Sept. 2, 2007

Final Stats

JACKSON, Miss. - The Jackson State Tigers dropped its season opener to Delta State at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday night, 27-15. In a defensive battle, JSU netted only 122 total yards of offense, while The Statesmen had 251 total yards.

Delta State used a first quarter touchdown off a JSU fumble to jump ahead 6-0. The Statesmen added a touchdown in the second quarter to take a 13-0 lead into halftime.

"We new they had a good team," said JSU head coach Rick Comegy. "Their coaches did a fine job. They made some big plays on defense and captured the momentum."

After a scoreless third quarter, Jackson State finally got on the scoreboard with 13:15 remaining in the game on a 92 yard kickoff return by Lavarus Giles.

Delta State, again, widened the gap on a 1 yard touchdown run by Dedrick Wilson with 7:41 remaining in the game.

JSU's Cedric Dixon had the game's final points on a 7-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Oliver with 5:03 left in the game.

"I feel like we have a good team, we just didn't perform as well as I hoped tonight. We have to put this game behind us and get ready for next week."

Jackson State drops to 0-1 to begin the season and travels to Memphis, Tenn. to take on Tennessee State in the 18th annual Southern Heritage Classic next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Liberty Bowl Stadium.