Newman grabbed a team-high eight receptions for 76 yards and one touchdown and
Daylen Baldwin recorded nine receptions for 70 yards.
Baldwin, who played his first in two years was eager to see the field.
"It felt so great to play today." Baldwin commented. "When I got to the stadium and ran onto the field and seeing our supporters, I was like 'yes, yes this feels like gameday' and that's when it finally hit home. It took a lot of people to make this game happen within the athletic department, the university and we are thankful for the opportunity to compete."
As a team, JSU produced 435 yards of offense and finished 5-for-11 on third down. The Tigers also went 1-for-1 on fourth down and was 8-for-8 in the red zone.
The Tigers open SWAC play on Saturday at home vs. Mississippi Valley State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
