The Grambling State Tigers clicked on all cylinders as they recorded their first shutout in two seasons with a 40-0 victory over the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State on Saturday afternoon at Robinson Stadium.
Mississippi Valley State (1-4, 1-4 SWAC) began the contest with a promising drive that saw them advance all the way to Grambling State’s (4-1, 4-0 SWAC) 40-yard line. After holding MVSU at bay and forcing a punt, the Tigers quickly marched down the field for a 10-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard field goal by Tim Manuel at the 6:47 mark. On MVSU’s ensuing drive, Grambling State cornerback Nigel Copeland stepped in front of a Semaj Williams’ pass and upped the Tigers’ lead to 9-0 after recording his third interception of the season and first touchdown of his career.
After forcing another punt by MVSU, Grambling State’s offense once again rose to the occasion and went up by a double-digit margin after freshman Cornelius Walker recorded a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Manuel’s PAT was good and GSU led 17-0 after one quarter of action.
Grambling State’s special teams came up big early in the second quarter as a blocked punt coupled with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by MVSU gave the Tigers possession of the ball at MVSU’s 10. With the generous field position, GSU quarterback Brandon Landers quickly took advantage and connected with Clyde Edwards for a 10-yard strike to move the Tigers ahead 24-0 after Manuel’s PAT. Several drives later, Manuel added a 34-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the half to send GSU in the locker room on top 27-0.
With the game in Grambling State’s favor, the Tiger defense never let their guard down as they pitched a second-half shutout over the Delta Devils. Landers added to GSU’s point total in the half with a one-yard rush and a 43-yard pass to wide receiver Kovarus Hills in the third quarter.
For the game, Grambling State netted 334 (185 P, 149 R) total offensive yards to Mississippi Valley’s 259 (133 R, 126 P) yards. Freshman running back Frank Warren had his second career 100-yard game as he led GSU on the ground with 104 yards on 17 carries. Landers finished with 185 passing yards and two touchdowns on 10-of-23 attempts. Edwards led all wide receivers with three receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown.
Looks like the Tigers are starting to roll. Defense bends but won’t break. Can’t beleive MikeBigg hasn’t been on yet. No hotspots in the Isle.
Commenting on the “Bend but won’t break” comment posted by Big Walt, that philosophy is fine when playing weak teams, but is not adequate for championship play. It could possibly lead to trouble someday when you are late in a game and need to get the ball back to mount a come from behind scoring drive. The clock is steadily ticking down while you are “bending” but not “breaking.” Hopefully our coaches realize that and will seek to try not put us in that position. If you noticed, we did not blitz or put any pressure on the Valley QB during the first drive and he subsequently picked us apart. From then on, we pressured him and blitzed him and suddenly he was running for his life and his accuracy changed! I hope that our coaches are smart enough to learn from that experience. I’d like nothing more than to see us (GSU) run the table the rest of the year. This is by far the most disciplined team (almost no penalties) that I have ever seen in all of Black College Football.
Never show your blitz packages if you don’t have too. Nothing like getting pressure with the front four and dropping everyone else into coverage. I don’t necessarily dislike using the blitz, but to me it’s like a press in basketball…if the team beats the press that’s a layup.