Delaware State head football coach DeSean Jackson did not want to leave Saturday’s home opener against Albany unsettled.
7 ½ hours after the game began, it ended with Jackson picking up his first win as head coach thanks to a 37-32 Hornet victory over the Great Danes. Win or lose, Jackson was determined to finish the game.
“We had a few options. When the MEAC called our athletic director, three of those options were out for us because those options came down to us forfeiting the game or stopping the game and postponing it,” Jackson explained during Monday’s MEAC Coaches’ Conference. “In my mind, we’re going to stay here until we can’t stay here anymore. I know how hard my guys work, I know how bad they want it.”
That insistence paid off as the Hornets, trailing 32-31 when lightning strikes and torrential downpour stopped the game for nearly four hours, took the lead for good on a 34-yard touchdown scramble by quarterback Kaiden Bennett. The Delaware State defense held up for the final 30 seconds and snapped an 11-game losing streak dating back to Week 3 of last season.
“I give credit to the morale and the mindset of our team; we never gave up,” Jackson said. “We’re prepared for these situations and scenarios and we feel like we have the advantage.”
The head coach noticed his team’s nocturnal tendencies and felt confident that they could pull out the win.
“We practice the best in the evening. We practice at 6:45, 7 p.m. and I like to call it the ‘Set It Off’ period,” Jackson said. “We’re just looking for these opportunities because we feel like we’ve got the right players to make plays.”
Delaware State returns to Alumni Stadium (weather conditions to be determined) Saturday Sept. 13 at 3:30 against CIAA member Bowie State.
