By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
HOUSTON — Road woes continued for Grambling State as the Tigers fell 41-7 at Texas Southern in PNC Stadium Saturday night.
The Tigers’ two-game win streak, both at home, was quickly in jeopardy and gradually went up in smoke as Texas Southern overwhelmed the visitors, who are winless outside of Lincoln Parish under first-year coach Hue Jackson.
Texas Southern quarterback Andrew Body connected with eight different receivers, going 15-of-22 passing for 190 yards, with two scores, as he led an offense that posted 443 total yards and 22 first downs.
Grambling tumbled to 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s West Division. Texas Southern rose to even overall, 5-5, and 4-3 in the SWAC West.
GSU totaled 14 first downs and 244 total yards of offense with 126 yards on the ground. True freshman Chance Williams led Grambling’s ground game with 45 yards on 11 carries, averaging 4.1 yards per touch.
The winners rolled up 443 total yards and 22 first downs.
LaDarius Owens gave Texas Southern a 7-0 first-quarter lead on a 1-yard plunge to paydirt.
Grambling true freshman quarterback Julian Calvez responded with a 37-yard scoring strike to Joshua Johnson to tie the contest.
But Texas Southern didn’t waste time in counter-punching, with Body connecting with Tavaris Achane for a 15-yard touchdown with 23 seconds left in the period, pushing TSU up for good.
Another long touchdown pass from Body to AJ Bennett was the only score of the second quarter and the Texas Tigers took a 21-7 lead at halftime.
Grambling sent opening-game starting quarterback Quaterius Hawkins into the game to try and spark a second-half surge, but TSU’s Isaiah Hamilton countered with a 12-yard pick six before Kevin Harris pounded his way in on a one-yard touchdown run with five seconds left in the third quarter to give the homestanding Tigers a 33-7 advantage.
Daveon Ford scored from a yard out on a fourth-quarter run for TSU’s final tally.
Calvez, who again started for the G-Men, connected on 6-of-12 passes for 85 yards, including the scoring strike to Johnson and the pick-six by TSU.
Grambling now will rest and tune up on a bye week before returning for its season finale in the 49th Annual Bayou Classic against Southern University, presented by Procter & Gamble, in New Orleans on Nov. 26.
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com
