NASHVILLE — Five different players reached the end zone as Tennessee State easily defeated Mississippi Valley State 41-21 on Saturday night at Nissan Stadium in the John A. Merritt Classic.
The triumph improved Tennessee State's record to 1-0 on the season while the Delta Devils fell to 0-1.
Draylen Ellis led Tennessee State's passing attack with 356 yards through the air, tossing three touchdowns and one interception.
Jaden McGill led all Tigers rushers with 41 yards in the contest, picking up 5.9 yards per carry. Jordan Gant also added 37 yards on the ground, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, as well as one receiving touchdown.
Jalal Dean pulled in nine catches for 144 yards and one score. Karate Brenson made his presence felt in the passing game, recording two receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown. The Tigers also added 78 yards receiving from Da'Shon Davis in the game.
Boogie Trotter showed out for the Tennessee State defense, totaling one interception. Micah Gay added three tackles, 0.5 TFL, and one recovered fumble and Tyler Moore had 2.0 TFL, one sack, and one forced fumble in the win.
The Tigers won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers while coughing the ball up one time, with Tennessee State turning those takeaways into 14 points. Tennessee State converted on 41.7 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Tennessee State's defense held up against Mississippi Valley State's offense, giving up 264 total yards.
How It Happened
Tennessee State scored first and jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game.The Tigers then followed with another score to extend the lead to 14-0.
Tennessee State kept Mississippi Valley State off the scoreboard and extended its lead to 24-0 with 8:56 remaining in the second quarter.The Tigers kept building their advantage, scoring again to go ahead 31-0.
Tennessee State continued to increase its advantage after Mississippi Valley State made it a 31-7 game, scoring again with 13:01 left in the fourth quarter make the score 38-7.The Delta Devils then rallied, tallying seven points before the Tigers responded with a field goal to extend their lead to 41-14. Tennessee State didn't score again and Mississippi Valley State added seven more points to finish off the game.
Game Notes
» Tennessee State outgained Mississippi Valley State — 495-264 — including a 357-195 advantage through the air.
» Tennessee State won the turnover battle 2-1 after intercepting one pass and recovering one fumble.
» The Tigers scored first with 12:26 left in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.
» Tennessee State had their highest scoring quarter in the first period, when they put up 21 points.
» Tennessee State converted 5 of 12 third downs while Mississippi Valley State was successful on 4 of 12.
» Dion Villiers led the Tigers with eight tackles.
» Tennessee State went 1-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 50 percent of attempts.
» The Tigers took potential points off the board by forcing two turnovers on their own half of the field.
» The Tigers didn't allow a sack in the contest.
» The Tigers racked up 13 tackles for loss and added three sacks.
» Tennessee State got off to a fantastic start in the contest, putting 31 unanswered points on the board before Mississippi Valley State could respond.
» Jaydyn Sisk led the Delta Devils passing attack, completing seven of his 10 attempts for 110 yards and one touchdown.
» Nathan Rembert was Mississippi Valley State's leading receiver with 81 yards and one touchdown.
