Katerri O’neal
Staff Writer
Jackson State University Tigers, with more than 26,000 witnesses, demolished Texas Southern University after two consecutive losses in two years, getting revenge with a 58-13 victory Thursday, Sep. 29, 2011 making them second in the SWAC with an overall record of 4-1 and 2-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference.
In the Eastern Conference the tigers are still second behind Alabama State.
In the first quarter Texas Southern managed to get more rushing and passing yards than Jackson State but neither team was able to score.
However, in the second quarter Jackson State began to turn things around. Casey Therriault with six interceptions versus Alabama State, came back with a 5-yard rushing touchdown and a total of 82-yards passing for touchdowns. He finished with a total of 300 yards.
The offense had a major comeback from the loss against Alabama State with a total of 51 offensive plays and 408 completed yards. The tigers had three out of eight third-down conversions with five out of six attempts in the red-zone.
Renty Rollins, a senior health education major, who plays tight-end said he thought they had a great offensive and defensive game and played well. He also said they stepped it up with intense practice. “This is a real great victory because they beat us by two points last year, and it feels good to get revenge on them this year,” Rollins said.
“All we need to focus on next week versus UAPB is cutting down on the turnovers because there were two tonight,” he added.
Other teammates had good things to say about the team’s performance.
Marcellos Wilder, a senior wide receiver majoring in recreation said, “I thought we played really well as a unit and executed our plays well and redeemed ourselves from last week’s lost.” He also said, “Last week we gave away a lot of opportunities, and this week we executed the plays like we should. We came out here playing traditional JSU football.”
He also said that he felt great and real delighted not only as a teammate, but also as a player to beat Texas Southern University after two years.
100 years of Jackson State Football will continue this week, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 when the tigers take on the golden lions of the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff who rank 3-2 in the SWAC and are tied with JSU, 2-1 in the Eastern Conference. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
