GRAMBLING, La.| The Grambling State Tigers Football team will host Oklahoma Panhandle State on Business and Industry Day Saturday Oct. 6, start time is set for 6:00 p.m. The G-MEN (1-3) come into the game looking to bounce back from a 22-16 defeat from Prairie View A&M in Dallas, Texas in the 95th State Fair Classic.
The Tigers have several playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. Senior linebacker De’Arius Christmas who has already picked up numerous accolades this season, has been named SWAC College Sport Madness Defensive Player of the Week, and were among 179 recipients named National Football Foundation (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalists.
The lost to the Panthers placed the Tigers 3rd in the SWAC West Division. The quarterback position is still up for grabs after Aldon Clarke started the game and went 16-30 for 144 passing yards in three quarters of action, before being pulled for Geremy Hickbottom.
Hickbottom rallied the Tigers into 14 unanswered points in the final quarter to give the G-MEN an opportunity at the win, but was denied a game winning touchdown drive after throwing a drive ending interception with 1:42 left in the game.
Panhandle State Aggies (3-2) were projected to finish 4th in the preseason Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) are coming into the game after an 16-29 defeat to Lyon College. Defensively, the Aggies are led by SAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Junior linebacker Nathan Leithead.
Leithead, led the Aggies in 2017 with 69 total tackles on a defense that turned into the seventh ranked Total Defense in the nation.
The Tigers seek to defend their title as the 2017 SWAC Champions. A win will allow the G-MEN to gain momentum before jumping back into South Western Athletic Conference (SWAC) play Sat. October 20th, traveling to Houston Texas to face SWAC rival Texas Southern.