BIRMINGHAM–The Grambling State Tigers finished the season number one in the final Sheridan Broadcasting Network football poll and the Boxtorow.com/BASN poll released late Monday.
BIRMINGHAM–The Grambling State Tigers finished the season number one in the final Sheridan Broadcasting Network football poll and the Boxtorow.com/BASN poll released late Monday.
The Tigers won their 10th consecutive game last week, defeating Jackson State 41-9 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game Saturday in Birmingham. Grambling State finished the season with an 11-2 record, matching the win total of the 2005 Grambling State team, which also won the SWAC and Black college national titles.
The G-men received 23 of 30 first-place votes in the Sheridan Poll, and 12 of 16 first-place votes in the Boxtorow.com/BASN poll. Prairie View A&M finished fourth in both polls, Jackson State fell to ninth in both polls after the SWAC Championship Game loss and Southern finished 10th in both polls.
In the SWAC championship game, Grambling State found success in all three phases as they defeated Jackson State claim the 2008 SWAC Football Title.
The GSU Tigers found early success as Greg Dillion (Offensive Most Outstanding Player) engineered scoring drives on the first two possessions. Dillon found Kiare Thompson for a five-yard pass with just over seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. GSU would get the ball back and score on a 39-yard Dillon to Dante Cheek pass play.
While neither team managed a score in the second quarter, the game was broke open in the third. Grambling State outscored JSU 21- 9 on the strength of a defensive unit that forced a fumble and an interception – both which led to Grambling State touchdowns.
Not to be outdone, the GSU special teams struck early in the third period as David Stuckman returned a kickoff 91 yards – making the score 20-3. The lead increased by seven when Dillon found Thompson for a seven-yard strike with 8:24 remaining in the third period.
Jackson State’s offense looked to add a spark to the team when backup quarterback Michael Mosely found Carlos Everett for a 66-yard catch and run to cut into GSU’s lead. After forcing a fumble, Dillon led GSU on a four-play drive culminating in a one-yard scoring run.
The GSU defense got into the scoring act as Kenneth Anio intercepted a pass and ran 85 yards for the final score of the game.
Dillon finished the game 13-of-19 passing for 145 and three touchdowns while rushing 13 times for 32 yards and a score. Frank Warren led GSU with 10 carries for 89 yards while Cornelius Walker had 15 carries for 33 yards. Nick Lewis caught five passes for 77 yards while Terrance Dunn had four catches for 23 yards. Keefe Hall and Jeffery Jack each had eight tackles while Defensive MVP Christian Anthony had seven tackles, two sacks, and a pass breakup.
For Jackson State, Carlos Everett had three catches for 93 yards and a score while Keenan Tillman finished with three catches for 30 yards. Starting QB Trae Rutland completed 7-of-15 passes for 90 yards before coming out of the game. Mosley in relief completed three passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Jamison, Marcellus Speaks and Anthony Atkins each had seven tackles for JSU.
Grambling State finished the season with an 11-2 mark and an undefeated mark (7-0) in conference play. Jackson State finishes 7-5.
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