Clawing Through

By: Aniyah T. Foley  

The Tigers went claw to claw with the Wildcats in Robinson Stadium this past Saturday in a fight to the finish. Despite their loss, this match up was wild to say the least, Grambling State University claimed 524 total yards compared to the 523 gained by Bethune-Cookman University. Johnathan Williams of GSU made the first and only scoring play of the first quarter which carried the Tigers into the lead which they carried well into the second half. Williams claimed another touchdown for GSU bringing their lead to 14-0.  BCU managed to catch up at the half, making it a tied match. Into the third quarter with 13:18 on the clock, Grambling’s Mark Orozco made a 42 yard field goal. This was followed by a fumble recovery touch down made by the Tiger’s Justin Miller who reclaimed the lead despite a previous touchdown by the Wildcats. A tit for stat scoring battle began between the two teams which added to the game’s momentum heading in to the fourth quarter. Two field goals, a safety, and a touchdown later, The Tigers were back in the lead with a score of 39-28.

The battle continued until the very end of the fourth, with less than two minutes left on the clock.  BCU was up but the Grambling State Tigers shifted into another gear to give it all they had. Grambling made the last scoring play of the game when Chester Rogers threw a twelve yard pass to Johnathan Williams for a touchdown and a kick by Marc Orozco. The final score was 53-56. Although the Tigers didn’t come away with the win, Grambling’s offense displayed both heart and skill this past Saturday which I am sure will transfer into next Saturday’s match against the Alabama State University Hornets. This will be the Tigers first SWAC match up of the season.  Next week’s game performance will definitely depend on Grambling’s defense which has greatly strengthened since last season. Coach Fobbs lead the Tigers to a 7-2 SWAC record last season and is prepared to surpass last season’s thresholds, continue to follow the black and gold Tigers this season as they strive to dominate the gridiron.