In Saturday night’s game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe, the Tigers had a better offensive showing than in their last game, but they did not have enough to match up against the Warhawks.
With the Warhawks’ Cortney Davis returning the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, it was predictive of things to come. The final score was 48-10.
But the Tigers answered on the next drive. On third and 11 from their own 25 yard line, quarterback D.J. Williams connected with Chester Rogers on a 20 yard passing play for the first down on their own 44. Cedric Skinner rushed for 8 yards on first down. On second and 2, Grambling fumbled but recovered for a loss of 10.
On third and 12, Williams launched a 27 yard pass to freshman Madison Prep standout Chad Williams. The Tigers had first and 10 from the Warhawk 37 yard line. Skinner would rush for 6 yards before third down.
Again on the third down from the Warhawk 35 yard line, Williams stood and delivered. The quarterback darted a pass 18 yards to tight end Brandon Byrdsong for a Tiger first down on the Warhawks’ 17 yard line.
On the very next play, Williams threw a 17 yard touchdown pass to Anthony McGhee for the score with 9:44 left in the first quarter.
Williams was 4-of-5 on the drive for 82 yards. The score was tied 7-7. Then the Tigers would go on a scoring drought until the fourth quarter.
On the next possession, the Warhawks drove 75 yards for a touchdown. There was a combination of pass and run on this drive as Warhawk quarterback Kolton Browning went 3-of-5 for 48 yards. Warhawk running back Jyruss Edwards carried the ball five times for 37 yards. The score was now 14-7.
The Tigers next drive started on the 25 yard line, but the G-Men went backward. Johnathan Wallace had to punt the ball from the Tiger 19 yard line.
The Grambling State offense stalled, hurt by penalties. The G-Men racked up 15 penalties for 125 yards. Senior offensive lineman Clint Marsh was ejected for committing two unsportsmanlike penalties.
The Tiger’s last score would come in fourth quarter. On a 41 yard punt by Johnathan Wallace, Warhawk Kenzee Jackson fumbled and it was recovered by Tyree Hollins. The Tigers moved the ball seven yards, and Johnathan Wallace connected on a 25 yard field goal. The Warhawks ran out the time for the rest of the game.
Grambling finished the game with 237 yards on offense, while the defense allowed 367 rushing yards.
The Tigers are ranked last in scoring offense and total offense in the SWAC. They are averaging 9.5 points a game, and have 402 total yards two games into the season.