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<\/a>Jackson State University\u2019s football woes continue with a homecoming loss on Saturday Oct. 12. Fans of JSU, including students and alumni, packed out the Mississippi Memorial Stadium as the Tigers of Jackson State University faced off against the Hornets of Alabama State University in a conference showdown.<\/p>\n
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To begin the first quarter, ASU got off to a strong offensive start with their fast paced offense. They consistently rushed to hike the ball and quickly caused problems for JSU\u2019s defense. The Hornets quickly made their presence on the scoreboard with a touchdown.<\/p>\n
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The Hornets offense was in full swing in the first half as they executed their plays efficiently to wear down the defense of JSU. ASU combined for a total of 149 rushing yards in the game.<\/p>\n
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In the second quarter, JSU\u2019s defense began to gain momentum as they found a way to reduce the fast paced offense of ASU. The passing game for Jackson State is what worked for them in the game as they managed to stay afloat throughout the first half.<\/p>\n
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Even though the Tigers struggled to counter ASU\u2019s offense, they refused to fold in any moment of despair as they responded with their own stellar offensive drive. The Tigers 39-yard field goal from senior, Adrian Salazar to conclude an eight play, 45-yard drive put the Tigers back in the game.<\/p>\n
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With just a little over four minutes to go in the second quarter, junior quarterback, Derrick Ponder connected with senior fullback, Terell Kennedy III for a 20-yard touchdown as the Tigers trailed 14-10 heading into halftime.<\/p>\n
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The halftime show was nothing less than legendary as the iconic Sonic Boom of the South band along with the jazzy Prancing J-Settes put on a halftime performance for the ages. Their energy ignited students and alumni throughout the stadium as the second half was underway.<\/p>\n
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As the second half began, JSU came out with a burst of energy as they looked to pick up where they left off at the end of the first half. Junior fullback, CJ Holmes picked off the Hornet’s quarterback for a momentum shifting interception. JSU was in full rhythm offensively.<\/p>\n
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Holmes interception was followed by a crucial 57-yard carry by freshman running back, Tyson Alexander. This was the Tigers last opportunity to take control of the game as they were in position to take the lead for the first time in the game.<\/p>\n
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Suddenly on fourth and short, JSU attempted to kick a field goal when the ball was fumbled and recovered by Alabama State. This was the play that defined the game as the Tigers never regained momentum again and deflated as a team.<\/p>\n
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Although the Tigers made a formidable attempt to take control of the game early in the second half, Jackson State just couldn\u2019t handle the offensive dominance that was Alabama State. ASU went on to defeat the Tigers 31-16.<\/p>\n
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Jackson State\u2019s football team has battled with adversity all season on and off the field and still manages to put forth a strong effort each and every game. The Tigers season is far from over despite their 1-5 overall record. They have an opportunity to redeem their football honor this weekend against Mississippi Valley on Oct. 19.<\/p>\n
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Ja\u2019Nell Luckie, a senior social work major from Kansas City, Mo., still has hope for the football team despite their struggles this season.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI believe our football team needs to make some adjustments to their lineup in order to have a successful season. The players seem to have trouble playing with one another so a few changes shouldn’t hurt. I also have complete faith that our team will eventually rise above adversity and find a way to end the season on a high note,\u201d said Luckie.<\/p>\n
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Jessica Liggins, a sophomore psychology major from Memphis, Tenn., believes the team needs to exhibit more effort in the second half of their games.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m not sure what the team does during their halftime break, but they definitely seemed to take a step back. I\u2019ve watched them play all season and that\u2019s their main weakness. In the event that they can remain firm in the second half, I believe they will win more games,\u201d said Liggins.<\/p>\n
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Wakil Atig Sports Editor Jackson State University\u2019s football woes continue with a homecoming loss on Saturday Oct. 12. Fans of JSU, including students and alumni,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_plus_post_options":"{}","editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}