Jackson State rolled to a 61-15 win over Alabama A&M on its Homecoming Saturday afternoon in Southwestern Athletic Conference action from Lewis Crews Stadium.
The Tigers dominated from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.
Senior pass-rush specialist James Houston, who entered the game leading the FCS with 6.5 sacks, came through with a strip sack and rumbled for a 67-yard touchdown down the Bulldogs’ sideline and the rout was on. It was JSU’s first defensive touchdown of the season. JSU also finished with 10 sacks, which is a program record. AAMU was also held to only eight rushing yards.
Sophomore JD Martin scored on a 2-yard run and freshman Shedeur Sanders ended the first quarter with a six-yard touchdown pass to senior Josh Lanier and the Tigers led 20-0
AAMU (3-2, 1-2 SWAC) countered with a touchdown, however, JSU (4-1, 2-0 SWAC) quickly responded.
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Sanders connected with freshman Trevonte Rucker for a 37-yard touchdown pass and hit senior Warren Newman with a 12-yard pitch-and-catch and the Tigers led 33-7 at halftime.
The Tigers’ offense put the pedal to the medal in the third quarter.
Sanders found Malachi Wideman from 20 yards out for Wideman’s first touchdown as a Tiger, Sanders rushed for a 29-yard touchdown and Santee Marshall ran for a 53-yard touchdown. In a blink of an eye JSU led 54-7 – with one quarter remaining.
Marshall added his second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring outburst.
Sanders distributed the ball to six different receivers and finished 17-for-24 (70.8 percent) for 249 yards and four touchdowns, with each touchdown going to a different receiver.
Marshall was the Tigers’ first 100-yard rusher of the season, and the New Orleans native gutted the Bulldogs’ defense for 123 yards on 12 attempts for an average of 10.2 yards per carry.
Newman finished with five receptions for 80 yards, Rucker added four grabs for 66 yards, and Keith Corbin III finished with three receptions for 26 yards.
Senior Aubrey Miller, Jr. finished with a game-high eight tackles and two sacks. Senior CJ Holmes and Houston each finished with six tackles, sophomore Shilo Sanders came through with five tackles, including four solo stops.
Courtesy: Jackson State Athletics
