Courtesy Grambling State Sports Communications
Tigers End Home Campaign With Loss to BCU
GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University football wrapped up its home campaign with a 31-14 loss to Bethune-Cookman in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.
Bethune-Cookman (2-8 overall, 2-5 SWAC) capitalized on a GSU turnover and went 53 yards in four plays as Jimmie Robinson III scored on a 3-yard run, giving the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with 4:34 left in the opening quarter.
BCU added to the lead with 17 seconds left in the first quarter as Robinson scored the second of his three touchdowns on the day, a 2-yard run, as the Wildcats extended the margin to 14-0.
The Wildcats got a 32-yard field goal by Dylan Moghaddam with 9:44 remaining in the second quarter, capping a 13-play, 61-yard drive as BCU pushed the lead to 17-0.
Grambling State (3-7, 2-5) got on the board on its next offensive possession as the Tigers marched 72 yards in 10 plays, with John-Paul Pierce connected with Dorrell James for a 14-yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 17-7 with 5:01 remaining in the first half.
The Wildcats answered right before the half as Robinson added a 2-yard touchdown scamper to extend the advantage to 24-7.
The Tigers took advantage of a BCU turnover, going 40 yards in five plays as Tony Forrest Jr. caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Pierce, closing the gap to 24-14 with 11:17 remaining.
However, the Wildcats put the game away with 5:46left as Laderrien Wilson scored ona 30-yard touchdown, giving Bethune-Cookman the 31-14 lead.
CHECKING THE BOX SCORE
– Grambling State finished with 13 first downs and 186 total yards of offense- John-Paul Pierce went 12 of 28 pasing for 102 yards, with a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions
– CJ Russell led the ground game with 16 carries for 61 yards
– CJ Russell caught three passes out the backfield for a team-high 30 yards
– Bryan Powell registered a career-high 10 tackles, including six solo stops and one sack to lead the GSU defense- Bethune-Cookman finished with 17 first downs and 288 total yards of offense-Davin Black threw for 111 yards on 8 of 21 passing
– Jimmie Robinson III tallied 98 yards on 15 touches, with three touchdowns- Kemari Averett recorded 34 yards on three receptions
– Untareo Johnson led the Wildcat defense with nine total tackles, including seven solo stops
GAME NOTES
– John-Paul Pierce made his first collegiate start at quarterback- The Tigers have now dropped three straight games, which matches the their longest streak of the season
– Grambling State finishes its home campaign at 2-1(wins over Alabama A&M and Texas Southern)- Bethune-Cookman has now won three straight over the Tigers, including two consecutive games at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium
– The Tiger defense continued its streak of forcing a turnover, which now moved to nine straight games
– Broderick Fobbs is 0-3 all-time against Bethune-Cookman (losses in 2014, 2015, 2021)- Grambling State fell to 26-11 in games played in Louisiana- The Tigers and Wildcats kicked off at 11 a.m., the earliest kick time for a GSU game under Broderick Fobbs- Grambling State honored nine seniors prior to the start of Saturday’s game
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BRODERICK FOBBS
“We just can’t fall behind early, which we’ve done most of the season. We’ve got to learn to get a fast start and we just haven’t done that. Bethune-Cookman is a very-well coached football team and they came out today and had a good game plan.”
UP NEXT
Grambling State concludes the season after a week off with the 48th Annual Bayou Classic against rival Southern inside the Caesars Superdome. The Tigers and Jaguars will be meeting for the second time in 2021 as the two teams during the spring season in Shreveport. Grambling State has dropped its last three in the series and will be looking to get back into the win column against its rivals since 2017. Kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 27 is set for 4 p.m.
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