Football Suffers Another Heartbreaker In Closing Seconds At Jackson State
Travis Pendergrass / TXSU Football
19
2-7 , 1-5
21
Winner
7-3 , 5-2
2-7 , 1-5
19
Final
21
7-3 , 5-2
Winner
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
|
|
7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Game Recap: Football | | TSU Sports Information
JACKSON, Miss. – Texas Southern’s fourth quarter comeback in the closing seconds fell short as Jackson State escaped with a 21-19 win inside Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday evening.
TSU’s opening drive fell short due to a missed field goal followed by an interception on its second drive. Jackson State took advantage of the turnover and moved ahead 7-0 after an eight-play, 45-yard drive which saw Jacobian Morgan run in from seven yards out. After a TSU punt, the deficit grew to 14-0 to open the second quarter after JSU drove 87 yards on 12 plays as Seven McGee scored on a three-yard touchdown run.
With the game slipping away, the TSU offense sensed the urgency as quarterback Jace Wilson opened the drive with a 28-yard run. Wilson completed a big 3rd-and-6 to Jyrin Johnson to extend the drive and relied on Johnson the rest of the way as the duo connected on two consecutive passes with the latter a 25-yard reception for a touchdown. Gustavo Romero’s PAT was good as TSU trailed 14-7 with 9:13 left in the second quarter.
Both teams traded punts on its next possessions as JSU would strike late with a 12-play, 96-yard drive which saw Morgan score on a short run for a 21-7 halftime lead following the PAT.
Late in the third quarter, the TSU offense would get things brewing as Jacorey Howard opened the drive with a 42-yard run and followed it up with a 34-yard run three plays later to get within one possession. However, the PAT was no good as TSU trailed 21-13.
The TSU defense continued to deliver throughout the half as they shut JSU out on the scoreboard and forced them to punt twice in the fourth quarter. The TSU offense advanced to the JSU 32 on its first drive of the final quarter but its fourth down conversion fell short by three yards.
The defense forced a punt and the TSU offense received the ball with 4:41 left in a boom-or-bust final possession. The drive nearly stalled as the team was prepared to punt four plays in but a JSU illegal substitution penalty kept the drive alive. TSU would take advantage as Wilson completed a big 4th-and-8 reception to C’ing Blanton to keep marching at the JSU 38. TSU would get to the 15 but surrendered a sack which cost them five yards and its final timeout as the officiating crew ruled Wilson was down prior to a fumble as the timeout was called to avoid the 10-second runoff and the potential end of the game.
With only 10 seconds left and the game on the line, Wilson found a streaking Blanton across the middle for a 20-yard touchdown strike with three seconds left. However, the two-point conversion was intercepted and the onside kick was unsuccessful as time ran out.
TSU finished with 414 yards (232 R, 182 P) while holding Jackson State to 300 yards (182 P, 118 R). Wilson passed for 182 yards on 15-of-28 passing with two touchdowns while LaDarius Owens rushed for 106 yards on 21 attempts. Jyrin Johnson caught five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Jacob Williams once again had another string outing with 12 tackles and two tackles for loss.
TSU is back at home for two straight weeks as the homestand begins next Sunday at 2 p.m. against Alcorn State at Shell Energy Stadium.
Courtesy: TSUSports.com
