JSU edges Delta Devils; Millsaps rallies for win
Published 11:52 pm Saturday, October 15, 2011
Tommy Gooden ran for a touchdown and Casey Therriault threw for another as Jackson State rallied to beat Mississippi Valley State 17-16 on Saturday.
Mississippi Valley State led 6-3 at halftime, but couldn’t hold on. Gooden scored on a 2-yard run on the opening possession of the second half, then turned a short pass into a 75-yard touchdown to give Jackson State a 17-13 lead.
In between Gooden’s scores, Marvin Pittman ripped off a 45-yard TD run for Valley (0-7, 0-6 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Gooden’s long catch and run came just 30 seconds after Pittman’s TD.
Carlos Sanchez booted a 27-yard field goal with just over 11 minutes left in the game to pull the Delta Devils within a point, but they couldn’t score again.
Gooden finished with 184 total yards for Jackson State (6-1, 4-1) — 83 rushing yards on 12 carries, and 101 receiving yards on four receptions — while Therriault threw for 254 yards and ran for 71 more.
Jackson State has now won 17 straight games against its in-state rival. Valley has lost 18 straight games overall, a streak that dates back to the 2009 season finale, and 23 of its last 24.
Valley ran the ball well, racking up 229 yards, but the Delta Devils committed 14 penalties and only converted 4-of-15 on third downs. Pittman, MVSU’s backup quarterback, led the team with 79 rushing yards on seven carries.
Millsaps 44, Rhodes 36
Two interception returns for touchdowns keyed a big comeback for Millsaps, which overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Rhodes on Saturday.
Millsaps trailed 28-16 at the half as Rhodes quarterback Brett Stoots threw a pair of touchdown passes. Midway through the third quarter, Garrett Pinciotti hit Jason O’Rear for a 12-yard TD to pull Millsaps back within one score, then the defense gave the Majors the lead.
Brent Jerrell returned an interception 30 yards for a score with 5:22 to go in the third quarter, and Greg Blaisar picked off a pass and took it back 65 yards for another TD with 13:35 left in the fourth. Blaisar’s return gave Millsaps a 44-28 lead.
Rhodes cut it to 44-36 on a 15-yard TD run by Chris Rose on its next possession, but couldn’t get closer.
Pinciotti completed 18 of 34 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns for Millsaps, and Tommy Theriot rushed for 94 yards and a score. O’Rear caught seven passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
East Texas Baptist 34, Mississippi College 21
Mississippi College scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t dig out of a big hole in a loss to East Texas Baptist (3-4, 23 American Southwest Conference).
Seth Hubbard threw a pair of touchdown passes and Jair Stover ran for 158 for East Texas Baptist, which led 34-0 after Hubbard’s 20-yard TD pass to Mark Munson with 11:43 left in the game.
Tommy Reyer threw two touchdown passes and Steven Knight scored on a 1-yard run with 3:21 to play to cut it to 34-21, but Mississippi College (2-4, 1-3) didn’t get the ball back until the final minute.
Reyer finished the game 19-of-40 passing for 336 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was returned for a touchdown.