Courtesy of Jackson State Athletics
Mobile, Ala. – The Jackson State University Tigers scored 21 unanswered first-quarter points en route to a 45-30 win over Alabama A&M University in the Gulf Coast Challenge here on Saturday. With the win, Jackson State football increased its record on the season to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division, while the AAMU Bulldogs fell to 3-3 overall, 1-3 in the conference.
Jackson State’s Jacobian Morgan scored his second and third touchdowns of the season in the opening quarter on three and one-yard runs to help set the pace for the Tigers. Ahmad Miller added the other first-stanza score when he scored on a 38-yard run, his first touchdown of the season.
The Bulldogs would get on the board in the second quarter when Xavier Lankford ran in from the one-yard line to narrow their deficit to 21-7. However, Jackson State tagged on 14 more points before intermission and went into the locker room with a commanding 35-7 lead.
Jackson State football started the second half scoring when Dylan Watson connected on a 40-yard field goal at the 11:09 mark of the third quarter, extending the Tigers’ lead to 38-7, but the Bulldogs scored 15 points to close out the scoring in the period, making the score 38-22 JSU.
Both teams added touchdowns in the final quarter, JSU on a Jason Brown to Seven McGee 15-yard TD strike with 13:34 to play, and AAMU on a Xavier Lankford to Darin Turner seven-yard connection with 11:12 remaining.
For the game, JSU’s Brown completed 14 of 26 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns, while Irv Mulligan rushed for 115 yards on 23 carries.
The Bulldogs were led by Cameron Young’s eight receptions for 110 yards and a score.
Jackson State will welcome back alumni and friends for Homecoming 2023 as they host the Hornets of Alabama State University next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.