Jackson State’s chances at landing in a second straight Celebration Bowl – widely considered the HBCU national championship and a game the Tigers won a season ago – were squashed Saturday with a SWAC title-game loss to Prairie View A&M, 23-21.
Jackson State (9-3, 5-1), the East Division winner, earned hosting rights to the matchup and was favored by more than a touchdown by most sportsbooks heading into game. Prairie View A&M (10-3, 5-1), the West Division winner, brought with it a chip on its collective shoulder and after a handful of tough defensive outings, found a 7-0 lead off a seven-yard rush by quarterback Cameron Peters.
Quarterback JaCobian Morgan broke free for a 29-yard rushing touchdown to get the Tigers on the board and tie the game at 7-7 moments into the second quarter. Prairie View A&M recaptured the lead with a chip-shot field goal by Diego Alfaro before Alfaro knocked in another short kick to send the Panthers into halftime with a 13-7 advantage.
Alfaro continued his big day into the third quarter, booting a 42-yard field goal on Prairie View A&M’s first drive of the half and extending the lead to 16-7.
Jackson State responded when Ja’Naylon Dupree, the grandson of Mississippi football legend Marcus Dupree, caught a 22-yard pass from Jared Lockhart to close the gap to 16-14. Both teams then exchanged touchdowns to close out the third quarter – a 40-yard reception by Prairie View A&M’s Cameron Bonner and a two-yard rush by Jackson State’s Ahmad Miller – to make the score going into the fourth quarter 23-21.
The score would stick as neither could break the plane in the fourth quarter, and the Panthers walked off the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium with their first SWAC championship since 2009.
Key stats
After the early rushing touchdown by Jackson State quarterback JaCobian Morgan, the veteran went down with an injury and did not return. He had battled a foot injury earlier in the season, missing four games. Lockhart entered in relief and finished 6-of-9 passing for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Tigers’ rushing attack was saw no player surpass the 50-yard mark with Travis Terrell Jr. (34 yards on nine carries) and Ahmad Miller (27 yards on 13 carries) leading the way. Nate Rembert had 80 yards on four catches while Dupree scored on one of his two catches.
Defensively, Jackson State was led by Reid Pulliam’s 14 tackles and Kam Sallis’ 12 tackles. SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Quincy Ivory added seven tackles, and John Brown Jr. had a sack. B.J. Washington had an interception, and the unit forced two fumbles but were unable to fully capitalize on the takeaways.
Prairie View A&M was led on offense by Cameron Peters, who threw for 294 yards and rushed for 100 with two touchdowns. He did throw an interception and lose two fumbles. His favorite receiver on the day was Jyzaiah Rockwell, who caught four passes for 96 yards.
Defensively, the Panthers were led by Darrell Starling’s eight tackles, one interception, and half a sack. Kennedy Parker added seven tackles, including one for loss.
Prairie View A&M had 494 total yards of offense compared to Jackson State’s 244 – the fewest the Tigers have been held to all season. Neither team was penalized much with Prairie View A&M getting flagged once and Jackson State twice.
Up next
Jackson State: The season is over since Jackson State will not appear in the Celebration Bowl and SWAC teams do not compete in the FCS Playoffs.
Prairie View A&M: vs. MEAC champion South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 11 a.m. CT.