Kenneth Batiste rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, D.J. Williams threw a pair of touchdown passes, and Grambling beat Alcorn State 21-14 in the season-opener for both teams on Saturday.

Alcorn has not beaten Grambling since 2006.

Grambling ripped off 21 straight points after Alcorn took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Williams tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Bakari Maxwell and a 7-yarder to Mario Louis with 5 seconds left in the first half to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.

Batiste’s 5-yard TD run early in the third quarter extended the lead, but Alcorn made a comeback attempt in the fourth.

Quarterback Brandon Bridge cut it to 21-14 with a 6-yard TD run with 12:39 left in the game. The Braves got the ball back three more times, but punted and turned it over on downs twice. The closest they got to the end zone on the final three drives was Grambling’s 30-yard line, where a run on fourth-and-1 was stuffed.

Bridge finished the game 17-of-25 passing for 175 yards and a touchdown, and carried the ball 11 timed for 45 yards and a score. Terrance Lewis caught five passes for 107 yards, including a 53-yard TD pass from Bridge with 4:46 left in the first quarter.

Williams finished 16-of-24 passing for 161 yards and two TDs for Grambling.