Photo: Camerson Adams
Cameron Adams
Editor-In-Chief
The lights were brighter than usual in the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium on Oct. 14th, 2023.
Families from all over traveled to Jackson, Miss. to celebrate Jackson State University’s world-famous Homecoming week.
Tigers fans were looking to cap off the week full of festivities with a Homecoming victory against Alabama State University and their Hornets football team.
Last year, the Tigers defeated Alabama State during their homecoming. The match-up involved a viral face-off between former Jackson State football head coach, Deion Sanders, and Alabama State’s head coach, Eddie Robinson Jr.
One year later, the Hornets would return the favor. Alabama State defeated Jackson State 24-19, in a last-minute thriller.
Jackson State started the game off rocky, allowing Alabama State to get on the board early with a 27-yard field goal early in the first quarter. The Hornets followed with a touchdown to end the first quarter up 10-0.
Despite being down in front of their home crowd, the Tigers refused to give in early.
JSU gained momentum thanks to a 46-yard field goal by Gerado Baeza late in the second quarter
Jackson State then secured an interception to tie the game just before halftime. Jacobian Morgan scored on a one-yard run on fourth-and-goal with 36 seconds left.
In the third quarter, both teams refused to let up the defensive pressure. The Hornets and the Tigers both remained scoreless throughout the quarter until another field goal by Baeza put the Tigers up 13-10.
The Tigers entered the final quarter with the lead, in hopes of securing the win for the homecoming crowd.
However, Jackson State would run out of gas at the finish line.
Alabama State University scored 14 fourth-quarter points to pull away from the Tigers and spoil the Tigers’ homecoming celebration.
Jackson State head coach, T.C. Taylor expressed his disappointment in the outcome of the match.
“It was a tough loss. For it to be a homecoming and so many fans in town,” Taylor stated. “We gotta be better than we were today.”
Taylor also praised the Hornets’ defense performance, giving credit to the team’s execution and physicality during the game.
“That’s a good defensive football team we played tonight. We knew points would be hard to come by so we had to take advantage of what we got,” said Taylor.
Despite the loss, the Tigers put up impressive numbers. Jackson State out gained Alabama in every statistical category, but it was not enough to secure the victory.
Desmond Moultrie, Tigers running back, explained some key factors that played a part in their offensive execution.
“Sticking to what we went over in practice all week. Winning keys, staying disciplined, and trusting the play that was called,” Moultrie said.
Tigers quarterback, Jason Brown, put on a huge performance. Brown ended the game with 234 total yards, carrying the offensive load for the Tigers.
Although Brown had an amazing showcase, he believes that more work needs to be done.
“There were a lot of things that we did on our end that hurt us,” said Brown. “Turnovers, penalties…those are just little things that we have to keep harping on and get better at.”
The Tigers look to get back in the winning column on the road against Mississippi Valley State University on Oct. 28, 2023.
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