Courtesy of Jackson State Athletics
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. | No. 23 Jackson State brushed off a sluggish first half to pull away from Bethune-Cookman 37-17 in HBCU football action in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) homecoming game at Daytona Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
| Statistics | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jackson State (6-2, 4-0 SWAC) fell behind early, trailing in the first quarter 14-7 before tying the game right before halftime on a Joanes Fortilien 14-yard touchdown pass with just 13 seconds remaining in the half. The Tigers came out in the second half with back-to-back possessions in the third quarter with touchdowns to take a 31-17 lead with under five minutes to play in the third.
Irv Mulligan led a balanced Jackson State offensive attack with 171 yards rushing on 18 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry, while HBCU football freshman phenom Travis Terrell Jr. finished with 86 yards on eight carries averaging 10.8 yards per carry. The Tigers recorded 349 yards on 41 carries while finishing with 513 yards of total offense.
Jacobian Morgan finished 138 yards on 14-of-18 passing with a touchdown, leaving the game in the third quarter while Cam’Ron McCoy finished with 26 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers hit four receivers, led by Tyquan Henderson with six receptions for 38 yards, while Isaiah Spencer (61 yards) and Fortilien (47 yards) each added four receptions.
Ashton Taylor and Esaias Guthrie led Jackson State with six tackles each on defense, while the Tigers finished with a pair of sacks.
How It Happened
1st Quarter (11:16) – Maleek Huggins 11-yd pass from Luke Sprague (Cade Hetcher kick), B-CU 7-0.
1st Quarter (8:27) – Mulligan 39-yd rush (Gerardo Baeza kick), 7-7.
1st Quarter (2:30) – Lorenzo Jenkins 16-yd pass from Sprague (Hetcher kick), B-CU 14-7.
2nd Quarter (8:47) – Baeza 24-yd field goal, B-CU 14-10.
2nd Quarter (2:31) – Hetcher 25-yd field goal, B-CU 17-10.
2nd Quarter (0:13) – Fortilien 14-yd pass from Morgan (Baeza kick), 17-17.
3rd Quarter (7:42) – Mulligan 1-yd run (Baeza kick), JSU 24-17.
3rd Quarter (4:28) – Spencer 23-yd pass from McCoy (Baeza kick), Jackson State 31-17.
4th Quarter (13:37) – Baeza 39-yd field goal, JSU 34-17.
4th Quarter (7:08) – Baeza 28-yd field goal, JSU 37-17.
Up Next
Jackson State returns home next weekend facing fellow SWAC HBCU UAPB at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.